By At this year’s CES, I had the pleasure of wandering into the Powerbag booth where I somehow managed to fall completely in love with their lineup of backpacks, slings and messenger bags, tailored for the geek-on-the-go. Before being exposed to the bags, I’ve heard all the hype I wanted to, and needless to say, I wasn’t sold. In fact, I was dead set against them. “It’s a bag. With a battery. Big deal.” Oh, how wrong I was. Yes, just as the name would suggest, Powerbags can power up and charge all of your devices thanks to a variety of mAh batteries built into every single bag but don’t let that fool you into thinking that’s the only focus. I’ll explain it more in depth in my review for the Powerbag Instant Messenger bag.
Bag
Much more than just a battery thrown inside a Jansport, like I mentioned before, these bags are tailored made for the gadget-man. Every pocket, every nook and cranny is designed to accommodate for a wide range of devices, accessories and gizmos. What surprised me the most was I found that I was able to consolidate 2 separate gadget bags — that I lug around everywhere with me — into the 1 Instant Messenger bag. It felt magical. Almost as if I somehow managed to stumble upon Mary Poppins’ famous handbag.
The outside shell is a weather resistant material to keep your gadgets dry. Inside, each bag features premium construction that not only looks good, but keeps them cozy and safe. This is, without a doubt, what really sold me on the Powerbag. Every pocket is so well thought out. Some pockets feature zippers, others have velcro, some are big, some are small and most are lined with plush and padding to prevent harsh bumps and bruises. The 2 front pouches house cable tips that are neatly tucked away so as to keep your device scratch free when not charging.
The whole bag, I found, was a wonderful symphony of pockets and pouches creating a place for everything, and making sure everything had its place. Tablet, phone, PS Vita, Nintendo 3DS; throw ’em in, charge ’em up and don’t worry about a thing. But it’s not all function, the bags are super sexy and dare I say “hip” looking as well. I think about 3 girls approached me while wearing my Powerbag — granted, their phones were all low on power — although, I think it had something to do with this bag’s wicked good looks.
Battery
While every Powerbag initially comes with it’s own battery pack, extra or larger capacity batteries can be purchased via the Powerbags website according to your device need and are priced attractively. The Instant Messenger bag I reviewed came with a 6,000 mAh battery that had no trouble charging multiple devices on more than one occasion. The battery area, which is tucked away in a padded cubby hole, also features your standard USB output for charging any other devices that may have their own proprietary connection (like Samsung tablets). The bags feature an illuminated indicator along the front of the bag so you can easily see how much juice your have left in your bag and standard AC charger comes with each bag to charge it up before leaving the house.
Pricing
While not cheap, I wouldn’t classify Powerbags as super expensive either. They’re about the same price as you’d find any top of the line laptop bag — except these guys come with huge, mAh’s by the thousands. And since Powerbags come in a variety of shapes, sizes and classes, housing various sized batteries, you’re sure to find one that’s just right for you. Prices range from the reasonable high-end $180 for their deluxe line/business class line (with 6,000mAh battery packs), to the lower $140 for their slings and messenger bags (with lower 4,000mAh batteries). Not too bad for a bag that will keep you juiced up through the years. These are the Coach/Prada/Gucci bag for the truly geek and chic.
Conclusion
I know, it sounds silly for someone to get so hyped up over something like a bag, but when you carry around as many gadgets as I do, I’ve oft dreamed of a bag that could keep my life in order but never thought I’d find one that could simultaneously keep my devices juiced up as well. Powerbag, without a doubt, delivers. I can’t recommend these enough for the student, white collar worker or man-about-town. Put these on your Christmas wishlist, wedding registry, do whatever it takes. Anyone with multiple devices — Android or not — deserves to have a Powerbag in their life.
[MyPowerbag.com | Amazon Link: Instant Messenger Bag for $170]
Now if they could only make it not look cheap or something that a teenager or hobo might use. I need something dignified, that I can bring into a meeting and not be ashamed of.
Agreed, I like a nice leather bag.
There are nice leather bags. I’d be ashamed to lug those around because the good ones look too pretentious and the ugly ones look like faux leather. Besides, hobos prefer leather. Haven’t you seen any Westerns?
Ha they carried a saddlebags in those westerns I’ve seen. I’m thinking more of a briefcase type bag or duffle bag. Something stylish but not a satchel resembling a lady’s pocketbook.
no bags. travel light my friends. travel light.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnKRbEPbItE
LOL!!! Guess all I need now is a fancy fur coat O_o
Man purse? Feminine products? Bag whore? Come Chris, when are you coming out of the closet? :-)
I want one…
just an fyi that angle does nothing for your hair.
Not terribly different from my $20 faux Coach bag with the New Trend 1100 (11000 mAH) portable battery thrown in it?
but 6000 mAH is nice.. and it sounds like it could have 2-3x that amount of power if someone is willing to pay for it..
but the fact you actually bought a fake Coach bag is alarming in of itself.
Kudos to the shadow puppeteer.
If typical Android users think this bag is “hip” or “sexy,” I completely understand why it took so long for Android to look decent.
i think i might get the backpack version… when i heard dogs barking in the video i pictured you and the camera person getting up trying to run from it lol
The same exact product (in orange, not green) was on sale at Fry’s here in Las Vegas before CES for half the price. I guess I should have picked one up. =
Make sure you watch to the very end of the video, there’s a little treat from Chris Chavez.
LOL! Oh yeah… best part. xD
Chris is having a picnic in the park with no shoes on, yo!! :)
Hey Chris, any chance for a bag give away? Thinking with the shameless plug you did for them they can throw a few bags to Phandroid. I would like to use this for work, but wish it looked a little more professional. I don’t need leather, but a touch more class.
These bags are hideous. There definitely isn’t anything stylish about them. The sizeable battery pack is nice, but I can pick up something equatable and toss it in my super sexy leather messenger, which also fits everything I like to carry, and not look like I picked up something cheap from the bottom wrack at K-mart.
I couldn’t even watch the whole video. The guy calling the bag “stylish” turned me off, then when he began showing the battery pack without mentioning standard USB connectors, I turned the video off (and if he mentioned them later, he missed the timing).
I have a little, clear $1.00 bag that has a two-cell eneloop battery pack/charger, 3 or 4 retractable micro-USB cables with micro-to-mini adapters, an extra battery for my phone, and a slim Buffalo 4-port USB AC wall wart. It has everything for my phone, tablet, bluetooth speaker, and even the battery packs. They all interconnect and this connection/power pack is smaller than a VHS tape. It goes inside whatever bag I’m carrying that day.
Who needs another big, ugly bag when USB power connectors have commoditzed this all?
Rack.
No, “wrack”. As in, “wreck or wreckage”, because everything at K-mart is in abismal condition, as is the case with most big box stores. To use “rack” would have been correct, if I meant a “spreading framework”, but I used language to emphasize my point in a humorous way – also know as a “pun”. But thank-you for your attempt at humiliation none-the-less.
That velcro opening at the bottom of the outer pouch is likely so that you can slip it on the handle of rolling luggage easily. :)
Can it fit two 15″ laptops?
Meh ugly hedious pos
It’s a big Man Purse. :D
Yikes. I hope this was an infomercial, otherwise, I don’t get it. At all. Like none. Like put on the leg warmers and just get it over with already.
NO WAY!! You have the EXACT same case on your Epic 4G Touch as I do!! That’s insane!! LoL!!
Get yours now, the Zombie Apocalypse is coming.
http://bit.ly/dI3hcF