Solar backpack packs portable power
From houses, cars, and even clothing, solar power is bringing new innovations to light. The latest bright idea is the solar backpack -- and two hit the market this year from companies Voltaic Systems and Eclipse Solar Gear.
The companies say their traveling generators provide enough power in one compact mobile unit to keep your cell phones, iPods, PDAs and most other personal electronics ready to run.
Shayne McQuade, creator of Voltaic backpack that launched December 7 says his travels in Spain inspired this new product: "I had a solar charger in my bag during my trip, it was a pain to take everywhere. At that point I realized that there had to be a better solution, if I integrated solar panels into the outside of my bag that would solve the problem, so I combined the two."
Weighing only 3 1/2 lbs. including the batteries and solar panels, it is extremely lightweight and although it is does not produce enough power to charge a laptop, it is powerful enough to charge most portable electronic items.
