The weight of a reasonably powerful solar panel would be at least the weight of a very large battery bank, so unless you need to stay out for weeks (but if you're gonna be out that long, you would be receiving food supplies and likely have somewhere to charge) it's better to just bring a fatter battery
To charge a powerbank during the day enough to charge my camera batteries overnight, after a day of filming, the solar panel would need to be 'quite large' and 'quite expensive' Too large for a back pack. In fact, it would be lighter and cheaper to buy more powerbanks. (I found this out after buying a 120W folding solar panel) At least i could then use them when I don't need a back pack.
Interesting! ... that would be cool. Especially if youre on foot to a week and only have a backpack. You could strap a folding solar panel to the pack but i havent seen one sewn into it. What some people dont realise is that those folind solar panel are not supported to charge things directly, rather power packs. That way you can leave your solar & power pack behind, go off with your kit, and charge things overnight.
I see this as not quite a backpack feature. What I want is decent cable access in the pack, and a large powerbank specifically supporting solar panel for charging. I can tie on the panel those trips it makes sense, and replace the battery when the time comes. At the moment the only large powerbank I have is a G-RO Power, which is handy in that it can power the telescope mount, but not designed for intermittent low power input. Many powerbanks don't even support simultaneous charge and load. The G-RO travel case does have cables for charging devices outside the case, but not for input; you're simply expected to take the battery out for charging. Of course searching for these things is a pain, as the market is polluted with tiny powerbanks with solar panels integrated as a scam. Most of them can't even hold their own charge in sunlight, and even if they did leaving the battery in direct sunlight is bad. The component industry term for what we want in the charger is energy harvesting, while optimal solar panel use requires maximum power point tracking (MPPT). And of course what powerbank users call power passthrough is a requirement; support for a load while charging.
It's NOT waterproof and that is the biggest problem with all the backpacks! None of the manufacturers have worked out that in driving rain photographers want to keep their gear protected from water. I find this very strange.
what would happen if you walk southward (ie. your pack is facing north)? (yes, northern hemisphere here). Also, solar would obviously only work if you're not in the woods. So I think the amount of additional power you get from solar would be quite minimal and not worth it. With just a typical power brick, I've never had an issue not having enough juice with me.
i have a power bank with a solar panel on it it takes about 2 weeks to charge its self up from empty in good bright light. so id say a solar and kinetic motion dynamo would work also mini wind turbine that pops up out the top of the bag above your head boosting charging would work well if it had a 3 metre cable so you could put it outside the tent and gives more power if on the ground while you are resting etc if in that situation we could call it the go go gadget bag
I have used a travel solar panel while hiking and camping and the output from the panel was very poor due to its size, the reason why home and vehicle solar panels are so big is size equals capacity. Also a small solar panel needs perfect Sunny conditions and must be facing the Sun to gain any serious input. To get more than just a trickle charge you need lots of cells and currently the 21w panels used by hikers will not charge many devices with the default charge value so will take much longer to charge. Also weight is a problem the bigger the panel/panels the more weight. I love solar energy but photovoltaic science still has some way to go to be light and powerful in smallish panels with limited cells.
Also, assuming you didn't leave the bag in a dark cupboard, the power bank would almost always be fully charged when you started your trip (having trickle charged the battery in the days / weeks between uses).
There are already packs that have this features but why limit yourself to a fixed powerbank whenyou can stick in the one you want? It really doesn't matter what size, solar is slow.
Seems like a reasonable idea but I would not get one. Most of the time I use my bag I do not have the need to charge anything because it will just be a day trip and I'll be home before any of the devices I use will need a charging (of course will have an extra battery or two for the camera) so have don't need to carry around a power bank. Also if you travel by air there are some places that do not like any of the bags that have built in batteries so I am not sure what they would do with the bag. I hate shopping for bags because none of them seem to have the combination of features I want. Also tripod shopping sucks.
Not interested. It will compromise the strength, durability and functionality of the bag. That solar panel is going to be flimsy, even if it is the newer foldable type. That solar panel may get in the way of your pockets, straps, etc. You may even lose some pockets and straps because of that panel. And you can't roughly handle your bag as it may damage the panel. Walking in the woods or folliage, may ding or hit the panel and it's kaput! This is also not counting that that panel better be waterproof or highly water resistant as well! You'll never know when it rains! There are many other reasons why it is not implemented. Even if you get them to be robust, the charging rate is too slow. And if you are in the sun for 2-4 hours, it's not even enough to charge a 10ah batt. And mind you, if YOU are in the sun/heat for 2-4 hours, you would not be comfortable in that. You'll probably get in the shade in the first 30 min as that sun can be unbearable! There goes the charging to the backpack! There's also the cost. It will bloat the cost of the bag. Highly efficient solar panels are expensive. That's the class A type where efficiency is high. And again, since it is not in a stationary location, it will have to be more expensive to make. it might even double or triple the price! And for what? A measly trickling of the charge! remember too, that a high efficiency solar panel assumes a 10 am - 3pm sunlight! Are you going to constantly get that? Can you yourself stand being in the sun for that long without suffering heat stroke yourself? Basically, it is not practical. It is an overpriced underperforming, and even dangerous add-on. You are better off getting 2 x 20aH batteries and just charge them later at home or if you go into eateries/malls or whatever. If you want fast charging, there are now power banks that are 18w, even 36w for faster or shorter charging time. They can also charge your phone faster as many new phones are also rated the same way. But they scale down to 2.1a for regular devices, especially the earlier ones. Therefore, solar panel chargers on backpacks is not a good idea at this time. Maybe even for a long time. Too much going against it vs the advantages.
Efficiency is the answer. You'll have to walk in full sunshine for over 50 hours to recharge 20.000 mAh power bank, assuming that solar panels would be exposed to direct, unobstructed sunlight ALL the time, because at angle of 45 degrees the efficiency of solar panels drops down to about 30%. Not a viable solution. You'll better off just by setting a reminder in your mobile so you won't forget to charge your power banks.
You can, however the only solar panel bags I've seen have the usb output on the outside of the bag I'd personally rather have the power bank incorporated into the bag so all the wiring can remain internal
You’re reaching with this 🤣🤣🤣, power banks have too many output levels to make this practical. You would need usb-c pd 65w to cover most devices. Airport would be a mess
The weight of a reasonably powerful solar panel would be at least the weight of a very large battery bank, so unless you need to stay out for weeks (but if you're gonna be out that long, you would be receiving food supplies and likely have somewhere to charge) it's better to just bring a fatter battery
To charge a powerbank during the day enough to charge my camera batteries overnight, after a day of filming, the solar panel would need to be 'quite large' and 'quite expensive'
Too large for a back pack.
In fact, it would be lighter and cheaper to buy more powerbanks. (I found this out after buying a 120W folding solar panel)
At least i could then use them when I don't need a back pack.
Interesting! ... that would be cool. Especially if youre on foot to a week and only have a backpack. You could strap a folding solar panel to the pack but i havent seen one sewn into it. What some people dont realise is that those folind solar panel are not supported to charge things directly, rather power packs. That way you can leave your solar & power pack behind, go off with your kit, and charge things overnight.
I see this as not quite a backpack feature. What I want is decent cable access in the pack, and a large powerbank specifically supporting solar panel for charging. I can tie on the panel those trips it makes sense, and replace the battery when the time comes. At the moment the only large powerbank I have is a G-RO Power, which is handy in that it can power the telescope mount, but not designed for intermittent low power input. Many powerbanks don't even support simultaneous charge and load. The G-RO travel case does have cables for charging devices outside the case, but not for input; you're simply expected to take the battery out for charging.
Of course searching for these things is a pain, as the market is polluted with tiny powerbanks with solar panels integrated as a scam. Most of them can't even hold their own charge in sunlight, and even if they did leaving the battery in direct sunlight is bad.
The component industry term for what we want in the charger is energy harvesting, while optimal solar panel use requires maximum power point tracking (MPPT). And of course what powerbank users call power passthrough is a requirement; support for a load while charging.
It's NOT waterproof and that is the biggest problem with all the backpacks! None of the manufacturers have worked out that in driving rain photographers want to keep their gear protected from water. I find this very strange.
what would happen if you walk southward (ie. your pack is facing north)? (yes, northern hemisphere here). Also, solar would obviously only work if you're not in the woods. So I think the amount of additional power you get from solar would be quite minimal and not worth it. With just a typical power brick, I've never had an issue not having enough juice with me.
i have a power bank with a solar panel on it it takes about 2 weeks to charge its self up from empty in good bright light. so id say a solar and kinetic motion dynamo would work also mini wind turbine that pops up out the top of the bag above your head boosting charging would work well if it had a 3 metre cable so you could put it outside the tent and gives more power if on the ground while you are resting etc if in that situation we could call it the go go gadget bag
I have used a travel solar panel while hiking and camping and the output from the panel was very poor due to its size, the reason why home and vehicle solar panels are so big is size equals capacity. Also a small solar panel needs perfect Sunny conditions and must be facing the Sun to gain any serious input. To get more than just a trickle charge you need lots of cells and currently the 21w panels used by hikers will not charge many devices with the default charge value so will take much longer to charge. Also weight is a problem the bigger the panel/panels the more weight. I love solar energy but photovoltaic science still has some way to go to be light and powerful in smallish panels with limited cells.
Also, assuming you didn't leave the bag in a dark cupboard, the power bank would almost always be fully charged when you started your trip (having trickle charged the battery in the days / weeks between uses).
Great idea.... Basically you will have an on the go charger....
There are already packs that have this features but why limit yourself to a fixed powerbank whenyou can stick in the one you want? It really doesn't matter what size, solar is slow.
Sounds good to me!👍🏾🙏🏾
Seems like a reasonable idea but I would not get one. Most of the time I use my bag I do not have the need to charge anything because it will just be a day trip and I'll be home before any of the devices I use will need a charging (of course will have an extra battery or two for the camera) so have don't need to carry around a power bank. Also if you travel by air there are some places that do not like any of the bags that have built in batteries so I am not sure what they would do with the bag.
I hate shopping for bags because none of them seem to have the combination of features I want. Also tripod shopping sucks.
Not interested. It will compromise the strength, durability and functionality of the bag. That solar panel is going to be flimsy, even if it is the newer foldable type. That solar panel may get in the way of your pockets, straps, etc. You may even lose some pockets and straps because of that panel. And you can't roughly handle your bag as it may damage the panel. Walking in the woods or folliage, may ding or hit the panel and it's kaput! This is also not counting that that panel better be waterproof or highly water resistant as well! You'll never know when it rains!
There are many other reasons why it is not implemented. Even if you get them to be robust, the charging rate is too slow. And if you are in the sun for 2-4 hours, it's not even enough to charge a 10ah batt. And mind you, if YOU are in the sun/heat for 2-4 hours, you would not be comfortable in that. You'll probably get in the shade in the first 30 min as that sun can be unbearable! There goes the charging to the backpack!
There's also the cost. It will bloat the cost of the bag. Highly efficient solar panels are expensive. That's the class A type where efficiency is high. And again, since it is not in a stationary location, it will have to be more expensive to make. it might even double or triple the price! And for what? A measly trickling of the charge! remember too, that a high efficiency solar panel assumes a 10 am - 3pm sunlight! Are you going to constantly get that? Can you yourself stand being in the sun for that long without suffering heat stroke yourself?
Basically, it is not practical. It is an overpriced underperforming, and even dangerous add-on. You are better off getting 2 x 20aH batteries and just charge them later at home or if you go into eateries/malls or whatever. If you want fast charging, there are now power banks that are 18w, even 36w for faster or shorter charging time. They can also charge your phone faster as many new phones are also rated the same way. But they scale down to 2.1a for regular devices, especially the earlier ones.
Therefore, solar panel chargers on backpacks is not a good idea at this time. Maybe even for a long time. Too much going against it vs the advantages.
Efficiency is the answer. You'll have to walk in full sunshine for over 50 hours to recharge 20.000 mAh power bank, assuming that solar panels would be exposed to direct, unobstructed sunlight ALL the time, because at angle of 45 degrees the efficiency of solar panels drops down to about 30%. Not a viable solution. You'll better off just by setting a reminder in your mobile so you won't forget to charge your power banks.
Just walk slower, problem solved..
Can't you just plug your own powerbank into the output of the solarpanels on one of those bags that has one built in?
You can, however the only solar panel bags I've seen have the usb output on the outside of the bag
I'd personally rather have the power bank incorporated into the bag so all the wiring can remain internal
@@DaveMcKeegan ah, fair point ^^
You’re reaching with this 🤣🤣🤣, power banks have too many output levels to make this practical. You would need usb-c pd 65w to cover most devices. Airport would be a mess