Array Solar Backpack

I’ve had this backpack for a couple of weeks and so far I really like it. It’s not awkward looking and it’s comfortable enough. I really like the solar power system’s ability to do pass through charging. I’ve tried other battery banks in combination with small solar panels and none of those are able to do this well. The other power banks are fine when given plenty of power, but they fail to charge when sunlight dips down. The V88 does not have this problem at all! I’ve done some testing with it’s dc output and have been able to power a small air compressor or charge some batteries with a smart charger. Although the backpack has the 9w solar panel, I like that the V88 can work with larger panels (like my 60w solar panel). Of course the built in 9w panel is great for on the go charging, however, being able to use a large panel is great for fast charging (base camp for camping trips). Some minor issues: it would be nice to know what the input power bars represent in watts. Also, I see that the V88 battery supports usb-c input, but it is not clear if the battery can also charge using usb-a to usb-c. My testing shows that the V88 can slowly charge via its usb-c power using 5 volts. This isn’t anywhere in the manual, so I don’t know if there will be any issues or if the system will be damaged. I need to reach out to tech support to answer this question. Summary: I really like this backpack and recommend it as a nice trickle charge, high capacity power bank. Edit: months later and I still love it. Also, I just figured out that if you keep a usb-c cable plugged into the V88, it will keep the battery bank on, even if it’s not charging anything. It will drain the battery very slowly, which you may not notice after a few days. Just remember to unplug any usb c cable when done.

I think previous bad reviews were written on the old model of this bag. The new surpasses it in every way. There is quite simply nothing better available to consumers, and trust me, I looked, thoroughly. Everything from those solar paper devices very thin, to other solar bags. It's a great bag, the solar works very well and the included battery is a monster. In the mountains of Colorado where we get 300 days of sunshine a year on average (yes really), it does very well, especially with snow on the ground reflecting light into the panel, although the cold does effect the battery, it hasn't been extremely significant in my experience. I charge a Samsung S20 Ultra and a Razer 15 Advanced Laptop, as well as other bits and bobs, off the backpack daily, and it has never run out of juice or let me down. The pack is relatively well made, it's not Osprey level of materials, but everything is solid and has held up well on my many adventures. The main pocket is vast, and can fit anything your heart desires. My only advice to the manufacturer would be to create another bag, maybe in partnership with Osprey, that rises to the extreme level of outdoor enthusiasts. Ripstop nylon, ykk zippers with freeze guards, etc. And a small pocket with more organizers. Myself and many others would pay a small fortune for it. All in all, you would do yourself a deservice not to have this in your life. There's nothing quite like carrying around your own personal powerplant, knowing where-ever your adventures take you, your devices, photos, communications, and memories will be ready.

The backpack works great, but after my first time using it the battery won't charge or hold a charge anymore, I hit up Amazon about it and they said they would send me a new battery, I've been waiting for my replacement battery I was told they would said, but I still have yet to hear anything about said replacement battery, and I'm getting very upset cause I spent almost $300 on a backpack just to use it one time and have it stop working

I bought this backpack a month ago and some I revived it I’m using it on my daily basis. I made a trip to Canada and brought it during the stay and everybody es asking me questions where to get it, so be aware it makes a lot of conversation. It looks very well build, it’s very roomy also and not that heavy when you carry it for long walks. I live in Florida so solar exposition is easy down here and even my colleagues are getting interesting on it. I’m a filed service engineer on a Diagnostic company and I use a lot of devices that drain a lot of power and the battery V72 has been working very well. Like the products from this company so I decided to buy also their “Switch” bag, and will upgrade the main battery that comes with it (V15) for a bigger one (V44). Will review it also once I put my hands on it. BTW: I contacted the customer support from Voltaic through e-mail with some questions and they were fast and reliable on their responses so I know we can count on them for support, thx for that!

I am very pleased with the size of my Voltaic Backpack! The Battery has held its charge great! The only problem I see with this backpack is the loop that you use to pick it up is tearing up! I’ve only had it for a year! Please make a stronger handle to carry the backpack! I look forward to hearing back from you!

This solar backpack with integrated battery & solar recharger is awesome. It has plenty of power to recharge my MacBookPro while traveling. The bag has a huge amount of internal space for gear and the slim battery has huge power. Walking around in the winter or summer still gets me a huge boost in charge every day. The combination of strong construction and padded compartments for laptop/technology feels like you have armor protecting all your gear. A great choice Vs. the typical tech/photo bags.

I love this backpack. My wife and I travel a lot and she never remembers to charge her phone. The backpack is roomy and high quality, and the battery pack and solar panels work great. Will definitely be ordering from Voltaic again. Update: The battery can't hold a charge at all. When asked, the company told me that the battery is working fine, the display just doesn't update. I've tested it several times now. On a full charge, the battery lasts approx. 30 minutes charging a cell phone.

UPDATE: I had to remove a star after some more extensive testing. The battery itself is indeed a beast. The solar panel is not. The charging system of the battery is absolutely not. The backpack itself is really well made, but the zippers are a bit rough. I have run several tests over a couple weeks in various conditions. I have taken the bag to the mountains and used it just to charge my phone and watch. I have used it to charge my work laptop at the end of my work day having charged the battery in the sun during the day. I have used it to charge my larger laptop after use under the same conditions as my work (14” Dell) laptop. For keeping a phone and watch charged while having partly cloudy days up in the mountains, the system works fine as a whole. You lose about one bar of power per day and recover one bar the next day. That’s assuming you can leave the bag alone out in the sunniest place you can find. If you’re hiking, the panel is nearly useless. That’s no suprise. Now if you’re using this system to keep a laptop charged, it’s a mixed bag (pun intended). If you can keep the solar panel really dialed in and it’s a sunny day in a month with lots of sun, you can keep a small laptop charged for several days before you’d fall behind and have to give the battery a ay or two to recover. If the day is partly cloudy, or sun up time is short, you’re not going to keep up for more than 2 days. If the laptop battery gets bigger, you’ll really struggle. The problem is twofold. First the fact that the panel is 18v and 0.5 amps is kind sad. There are panels smaller putting out quite a bit more power than 9 watts. The second problem is in the battery charging system. If you charge the battery on solar for more than an hour, it begins to really heat up. It doesn’t matter whether you take it out of the pouch, put a fan on it, etc. This means that the charging circuits have a lot of internal resistance. That means that an already underpowered solar panel is not charging the battery at optimal efficiency. In conclusion the system as a whole is a bit less than it should be at this price point. The bag is nice and easy to organize and the battery is great, but there are real issues which make me rate the system at 3 stars instead of my original 4. ORIGINAL: First things first, not all laptops play nicely with the V88 battery. I have a Dell with a barrel charger that rejected the included adapter and I had to buy a special adapter off the Voltaic website. My other Dell laptop charges through USB c and that worked like a charm. I do warn that I don’t think it’s a great idea to charge while using the laptop. I did get a full charge into my smaller laptop and still had 2 bars of capacity left. It seems like you could get a full charge into a non gaming laptop with room to spare. The backpack itself is pretty well organized and has some neat cable management. I do have to dig Voltaic for making a solar backpack in black. Putting the bag in the sun does exactly what you think it would do. Now consider what would go in this type of backpack … things that don’t respond well to extreme heat. I fix the problem by covering what I can (not the solar panel) with a hand towel. That seems to help keep the heat inside the bag under control. The solar panel seems to generate about the rated wattage at 18 volts. I was able to add 40% to the battery per day in mostly sunny conditions over 8 hours and each day. The panel does get really hot though so keep that in mind. I will continue the review as I use the bag more.