I got one of these in a previous woot. The bag itself was nothing to write home about. The build quality was fine, but the small pouches were too small and inconveniently placed.

The charging system, on the other hand, is great. It's easy to use and has plenty of juice. Because the cables are built into it, and because it's built in to the bag, you don't have to remember to have anything with you to be ready to charge.

I ended up cutting the electronics out of it and installing it in a Timbuk2 bag, and it's been great. All told, I think it was worth what I paid for it even though I ended up not using the bag part.

What material is the bag made out of?

Hmmm... a backpack with a built-in powerpack and wiring...
(cough..Boston..cough...)

I'm just wondering, but has anyone tried traveling with one of these???

I have one of the 600 backpacks and got my son a 300 Messenger bag. I'm tempted to get another 600 backpack. The charging and always having the cables you need is wonderful. And yes, I have traveled with it.

Woot! So disappointed! The Ghostbusters did not have a wagon, it was a hearse.

wanderbug2 wrote:Hmmm... a backpack with a built-in powerpack and wiring...
(cough..Boston..cough...)

I'm just wondering, but has anyone tried traveling with one of these???

This WILL be a pain in airports, federal buildings, and courthouses where bags are x-rayed. I am speaking from experience, the battery pack and cabling will undergo a good deal of extra scrutiny.

circusninja wrote:This WILL be a pain in airports, federal buildings, and courthouses where bags are x-rayed. I am speaking from experience, the battery pack and cabling will undergo a good deal of extra scrutiny.

Figured as much, but I guess as long as you're prepared to deal with that it's probably manageable. I'm eyeing these for my husband to commute with. Extra battery life can make a big difference on a long day.

circusninja wrote:This WILL be a pain in airports, federal buildings, and courthouses where bags are x-rayed. I am speaking from experience, the battery pack and cabling will undergo a good deal of extra scrutiny.

I had a completely different experience with this bag. I have the messenger bag version, and I have traveled within the US and internationally and I have never been given a hard time at all. Now I haven't gone to any courthouses or federal buildings, so I can't speak to that. I will be travelling this weekend so we will see if I have any issues.

circusninja wrote:This WILL be a pain in airports, federal buildings, and courthouses where bags are x-rayed. I am speaking from experience, the battery pack and cabling will undergo a good deal of extra scrutiny.

Travelled with mine to/from ATL/Chicago this past March. No extra scrutiny.

circusninja wrote:Woot! So disappointed! The Ghostbusters did not have a wagon, it was a hearse.

It was an old ambulance, right?

acelder wrote:It was an old ambulance, right?

Yep. I had the pleasure of seeing The original Ecto-1 last november in the steel. I have picture proof. The restoration team did a helluva job getting it back into touring shape.

What are the thoughts on battery life of a slightly older model. These would have been manufactured more than an year or two ago, right?

Traveled to Europe several times with it, never had a problem at US or European checkpoints.

I bought one of these last time. The quick-release clip broke the first day (contacted costumer service and after 4 emails, I was told to contact them by phone as it would be easier to help me out, but was never able to speak to anyone, so I just gave up). It is also a really heavy bag and rather uncomfortable to carry on the side. And yesterday, I was caught under the rain and I learned the hard way that this bag is not made out of water resistant materials! All my papers got drenched and fortunately, I was only carrying my iPad and not my computer as I am sure there would have been some serious water damage. Maybe it is worth for just the battery, but I don't find it all that great of a bag.

I bought a 16000mAh battery for $60 and keep it in my $20 bag.

cbenavente wrote:I bought one of these last time. The quick-release clip broke the first day (contacted costumer service and after 4 emails, I was told to contact them by phone as it would be easier to help me out, but was never able to speak to anyone, so I just gave up). It is also a really heavy bag and rather uncomfortable to carry on the side. And yesterday, I was caught under the rain and I learned the hard way that this bag is not made out of water resistant materials! All my papers got drenched and fortunately, I was only carrying my iPad and not my computer as I am sure there would have been some serious water damage. Maybe it is worth for just the battery, but I don't find it all that great of a bag.

I am wondering is you can use some water-proof spray like you can get for shoes.

wanderbug2 wrote:Figured as much, but I guess as long as you're prepared to deal with that it's probably manageable. I'm eyeing these for my husband to commute with. Extra battery life can make a big difference on a long day.

I bought one the last time they were for sale and have traveled to CA, NV, FL, CT without any issues at all.

wanderbug2 wrote:Hmmm... a backpack with a built-in powerpack and wiring...
(cough..Boston..cough...)

I'm just wondering, but has anyone tried traveling with one of these???

I used this for frequent travel for about a year (before the bag fell apart because it is sh*t). I never once had a problem with airport security. It's no different that having a backup batter in your bag. There are lots of reasons not to buy this bag, but I don't feel that extra scrutiny at the airport is one of them.

I would caution anybody thinking about buying this to think twice. Given the cost of a similar battery, how much do you think the bag itself is worth? Very little, and it shows.

I loved this bag when I got it. I agree that the charging system is unique and terrifically helpful. But after less than a year of travel, my bag was falling apart, tearing at the seams, and none of the charging components worked any longer unless plugged directly into the AUX USB port. That is to say, even the battery component failed to hold up.

At this price, it's not even good idea to buy it for the battery alone. For $50-60 or so you can get an Anker Astro Pro, which is a very high-quality battery and much more capable than anything you will get with this gimmicky bag.

Save yourself a lot of frustration. Buy a quality backup battery and put it in a good bag.

.... or you could just buy an external battery and carry that around in any bag you want.

These capacities too are pretty pitiful on these bags. You can get a 10000mAh battery for <$40 these days. They are nice and compact, or at least not so big that you think, "gee this thing is big, if only it was sewn into my bag. Then I wouldn't be able to re-adjust it or remove it"

countdown wrote:.... or you could just buy an external battery and carry that around in any bag you want.

These capacities too are pretty pitiful on these bags. You can get a 10000mAh battery for <$40 these days. They are nice and compact, or at least not so big that you think, "gee this thing is big, if only it was sewn into my bag. Then I wouldn't be able to re-adjust it or remove it"

I was just about to point this out. Great idea but really 139 for these things is crazy! Get yourself a external battery off of amazon for like 20-30 and call it a day. you can use that in whatever you want. you can get a ful bag or a targus or a coach hand bag or whatever. Why tie yourself to this bag for way too much.

or here.
http://tech.woot.com/plus/k3-portable-chargers-1

I just got the red sling-bag, and I'm loving it!
I'm a little disappointed in the "left or right" strap thing, because it's clearly not possible. You would have to rotate the center clip in order to make it left / right strap. slight design flaw, but all in all, I'm pleased for the 5 hours I've had it :]
I've been trying to find a bag EXACTLY like this for a little over 6 months, so needless to say I was very happy to see it up for $35.00. I just sold my car, so I'm taking public transportation ~40 miles a day to get to work and back, and this bag keeps everything nice and clutter free.

acelder wrote:It was an old ambulance, right?

A 1959 Cadillac Ambulance to be exact.

Why do we rarely get open bag shots?

damorere wrote:I have one of the 600 backpacks and got my son a 300 Messenger bag. I'm tempted to get another 600 backpack. The charging and always having the cables you need is wonderful. And yes, I have traveled with it.

Can you talk to the bag vs backpack? Is one better than the other or they about the same build quality? Is it pretty much just personal preference in the end?

nucleardrugs wrote:What material is the bag made out of?

It's a thick nylon. Pretty sturdy but not very "lush" feeling.

wanderbug2 wrote:Hmmm... a backpack with a built-in powerpack and wiring...
(cough..Boston..cough...)

I'm just wondering, but has anyone tried traveling with one of these???

I have. Bought in on a previous Woot. I've traveled SF to Orlando, and SF to New York, and SF to Boston and back. Had absolutely zero issues through security.

circusninja wrote:This WILL be a pain in airports, federal buildings, and courthouses where bags are x-rayed. I am speaking from experience, the battery pack and cabling will undergo a good deal of extra scrutiny.

Nope. Zero extra scrutiny for me. Even flying in and out of JFK and BOS.

Here's my take:

I bought the messenger bag to take with me to a convention where I was live podcasting interviews.

The bag is... well... let's just say there are better. It's not cheaply made, but it's not very well made, either. The flap is awkward, the main pockets are too small for anything but a computer or books, there's no internal organization pouches. The external pockets are awkwardly placed and the zippers are installed in the wrong direction so that they're hard to zip closed with one hand while it's slung over your shoulder.

That being said, this bag saved my life at the convention. The weight of the bag plus the heavy battery pack does balance pretty well, and the fact I could recharge my iPhone after every interview meant that I was not stuck fumbling for juice box after juice box trying to keep the battery life up. It fully charged my iPhone and iPad probably four to six times a day for five days.

I traveled with it to JFK, BOS, SFO and Orlando. I never received any extra scrutiny with TSA.

Caution: Do NOT leave the bag's charger in the hotel room when you leave. It's hell to find another universal device that will work with it because the bag's socket is a weird diameter.

I wouldn't say I think it's the greatest bag ever. I think that the strap loops on the bag are badly designed and will probably bend or break soon. And I think the overall quality of construction is pretty low, considering it's supposed to be a $135 bag. But as a $35 bag, it's a good buy.

hartjo1 wrote:I used this for frequent travel for about a year (before the bag fell apart because it is sh*t). I never once had a problem with airport security. It's no different that having a backup batter in your bag. There are lots of reasons not to buy this bag, but I don't feel that extra scrutiny at the airport is one of them.

I was thinking more about post-Boston, really. A recent marathon near here didn't allow any backpacks on site at all. In any case, we decided getting a larger battery separately made more sense. 3000mah isn't enough for our devices anyway and we've got lots of nicer backpacks.

Can we get some more of these please. NEED MOAR!