The Marked Tree

Posted By JTHats on August 16, 2010

Checkpoint-friendly Travelware ET0016 Solar Panel Backpack

Currently marketed online at SkyMall, the Travelware ET0016 Solar-powered Laptop Backpack incorporates the Konarka Power Plastic Solar Bag Panel specially developed for use in backpacks, briefcases and other consumer level charging systems.  Delivering 1.3Watts with an output voltage of 8VDC in full sun, the panel doesn’t match the power output of FTL’s PowerFold but the 18″ x 12.25″ x 8.5″ bag itself contains some tricks that compensate well.

This lower output voltage actually matches up fairly well to the input charging requirements of many consumer level devices, and the “checkpoint-friendly” backpack adds an assortment of connection devices to increase the chances of a useful match to the one you own. Not only that, the case includes a storage capacitor with a level meter to reveal how much charge you’re actually carrying. That makes charging on the go a possibility, as well as storing up power without connecting your cell phone, laptop, etc. until you’re indoors and need the boost.

The lightweight 3 ounce panel isn’t the clunky stiff solar panel you’ve seen on most solar-powered gear. Konarka developed Power Plastic to bend and roll (but not yet to fold), making it practical as an outer layer in the cover of the bag. The panel is featured on two more bags at SkyMall, both briefcase styles intended for business users. The Traveler’s Choice Travelware ET0120 Computer Messenger Bag and the Traveler’s Choice Travelware ET0115 Checkpoint Friendly Briefcase provide the same capacitor-based power backup and connection system.

Links:

SkyMall Product Listing

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Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger

Sunforce 50022 5-Watt Solar Battery Trickle Charger

Category: Electronics, Gear, Packs | No Comments »
Tags: solar chargers, solar panel, solar power, solar powered backpacks

Posted By JTHats on August 16, 2010

Corn on one side, corn on the other, hot channel of oven in the middle.

When the temperature rises to the mid-90′s and the humidity hits 70 percent, you have to be a little crazy to go running. If you follow some safety guidelines carefully, it can still be done. Smart people stay home and run on the treadmill in the air conditioning. I still prefer running outside.

This year the world just feels hotter. Never mind the global warming arguments, 95 degrees is hotter this summer than in any other year I remember. Nearly every day for the last few weeks the heat index has been over a hundred degrees, with National Weather Service warnings not to exert yourself in the sun. So I go running — not every day, but three times a week. I’ve fallen into a pattern that seems to yield steady progress. The first run of the week sucks. Hot, tired, don’t want to be doing that, wish I didn’t care about fitness. The second run of the week usually goes well — if I get out before the heat hits, my time usually gets better, compared to the week before. The third run of the week always has me optimistic, and it usually sucks nearly as bad as the first one did. (more…)

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Category: Barefoot Running, Country Living, Fitness | No Comments »
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Posted By JTHats on August 10, 2010

FTL PowerFold 5
Solar Charger

Is the new FTL Solar Powerfold Charging System the best backpacking solar panel on the market? The answer is probably yes, but we still need accessories.

Backpacking is a sport where ounces count and the choice of what to take with you is often determined by which version of the same thing weighs less. If we had anti-gravity packs or robotic burros I’m sure we’d all carry different kits, but for now we wait for stuff that’s better and lighter. You can’t get away from those two essential qualities, even if you’re like me and carry some extra pounds because it’s fun stuff. Cutting down the weight of other gear leaves me room for the fun stuff.

Over the years I’ve waited for several innovations to arrive and I’m still waiting for most of them. The Lightning Pack, an electricity-generating backpack frame which converted waste movement to electric power, fizzled after a brief run in the press.  Konarka, a firm developing lightweight solar panel fabrics, finally announced one product for the consumer market  but very little information is available as yet and I haven’t found it for sale anywhere. But at last, somebody with high-tech promises is coming through with a full range of real products that aren’t limited to industrial or military customers. FTL Solar, Ltd., now markets several versions of high efficiency and lighter weight solar panels for everyday users, with two of them in the weight range a backpacker might actually consider.

FTL PowerFold 10 Portable Solar Panel

The idea of solar panel chargers has always been tempting, but previously if you got into the math and figured out how many panels you needed and what charging gear you had to add to make the system work, unless you were planning to live in the Outback for a few months it was cheaper and more weight-sensible to take extra batteries. Solar panels on products like the Eton Scorpion Weather Radio are functional dead weight, because they can’t even keep up with the power drain of the unit in full sun. Crank chargers made more sense for emergency cell phone backups because you don’t have to wait around for a couple of days of good weather to make them work. Those of us who would like to go as green as possible still had to consider what makes sense. Extra rechargeable batteries made the best sense, not solar panels.

FTL’s PowerFold 5 and PowerFold 10 promise to be different, offering useful power output levels from a device just barely within the range of weight sensibility — seven ounces for the Powerfold 5 and 14 ounces for the Powerfold 10. The single-panel Powerfold 5, 7.5 inches by 16.5 inches and only .25 inches thick, provides a very impressive 18.94 VDC at .26 amps and the Powerfold 10′s folding double panel generates the same voltage with .52 amps of output current.

At the moment, this is the best you can get in lightweight solar backpacking panels. According to FTL Solar, the National Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) of Colorado State University rated the FTL Powerfold panels as producing the most watts per size.

Hooking them up to rechargeable batteries may be the only trick. The output connection is an SAE plug, so unless you have a device which accepts that you’ll have to figure something else out. Although FTL says a wide range of accessories are available, I haven’t found them yet. FTL says you shouldn’t use the panels with lead-acid batteries unless you run the output through a charging controller. Controllers limit the voltage level across the battery and prevent overcharging problems which could include explosion and fire. Recharging lithium batteries presents similar hazards without a customized charging system, which is usually part of the device if the battery is built in. Charging heavier types like ni-cad or ni-mh requires a charging station, not included with the solar panel.

So it’s a mixed blessing at the moment — the panels are here, but we’re not quite ready for them. Waiting on parts . . . .

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Category: Electronics, Gear | 1 Comment »
Tags: backpacking, camping, solar battery chargers, solar energy, solar panels, woodscraft

Posted By JTHats on August 5, 2010

The Classic Self Defense Book by H.G. Lang

Although collapsible hiking poles have become popular, there’s always been a better idea available, and now that other concept — the one-piece walking stick — goes high-tech with carbon fiber. Cold Steel now offers a Slim Stick self defense walking cane with unusual combative potential. Considering the weight difference between the carbon fiber Slim Stick and Cold Steel’s heavy fiberglass City Stick urban self defense cane, this one should even appeal to runners.

I’ve recommended Cold Steel’s Sjambok for that purpose, but its flexibility makes it less effective as a hiking staff for backpackers. Modern hiking poles won’t survive long as self defense weapons because of the numerous critical fittings. There should be a modern alternative to these more fragile high-tech poles, combining solid older concepts with today’s best materials, and now there does appear to be a good one. In fact, the Slim Stick is nearly as effective as a rapier.

City
Stick

Slim Stick

Cold Steel’s 39 inch Slim Stick weighs only 6.7 ounces — as light as the cedar staff I carry when running but as strong as steel. Cold Steel’s City Stick — with 11 layers of fiberglass in the shaft — weighs 21.2 ounces. On a run that’s a lot of weight. The light carbon fiber shift of the Slim Stick increases the striking speed, and the stiffness makes the cane practical and even dangerous when jabbing. Heavy canes do more damage, but some of us would rather not cripple or kill the neighbor’s pet if it gets out of control. One bad experience is usually enough to teach an aggressive animal to stay back.

With a little practice in basic cane skills you could develop some genuine defensive ability with this hard whip-like walking stick. A quick reading of H. G. Lang’s The Walking Stick Method of Self-Defense ought to give anyone some bright new concepts of what to do when trouble appears. Walking sticks are acceptable nearly anywhere and don’t attract much attention. Unless augmented by hidden weights or blades the cane presents few legal problems to responsible owners.

Links:

PDF Download of H.G. Lang’s Classic
Alternative Walking Sticks at BlackSwift

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Category: Barefoot Running, Country Living, Weapons | No Comments »
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