Campers and hikers in need of a little more power than what’s in a phone battery pack can find it in something they can wear.
It’s not unusual to look to a phone or laptop battery pack when you need to recharge your tech, but if you need more power than that, your options get a little more… hefty.
Large power supplies are just that — large — and typically need a USB plug to bring them back to life. That may not be enough for a laptop, a drone, some cameras, and several other devices, and if you happen to be hiking or camping in need of lots of power, they may not cut it.
There may be a solution on the way provided you’re fine carrying it, as Bluetti builds a power bank in a backpack with a solar panel attached.
Two of these are on the way in the Bluetti “Handsfree”, launching in Australia in time for the holiday season, offering a 42 litre backpack with a 300W power station inside, or a 60 litre backpack with a 700W portable power bank.
A solar panel can be matched to both but is an optional extra, providing a way to recharge the banks and turn the whole thing into a solar power station of sorts, while the backpacks are designed to carry more than just the power banks, set in compartments for other things: clothes, towels, cameras, and such.
The hardware is designed to be IP65 water resistant, making them handy and hardy for walks through the elements, with the models providing a 30 kilogram load, ready to be loaded with more gear for more hours of use.
In Australia, the Bluetti Handsfree backpacks start from $699, with the solar panels an optional $489 on top of that.
