Interesting Backpack Concept

LeeBower

LeeBower

Joined
Aug 25, 2005
Messages
2,276
They claim in the article that this back pack not only produces 7W of electricity but that it also cushions the load and makes it more comfortable...I wonder what the movement does to your balance? Interesting concept none the less.

backpack generator
 
Another example of a computer geek who has never slept outdoors designing equipment with zero practicality.

Some admin General in the military will buy a million units before someone raises a flag no doubt. :rolleyes:

Skam
 
I agree that it is an interesting concept....... but the execution will determine its practicality.

Damping the jarring of the loaded sack hitting bottom when you mis-step seems like a nice idea. But IMHO movement of the load relative to your body is not good. Like the old saying from the neander-camper hauling a cast iron stove down the trail on his back, "It's not the stove, but the 25-pound sack of beans in the oven, that gets me off-balance now and again."

Given the vertical toothed rod driving the alternator on the top rail of the frame, I expect they'll figure out a way to:
1. enclose the entire mechanism to keep out gunk
2. come up with a different drive mechanism that doesn't protrude above the wearer's body (at least, they will after their first scramble through a tangle of closely overhanging branches ;) )

I guess my bottom line is that this appears to be a pack to be used on groomed trails, not out in the boonies. In the boonies the trails are uneven, broken, and jagged, so you want your load to remain static vis-a-vis your body, not moving around. Also, Murphy's law in the boonies is unforgiving of moving parts (including body parts with their inclination to bruise, cut, and break). On the groomed trails where I would expect to see this pack, you wouldn't need the GPS and other techno-gizmos they expect to charge up with the electricity produced by the pack.
 
I used to take long mountain bike rides and we would start with 3 or 4 camel back bladders in a bookbag...very heavy and off balance, of course the longer the ride the lighter it got ;)
I couldn't handle a back pack that would "slosh" around, for lack of a better word...but who knows how the execution actually works...I think emergency and military personel would give them an honest opinion and they would be in the rough most of the time...
 
Even if executed in light weight titanium (expensive) I see this as more of a pain than its worth, on the trail. Sealing the grit out of the bearings without killing the output through excessive friction will be rough. I'd have to try one to see if the weightsliding up and down would be acceptable, too.
The artical says up to 7 watts, but over what period of time? If over a week its would be a waste of time. Over an hour, it might be worth the problems involved to some people.

I agree, interesting concept but a poor idea.

Enjoy!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top