Solar luggage

Solar-powered bags

FSB asked me to test these small pieces of luggage, which have external solar panels that can charge small devices such as PDAs and cellphones. (None generated enough juice to charge a laptop.) For each, I ran my T-Mobile Dash cellphone until the battery died, then timed a full solar charge outside.

By Mason Arnold, FSB Contributor
Messenger, $229
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VOLTAIC
Messenger, $229
This laptop carrying case comes in black, green, orange, and silver. It ships with an internal battery that charged my Dash in a bit less than four hours. But the Voltaic lost major points when it fried my phone as I tried to bypass the battery and charge directly from the panels, which, it turns out, deliver higher voltage than the battery. Note to Voltaic: Please idiot-proof future releases of this bag. The Voltaic was also finicky about sun - it stopped charging in both full sunlight and moderate shade.

voltaicsystems.com

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.

Contact Us Closed Captioning Manage Cookies+ Site Map

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.