Add this to your back to school shopping list.
posted by The Deej on Aug 11, 2007 - 73 comments

Be. The. Battery.
A brilliantly simple concept will allow anyone who needs (a small amount of) power to generate their own just by walking around while wearing this special backpack. By mounting the pack's load on springs connected to a rack and pinion device that is, in turn, connected to a small generator, the wearer's natural walking motion can generate up to 7.4 watts of power. Plenty enough to keep your Nofriendo DS charged. Or your sniper rifle's night scope.

The bonus? By having the pack's load on springs, the backpack is more comfortable and ergonomic than a traditional backpack too.
posted by fenriq on Dec 8, 2005 - 40 comments

It's a blog, a wiki, a todo list, a calendar. It's a place to keep and share your photographs and files. It's "Backpack" from 37 signals.
posted by seanyboy on May 5, 2005 - 33 comments

Backpack Nation has an interesting idea about helping out the third world.

The basic mission and strategy of Backpack Nation is to transform the world's dire political situation by sending individual travelers from the developed countries to serve as roving ambassadors to the world's less-wealthy countries.

posted by Karmakaze on Jun 10, 2003 - 50 comments

Don't climb the Andes without minutes on your cell phone. A hiker is stranded in South America's Andes mountains when a blizzard begins. He reaches into his backpack for his cell phone -- only to find his prepaid minutes are up. Lucky for him the telemarketer called just then to sell him more time.
posted by elgoose on Jul 2, 2002 - 23 comments