Portable Solar Energy Backpack KaliPAK Is The Ultimate Gadget For The Great Outdoors

One of the joys of roughing it in nature is the disconnect from today’s constant technology. However, the silent bliss for some is a bothersome inconvenience for others, which is why the creators of a new technology sought out a power solution to strike a balance between the two. Lovers of nature and technology, meet the KaliPAK, the portable renewable energy generator.

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The brainchild of two years of research and design by the Kalisaya team based in Israel, the idea for the KaliPAK came about as a solution for those places where grid-based electric power doesn’t exist. This doesn’t just mean that campers and trekkers have a way to stay connected; this autonomous and environmentally-friendly power source could even be used to replace diesel generators or as a back-up in the case of natural disasters. Currently, the team of designers, disaster-recovery experts and businesspeople are hoping to raise $250,000 on crowdfunding site Kickstarter to bring the product to market and aid electrically-challenged communities in Africa in the process.

Enough power to charge a smartphone 100 times over

Calling itself “all the power you need when there is no power around,” KaliPAK can generate up to 600watts/hour, enough to charge a smartphone 100 times over, a laptop 10-15 times and provide 120 hours of light. The pack weighs less than 14 lbs. and can be charged by plugging it into anything from a regular outlet, to a car-lighter socket, or using the four (patent-pending) solar panels contained inside the pack. According to the company, the KaliPAK can be charged to up to about 80 percent of its full power capacity on a sunny day. In addition, the pack comes equipped with all the outlets you may need: two USB ports, two 12V power outlets and a Bluetooth transmitter that will let you know, through the KaliAPP, how much energy you still have, whether you’re correctly aimed at the sun, and provide an emergency switch.

This little power station on-the-go comes with still cooler features for the tech-savy outdoorsman: a waterproof raincoat, a waterproof torch, an AC/DC inverter, one LED lightbulb, cord and carabiner, a car-lighter adapter and a quick-charge USB splitter. Of course, this kind of next-generation gadget doesn’t run cheap, with the mid-range KaliPAK 401 costing at $348 and the full-force 600W generator at $698 and up. As an additional bonus, if the company is able to raise the $250,000 it’s aiming for (it has already raised $35,000 from 100 backers), it will ship one KaliPAK for every 50 produced to a community in need of electricity in Africa via Vital Capital, an impact investment fund focused on sub-Saharan Africa.

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The KaliPAK app

Besides being an incredible outdoors gadget for those who can afford it, the KaliPAK has an inherently positive mission to make power accessible to those who need it most. Whether it be providing accessible energy to a small community in Africa, or immediate power needs after a natural disaster, if it raises the required funds, KaliPAK’s uses are likely only to grow with time.

Photos: Kalisaya