Is there such thing as a battery powered, heated backpack?

December 2, 2004 9:52 AM

Is there such thing as a battery powered, heated backpack? (More Inside)

I live in a cold, cold place. I also happen to own an iBook and a digital camera. I walk to and from most places (~10-45 mins at a time) and was hoping for a backpack that might contain a battery packed heater or some other option? My google-fu has produced nothing other than a picinic basket backpack.

posted by dflemingdotorg to clothing, beauty, & fashion (8 comments total)

I'm not having much luck either. Maybe you could canabilize some existing electric mittens or foot warmers that run off a 9v battery?
posted by jackofsaxons at 10:34 AM on December 2, 2004

I live in Fargo, ND, which is also a cold, cold, place. I don't heat my many gadgets, but I've found that if I put them in neoprene cases like this one from lowepro keeps them from getting too cold and having any serious condensation problems.

If i were you, I'd experiment with neoprene laptop sleeves and possibly keeping your camera inside your coat (if possible)
posted by fake at 10:35 AM on December 2, 2004

When it starts dropping below -10C around here I leave my Toshiba/WinXP laptop in stand by mode. The processor just ticking over keeps things from getting too frigid.

I have seen lunch bags with Peltiors in them but they all are designed with auto plugins and I'd imagine they pull a lot of current.
posted by Mitheral at 11:28 AM on December 2, 2004

a couple of places sell battery operated pocket warmers (i know walgreen's has them each winter here in chicago). restoration hardware used to sell a kerosene (i think) one and safety central has "solid fuel" ones. i imagine they'd keep the inside of your bag toasty.
posted by crush-onastick at 12:05 PM on December 2, 2004

I guess you could use one of those CamelBak trekking waterbottle/backpacks like this and put hot water (or coffee?) in the bottle (its more like a collapsable watertight bag) instead.

A proviso, it wasn't designed for this purpose and I've never tried it myself.

caveat emptor and that, if you do decide my hairbrained scheme just. might. work.
posted by davehat at 1:03 PM on December 2, 2004

Would it be useful to look at this problem the other way: instead of trying to add heat, perhaps you should try to prevent the iBook and digital camera from losing heat?

For example, would a small insulated lunch bag and a padded computer bag do enough to keep out the cold?
posted by WestCoaster at 3:04 PM on December 2, 2004

Keeping a couple of these or the like on hand could do the trick. Of course, you'd have to boil them every night to prepare 'em again for the next day.

posted by Zed_Lopez at 5:57 PM on December 2, 2004

Try This

It's a simplified version of the Kremlin, which is one of the best bags i've ever owned, that was made for the now-defunct kozmo.com messengers. It has a heat shield inside to keep warm stuff warm. It should be good for you. As a side bonus, they're unique!
posted by blasdelf at 11:53 PM on December 2, 2004