- VERDICT
The Kathmandu Connect Smart Pack is a well-designed backpack that can help you organise and carry your devices as well as keep them charged and monitored with a companion app.
The Kathmandu Connect Smart Pack can safely carry your computer, your tablet and other mobile devices but it also has another feature – it can charge them on the move as well.
There is plenty of room for your gadgets and laptop but the innovative backpack also includes the Joey T3 smart unit that connects to an app on your smartphone.
The onboard battery, located in a discreet pocket inside the backpack, has a 6,200mAh capacity – that’s almost twice the capacity of your smartphone battery.
That’s enough charge to completely recharge your phone and other USB-powered devices like tablets, e-readers, digital cameras and portable gaming consoles.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t have enough output power to recharge your laptop.
That would have been an amazing feature but it would have required a much larger, heavier and more powerful battery.
The Kathmandu Connect Smart Pack has a 28L capacity and weighs a lightweight 1.34kg and is made from 100 per cent polyester.
There is plenty of space onboard with room for a tablet and a 15-inch laptop.
Users will also find numerous other pockets to store smaller items like phones, charging cables and sunglasses and always have them within reach.
The front compartment can store a variety of things including documents, books, other accessories and even a change of clothes for an overnight trip.
At the rear is a breathable and light weight harness that has a nice balance so it sits straight on your back even when fully loaded.
The laptop and tablet compartments are located in this rear section so you need to unzip the harness section to get to your devices.
It takes a little longer to get to them because they are right at the back and right at the bottom so you have to virtually unzip the bag entirely to get access to it.
This design isn’t too helpful when travelling through airport security as it takes a little longer to get the laptop and tablet out compared to regular backpacks.
What also drew attention when travelling through airport security was the Joey T3 smart unit.
It has a small control module with a display and a cable that runs down to the hidden battery.
When there are things connected with cables in a backpack they are going to get flagged. And it happened to us.
But that Joey T3 smart unit is pretty handy.
It can tell you how much charge there is left in the battery and also charge your device through the USB port.
The battery itself can also be charged through the Joey T3 with the included USB cable through the USB-C port.
We tried using another USB-C cable but it wouldn’t charge the battery. It would only work with the original cable.
You can charge the Joey unit and also has dual charge mode to charge your smartphone at the same time.
From the companion app you can also set charge timers to determine how long you’d like to charge individual devices.
You can always see the charge level through the app and also set a distance alarm so you’ll get an alert when your phone and bag are separated so you’ll never leave either behind.
And if you can’t find your phone you can even set off an alarm within the Joey app to locate it nearby.
The Joey unit also has an LED light so you can illuminate the inside of the bag.
The Kathmandu Connect Smart Pack is not cheap though – it’s $499.98 – but we noticed it has been discounted to $349.98 which, even at that price is still pricey.
VERDICT
The Kathmandu Connect Smart Pack is a well-designed backpack that can help you organise and carry your devices as well as keep them charged and monitored with a companion app.
