Meet my new friend, the Power Pack

I went online yesterday to REI.com looking for a replacement pack, Outdoor Products Power Pack, for the one that unexpectedly broke. There is a store near by and I wanted to know if there was one in stock before I drove all the way there to discover it wasn't. Fortunately REI.com they have an online chat system, and I was able to confirm the store did indeed have several in stock. Yee Haw!

I got the pack I was looking for quickly, and decided to pick up some new handle grips and bar ends for my mountain bike. I can honestly saw that because of the online support system, I not only did I purchased what I was looking for I also bought additional items. I'm extremely excited about my new friend and loaded it up as soon as I got home.

There was one notable difference, the pocket which holds the power cord system seemed bigger and easier to use. One of the really cool features of this pack is the ability to connect the power system to your laptop, internally, and plug the power cord into the wall without removing the laptop from the pack. This makes it nice if you're traveling and want to recharge in airport or restaurant.

If you're in the market for a new laptop bag system I would recommend this. It's very versatile. I use it when I go mountain biking (removing the laptop of course), have taken it on hiking trips, and bought a CamelBak water system (the UnBottle 100oz) that fits nicely inside. It's real inexpensive, REI.com has it for around $65, and that is cheaper than you can get most laptop cases for. The quality is good, although one of the adjustable shoulder connectors broke, the pack itself is in great shape.