Proporta Gadget Bag with USB Mobile Device Charger

Proporta Gadget Bag with USB Mobile Device Charger Review

We receive a fair amount of software and hardware dropping through the 4WM mailbox to review these days, with the majority of the products being top quality. Just occasionally though, something turns up with such impeccable timing that you wonder if it's been sent from on high. So you can imagine how excited I was when Proporta offered us their Gadget Bag and Mobile Device Charger combo just two weeks before my annual week long trip to the piste. Through good design and by reducing the number of required power adapters this Proporta dynamic duo aims to halve the size and weight of my hand luggage. Can it? Read on to find out.....



Supplier: Proporta
Product: Proporta Gadget Bag with USB Mobile Device Charger
Cost: £42.95
Supplier Web Site: http://www.proporta.com
Supplier Product Web Site: http://www.proporta.com/F02/PPF02P05.php?t_id=2505&t_mode=des










Aesthetics

I like the look of the Gadget Bag, the shiny grey outer material and black fasteners contrast nicely, with the vibrant orange piping adding a nice burst of colour to stop it looking drab. When it's completely full it can look a touch bulky, but then what bag doesn't. I personally preferred using the bag with just the main bag and pouch as it feels much more balanced from where the straps are located. As you can see from the image of me wearing it, the bag pivots around the strap connectors when it's full. This isn't a big deal but can cause it to swing a little.

I found the strap was just about wide enough for what I was carrying, and the bag was pretty full, but wouldn't have wanted the contents to be much heavier as I think it would have started to cut in a bit. The strap would also benefit by being a touch wider or having a padded shoulder piece, but as I said, I didn't have any real problems with it.

The Mobile Device Charger is also nicely designed. It's about the same length and width as a pack of playing cards but half as thick. The light metallic grey finish contrasts well with the slightly darker grey of the Gadget Bag and the rounded edges make it look nice and sleek.











UPDATE!

As you can see from the lovely images below, Proporta are now shipping a Black/Grey version of the Gadget Bag too!








Functionality

The modular design of the Proporta Gadget bag is pure genius. It would probably be better labelled "The Gadget Bag Collection" as in truth it is one large bag with a pouch inside and two larger zip-on wallets. With the different sections of bag having the ability to be zipped (or Velcro’d in the case of the small pouch) on and off the main bag you can carry as much or as little as you like, and not need to lug about extra space. I found the bag excellent for travelling with and as you can see, managed to cram all my essentials into it. It really is amazing what it can carry. There are also very good dividers between the bags so you could keep your salad sandwiches in one bag without the risk of getting mayo on your PDA...... should that be your want. I think you could also just about get away with using the Velcro wallet as a belt pouch, using the Velcro fastener as a belt clip. I'm not sure this is what the designers had in mind but it adds an extra dimension to the set up. On this topic, the best contestant for a standalone case would have been the smallest pouch had a belt loop been included on this, but alas it was missed off.

One of the major attractions for me is the headphone hole set in each of the smaller bags and the larger bag. This worked really well. There's a rubber grommet type "thingy" set in each whole that allows you to get the headphone plug through the hole, but then, as if by magic, it closes up around the cable. It can be a little tricky threading the cable from the device in the small pouch through the large bag and between the two smaller wallets when you're using the whole set, but once done it works very well.

If anything I'd liked the bag to have been a bit bigger. I think if it was an extra 2 inches longer and wider I'd use it a lot more, for all sorts of things, and you could also get a laptop in it too. It's not too small as it is, far from it in fact, but the extra length and width would allow you to fit A4 size paperwork into it which would be nice.

The Mobile Device Charger does exactly what you'd expect which means the days of carting round 5 different power adapters is no more. It's basically a big rechargeable USB battery that you can use as you would your supplied adapter. The MDC (as I like to call it because I'm lazy) can be used to either power the connected device directly or charge it. By this I mean you can connect the MDC to your phone to charge it, but you can also run a set of USB powered speaker from it directly too.

Contained within the packaging of the MDC is a cable to connect to your device and a selection of adapters (my review sample came with 5) from USB to various 5V DC connectors. The idea being you take all of your 5V devices on your holibobs with just the one USB charger and the MDC. You then simply swap and change between the power connectors to suit each device. I found that with the supplied attachments I could charge my phone, wife's phone and camera and run my speakers from the one unit. This effectively reduced my required adapters from 4 to 1. I usually take an AAA powered emergency charger unit too, and a fully juiced Mobile Device Charger effectively renders this obsolete too. Performance wise I found I could get a full charge on my phone (Trinity), the wife's phone (LG Chocolate) and my camera twice out of a single MDC charge. Impressive stuff. This meant I needed to charge the MDC twice while I was away for a week. Superb! To charge the MDC you simply plug it into your regular USB charger and leave it for a couple of hours. You can actually pull power from the MDC while it's charging too.

I found the Mobile Device Charger to be an excellent piece of equipment. The only feature I'd like to have seen would be a splitter of some sort so that you could charge/power two devices simultaneously, but you can't have everything. There is also the small matter of instructions. I didn't get any. I'm sure the retail pack contains them though. The issue here is the "charging button" is so nicely implemented you may not even notice it. I didn't. This meant that when my Trinity wasn't charging Proporta support had to point the button my way. The MDC will power external devices, but not charge them; it appears, without the button being pressed. Ho hum. Proporta also do a lot of extra connectors if you don't get the one you want in the supplied pack. These are easy to obtain as long as your device is on their list of supported plugs.
















Physical Security

All three of the larger bags have a padded outer and an inner lining. The combination of these provides excellent protection from both impact and the elements. While the bag isn't water proof per se, you shouldn't have any worries about getting caught in a brief rain shower. The strap and connectors are also fairly sturdy, and the zips are suitably positioned to discourage theft while on your person, although there are no locking mechanisms.










Real World Test

I always use my review subjects for a good couple of weeks to get to know them well before I put pen to paper. I decided to go out on a limb with the Gadget Bag though and use it as my single piece of hand luggage for this year’s trip to the slopes. Destination: Borovets, Bulgaria. You can see from the images my "essentials". It's a good demonstration of what the gadget bag can hold and how the modular nature of the bag works to keep things like toiletries and sensitive electrical devices separate. Due to the flying restrictions in and out of the UK I simply unzipped the bag containing the toiletries and checked it in inside my main baggage. At the other end at baggage collection I reattached the bag and took it on the coach for the long transfer journey to the resort ahead. I'm not a great traveller to be honest and when you're flying in the middle of the night, grumpy and irritable (as I occasionally get ), the extra convenience of being able to grab a quick wash and teeth clean at the half way point just made things a little less straining. That alone would make it a worthwhile purchase for me. In general the bag worked out really well. I kept the toiletries in their bag in the bathroom, the charging bag next to plug socket, and the main bag next to the bed. At the end of the week I recombined the three and I was ready (at least in a packing sense) to come home again. Job well done.

The mobile device charger is a breeze to use. Charge it up during the day and hook up your devices to it during the night (or vice versa for a summer holiday). The amount of individual device chargers and cables I DIDN'T have to take abroad with me is amazing when you consider the extra real estate taking everything would occupy. Awesome stuff. The other point to consider is peace of mind. With a fully charged mobile device charger you can live with a regular Pocket PC (something like the HTC Trinity for example) for a week away if you can't get access to a plug socket. You'll get a good 3 or 4 full charges from a fully juiced mobile device charger.












Value

£42.95

If you buy this duo as a package you get both for £42.95. Considering the Mobile Device Charger on its own is a penny shy of 30 notes you're getting this excellent bag for less than £13 and that's a bargain.










Pro's

Reduced weight and size through carrying fewer power adapters.
Nice looking.
Great modular design.
Good impact Protection.
Good Rain Protection.
Nice headphone holes.

Con's

Could be slightly bigger generally.
Strap could be a touch wider.
Strap connectors would have been better on the other side of the main bag.
A belt slip on the pouch would have been good.










4WM Rating

90%





Conclusion

There's little not to like about the Proporta gadget Bag. Sure, with a couple of simple tweaks and if it was a touch larger you could use it for a lot more than just device carrying. That said it's stylish, sturdy and functional. The little touches like the cable holes and elasticated holders make life that little bit easier which is important when you're travelling. When you also add the Mobile Device Charger into the mix you're getting two travelling companions no casual holiday maker or road warrior should be without. Excellent package.