My obsession with portable solar energy continues — in the past I’ve written about Suntrica’s portable chargers, Reware’s Juice Bags and Noon Solar’s range of bags. Suntrica’s chargers, though difficult to purchase outside Finland, currently offer the most elegant and practical solution for cheap, mobile and clean solar energy.

Interestingly, a unique field test of mobile solar power is taking place in a handful of African nations, where electrical power is often unreliable: AfriGadget’s Flexible Light And Power (FLAP) initiative.

FLAP is a collaboration between San Francisco’s iconic messenger bag company, Timbuk2, the Pop!Tech conference, and Portable Light. Timbuk2 has modified one of its standard messenger bags with a removable flap that contains a photovoltaic solar panel connected to an LED light and a USB power outlet, which can be used for charging portable electronics such as phones and MP3 players.

AfriGadget’s founder, Erik Hersman, has been traveling through communities in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, assessing the usability, usefulness and adaptability of FLAP for everyday use. So far it seems the solar-charged light is the key feature, with the bag’s built-in USB charging being less crucial. However, given the crucial cultural role that mobile communication is playing in countries such as Kenya and Uganda, I’d be surprised if this feature doesn’t become more popular.

Interestingly, Timbuk2 plan to offer the solar flap as part of their own range of accessories — bringing technology tested and evaluated in the developing world to its geek-dense customer base in the developed world.

With the popularity and utility of Timbuk2 bags among web workers, combined with the emerging interest in solar power, this seems like a great collaboration. I hope some benefit will accrue to those developing nations’ communities, and not simply to more affluent buyers elsewhere.

Would you buy a bag with a solar charger or solar accessories?

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Around town I carry more basic kit, of course: usually, just my computer, power cord and surge protector. But when I’m traveling, the kit gets more complicated.

The Bags

Yes, bags is plural. For flying, I use a Kata Digital Rucksack. It holds all my digital gear and still fits under the seat of a 757 for security and easy access. Once on-site, I use a rolling bag. (When flying, the backpack is my “laptop bag” and the rolling bag is my “carry on” item.) My current roller is a Targus, and will be until I find the budget for the Jill-E bag I covet. For day trips, I have a Timbuk2 Hacker bag, a vertical messenger bag that also has tuck-away backpack straps.

The Basics

The two devices that I take on the road are my 13” white MacBook and my 8GB iPhone 3G. I have to agree with Imran; I have also questioned my laptop choice. I was torn between the MacBook and the MacBook Air when I bought my laptop. Several times since when I’ve been toting the MacBook I’ve wondered if I should have chosen the MacBook Air instead. The iPhone has proven itself an invaluable purchase that I’ve never questioned.

The Gadgets

My bag ends up stuffed with all sorts of peripherals and extra gadgets. The line-up changes but a few are constants.

• Surge Protector. I use a three-outlet portable surge protector by Belkin that also has USB outlets on it.
• Portable Hard Drive. Especially if I’m taking a lot of pictures, I like to back up new files while traveling.
• Ear Buds. Sometimes, I just want to plug in my iPhone and tune out while traveling.
• Battery Pack. My iPhone battery pack by Kensington doesn’t get used often, but when it does, it is a lifesaver.
• Ethernet Cable. Sometimes you get better access by plugging in (and sometimes, it’s the only kind of access available). Even in places that provide cables, I’ve encountered broken ones.

Other items (not pictured) include charging and power cables for my gadgets.

The Camera

Traveling with a dSLR really increases the amount of gear that I have to carry, as Simon described in his gear bag. My basic camera kit for traveling includes my Canon Digital Rebel XS with 18-55mm lens. Then there’s the battery charger, my SD card reader, a Spudz microfiber cloth and Nikon lens pen, and a Tamrac wallet containing extra SD cards and my back-up battery. Sometimes I’ll also carry my 75-300mm or 50mm lens.

My camera equipment is either carried in my Kata Digital Rucksack, a Tamrac Adventure Messenger 4, or in a Tamrac Aero Zoom 25, inside another bag. (Yes, bags is plural again.)

The Non-Gadgets

There are a few non-gadget necessities in my traveling bag when I’m on the road:

• Business Cards. Full-sized and mini Moo cards so I can make new friends and update old ones.
• Moleskine and Pen. Sometimes nothing can replace pen and paper for scribbling quick notes. Yes, that flowery thing in the middle is really a Moleskine Cahier. I own a scrapbooking web site, so I decorated it.
• Zip-Away Tote. It seems that I can’t go to an event without coming home with more than I started with. Hauling catalogs and swag is easy with my Timbuk2 Hidden Tote.

I’m on a never-ending quest for the perfect bag. What’s your road gear quest?

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I’ve lived an untethered, web working, co-working lifestyle for around nine years. In my previous life as an R&D consultant, hopping between Paris, London, Leeds and San Francisco, having my “office” at my side was the only way to be productive. As such, what I carry when traveling is exactly what I have when I’m at a desk. I don’t like to carry multiple devices, chargers or files and papers.

The Bag
My pride and joy used to be the Timbuk2 Detour, which works as a messenger bag, a briefcase or a backpack. It’s tough as nails, stylish, and big enough for a 15-inch notebook. I recently replaced it with a slightly roomier Timbuk2 Commute Messenger that allows me to carry my digital gear as well as enough clothes and toiletries for an overnight stay if necessary. Timbuk2 is the “BMW of bags”: pricey, but desirable and durable.

The Computer
I have a 2-month old unibody 15-inch MacBook Pro. I’ve always preferred to keep just one computer, carrying all my personal and professional data as well as all my apps, so that I have my entire digital existence at my fingertips. I’ve only been a Mac convert for two years, but the combination of power, elegance and simplicity has me hooked. However, the unibody design on my current machine is noticeably heavier than my previous 15-inch Macbook. After a month of conferences in March (attending ETech and SxSW), I’m thinking that a Macbook Air may have been a more pragmatic choice.

The accessories…
I’m Apple through-and-through, so I also carry:

• a white 16gb iPhone, largely used for email, Twitter, maps, music, podcasts and schedules.
• an Apple Bluetooth headset, for use with Skype, iChat and my iPhone, when driving.
• an Apple remote, for presentations, although this has now largely been superseded by the Remote and Keynote iPhone apps.
• a wireless Mighty Mouse (yes, I’m one of the few admirers of the Scroll Ball!)
• a Mini DisplayPort to VGA dongle for the MacBook.
• a 512mb USB flash drive

The non-digital accessories…

• a B5 Muji notebook (although I actually rarely use paper, even for notetaking. My brain has lost the ability to operate a pen!)
• a pair of Muji Gel Ink Pens (red & black)
• 20-30 Moo MiniCards, for giving out my contact information

I like to keep things simple and uncluttered, but looking ahead, I’m seeing the value of taking up a few more items: a 3G data plan coupled with a netbook (although it will have to be from Apple!) and perhaps an HD camera, such as a Sanyo Xacti.

Most significantly, I think my “gear” is becoming less important to me. I’m pretty sure that I could live off a range of web apps and a powerful smartphone. I suspect the value of gear will be reduced as ‘‘things” are increasingly articulated as services.

What’s in your bag?

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• Coworking is becoming unhooked from physical places as developments such as Jelly – a monthly 24-hour workathon – enable coworking communities to spring up wherever they’re needed; indeed encouraging gracious hosts to offer their facilities for one-off coworking days.

• Messenger bag gods Timbuk2 were recently persuaded to create some coworking desks that outside workers could use, helping to stimulate the company’s creativity

• Coworkers in Manchester – lacking a dedicated physical space – have been mashing up OpenCoffee networking events with an afternoon of coworking in a borrowed space, such as local company or coffee house. Interestingly, this particular community has somewhat of an agenda in furthering the city’s role as a hub for the digital industries, thought collaborating on startup and technology ideas.

• Still in the UK – Just across the Pennine Mountains in Leeds, that city’s coworking community is running free, ‘open coworking‘ days to attract people into signing up for their plans and encouraging local university students to use the facilities to launch startups as part of a push to create more entrepreneurs in the region.

It’s interesting to see coworking snowballing as a phenomenon, but like many trends originating in dotcom culture, what’ll be most interesting is how these shifts begin to affect larger companies and more traditional employers.

As enterprises belatedly adopted social media and communication as part of their IT infrastructures, how will human resources and more rigid line management begin to accomodate coworkers in their corporate culture?

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