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Solar Panels For Your Pants
Phoghat writes "A new line of clothes come with its own solar panels to charge small electronics in your pocket. It might be overdoing the 'Green' technology but for the low, low price of $920, you can own a pair of Go Urban Cargo Pants, which boasts 'fly front, low-slung drawstring waist, and two back patch pockets with button down flaps,' but the main reason you might want them is the: "'two side cargo pockets with independently functioning power supply.'"
And only pay $0.10/kWhr.
(Or work and pay 0.)
And buy pants that don't suck.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
There, that should cover about half the comments.
Why would you put solar panels on your pants when common decency would require that you cover them up with trousers before venturing out of doors?
Why bother opening your mouth with D&D 4th edition rulings or fun fact about the merovigian kings? Let your PANTS tell the football players at school that YOU'RE the person they should be beating up!!!
I have enough power in my pants already...
*ba dum bum*
thanks, I'll be here all week. Try the veal....
Would someone like to try to figure up how many charges you’d have to get from these pants for them to pay for themselves?
For that matter, you could also try to figure up what percentage of the energy used to build the solar panels and assemble the pants you’d recoup from the solar panels over their useful lifespan.
Distributed Denial of APK: It takes 15 seconds to reply to him anonymously, but wastes tons of his time if we all do it.
I'm seeing a lot of the clothes with integrated technological bits and I always wonder one thing: Is this washable? From the looks of it, these things use removable solar panels. If someone forgets to remove them, I'm guessing you wind up with a $920 dollar pair of regular pants that looks ugly to boot. Let's face it, if you're stupid enough to shell out $920 bucks for these things, you probably aren't the sharpest bowling ball on the rack and you probably will forget to take them out when you wash it.
My postings are informational and does not constitute legal advice. Act on it at your risk.
Those panels are way too small and badly positioned to be of any use. It also sounds like a scam, it's way too expensive. Solar panels don't cost that much.
I own an older model of this solar backpack and I'd say that anything smaller than that wouldn't be very useful. In my experience it comes very handy (for somebody who heavily uses a phone for music, web browsing and talking), but it is still limited by the panel. The backpack charges an internal battery and can charge a smartphone or music player. Most people just don't have anything smaller than that.
Also as it's a backpack it's always possible to place it near a window or outside of the shadow, which would be rather difficult with a pair of pants. And it's a very nicely made backpack too.
I think solar clothing could be quite awesome, but it'd have to be entirely made of a flexible solar panel, and not just have a tiny one glued on somewhere.
Or are you just happy to be green?
This is ridiculous...where do most of the people with small electronic devices that MIGHT consider something like this live? In big cities...with tall buildings that block almost all direct sunlight that would be available to convert to electricity. Not to mention that standing next to a bunch of people also lessens the amount of sunlight hitting the solar panels on these pants. These are purely a fashion/political statement and serve no practical function...NEXT!
A solar panel on a backpack is more practical. For one thing you can leave it out in the sun if you are resting in the shade of a tree (or are in a pub having a beer.)
Build it and they will come.
Well, I suppose there's some novelty to this. But for the same weight and bulk as these solar panels, you could carry a dozen spare phone batteries. Or you could buy these, still need the spare batteries anyways (because you can't wear them every day), pay a bunch up front, pay a bunch for dry cleaning, be encumbered, and look, not like a nerd, but like you're trying to pretend to be a nerd by wasting money.
So, out of morbid curiosity and boredom, I read the fucking article and I read the product literature. It's a small solar panel that charges an integrated battery pack. The battery pack is then used to charge your device. I again point to my initial conclusion that you're better off carrying a spare battery.
But does anyone know where I can buy a solar coolie hat? For my head, not my roof.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
Well... Someone had to link this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMwhl4IrPNc
I don't think the type of person who would wear these pants spends enough time outside for them to be useful
Microsoft must have something to do with this. http://www.deadtroll.com/index2.html?/video/behindms.html~content
That's word because you know
U can't touch this (oh-oh oh oh-oh-oh)
Break it down
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh oh-oh)
Stop Hammer time
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1922942&cid=34684420 you're getting absolutely smoked, badly, clone. That's what you get for trolling others and saying your code worked, when the person you trolled had to show you how to correct your mistakes in your pseudocode bullshit you tried to fool others with there. That's pitiful clone, it really is. You got your butt handed to you before by that same ac apk on hosts files and you ran there too. Get over it, you suck at computing clone. You're a noob, a rookie, at most. This is why nobody has ever said your work in computing was any good: You've showed us all there you blew it trying to take on someone who has done well in commercial code products even. The worst part is, you tried trolling him posting as ac, and you forgot to keep hitting your submit as anonymous that time. Bad job clone. I'd give up computing were I you. You suck. Badly. You FAIL, hugely, as usual!
You want clean energy, buddy? Well asshole, I got your clean energy right here.
Are those solar panels in your pants or are you happy to see me?
I too have the last-year's model.
Love what they did with making the solar panels detachable on the new model, although I personally would have preferred if they've kept the old 3-plate configuration.
The new 2-plate one has somewhat less power and definitely less redundancy. 2 x 2 Watts instead of 3 x 1.5 Watts.
Might be problematic with those devices that require to be charged directly from the panels as they need more than 600mA that the battery provides.
On the other hand, I don't really think that redundancy should ever be a problem with this backpack. Those plates are really sturdy.
I've once slipped on a wet tile floor, and landed with all of my 85 kilos of weight directly on my back(pack).
The fall knocked the wind right out of me but the plates were not even scratched. Or anything else in the backpack, including my sunglasses that were just tossed in.
Only complaint I have is regarding that small bag/pocket on the inside of the big compartment, right below the handle - it can be hard to access as it is jammed at the very top of the backpack.
And I find that a perfect place for my USB sticks and other small items.
Also, their support is great.
Adapters for my phone and PDA were not among the 10 provided with the backpack.
I emailed them to complain about that, and to order the ones that I would need.
But since their shipping form automatically selects the UPS Worldwide Express for the shipments to Europe, I emailed them again regarding that and to ask if the adapters I've found on ebay would be compatible.
And they send me two of each for free. Even though I bought the backpack from a seller on Amazon, and not directly from their store.
Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens
Looks like someone stapled a couple of gift bags to a pair of pajama pants. Back to the drawing board!
FCKGW 09F9 42
Solar powered rocket pants?
This is just stupid. I hope it electrocutes the wearer when it rains.
A radioactive orange shirt gives off enough light to your solar pants to charge a cellphone!
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
This is the worst place to put a solar panel other then the bottom of your shoe. It is slightly tilted at the ground. A smaller (read less expensive) solar panel on on a hat makes more sense.
I find your lack of [solar-powered] pants disturbing.
I really did think this was talking about underpants, I was like: "But no light will get there" when I read the title.
I care not for your karma and your mod points.
Back in 1999 or thereabouts on holiday I picked up a hat that had a solar panel on the top, and a fan in the brim that blew onto your face. I thought it was the epitome of personal solar technology. I guess it still is after looking at those pants.
How about we worry about getting affordable panels on the roof of my house, then we can worry about making electric knickers.
Two years ago I met a girl at a college dorm party who was wearing a solar power coat. This has to have been in /. news, already, right?
"Stratigraphically the origin of agriculture and thermonuclear destruction will appear essentially simultaneous" -- Lee
In the UK "pants" mean "underwear". So some of the slashdot readers on the other side of the pond were probably very confused about this article :-)
In the UK those outwear items you wear on your legs over your underwear / pants are called "trousers".
In truth, these pants direct the electricity to the wearer's nutsack, slowly sterilizing stupid people that buy these pants.
These are meant to show you are fashionably green when you go out clubbing. The only bright light they will ever see is from strobes.
The world is made by those who show up for the job.
the more power you draw in?
Be seeing you...
You could do it better yourself for a Sh** ton less than $900. E-textiles, Electronic textiles, Electronic clothing are beginning to make their way to the mainstream, but the technologies are not being integrated properly. The solar panel on these pants looks like a standard 1.5v glass panel so i am assuming its not washable unless this can be removed. The problem is the implementation is all wrong, most of the companies today are adding electronics to existing clothing which is completely wrong in my opinion. The right way to make these pants and they still would not be $900, would be to use a newer flexible thin film solar cell or cells that can be flexible also instead of running a wire between the layers of fabric you use conductive thread and weave the wire through the fabric. Yes its all washable (if you remove batteries first). if you want to know what is good in the world of electronic textiles check out Leah Buechley with MIT's Media lab, I don't represent her or MIT in any way but I have made a few pieces of clothing the used her lilipad arduino combined with a 5w speaker system a blue tooth adapter and an ipod hookup my ski jacket has the ability to play music through my coat in speakers mounted in the collar using the blue tooth on my phone or the ipod hookup directly and i built it including coat for under $400 but i did not incorporate a solar panel just rechargeable lith ions that have to be removed before i wash the coat. do it yourself there are a few tutorials out there you will save money and have fun in the process
to have something I could wear and it charges my devices from my motion.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Next! A methane fuel cell built into your underwear.
This is getting hot!
...unless you're a totally awsome person.
not to sure that my lovely better half would want anything electric that generates energy in my pants....
Joe Investor