Earlier this year LG completed a study of 2000 smartphone users in the US with findings showing that nearly 90% of us fear losing power on our phone, dubbed ‘Low Battery Anxiety’.
Hedgren, a Belgian manufacturer of mens and womens bags, have obviously experienced this fear themselves, prompting them to sit down at the drawing boards and come up with the newly released range, ‘Hedgren Connect’.
Hedgren Connect bags can smoothly house a portable battery in internal pockets with strategically placed openings to feed the cables through to keep everything organised while you’re on the go.
I’ve road tested the Hedgren Connect Network 13″ over the last week and overall I’m impressed with the quality and design. It feels very durable both inside and out, and my 13″ Macbook Pro fits snuggly in the protective pouch inside. It is a very slim design so if you’re the type of person that likes to lug around all of their worldly possessions then this bag probably isn’t for you. Right now inside I’ve got my Macbook, phone and laptop chargers, a notebook and sunglasses; leaving not a lot of room for much else. Personally, I prefer it like that as it keeps the bag lightweight and out of the way.
Now I know a lot of people don’t see the need in carrying around an extra battery, and to be honest I was always like this too. I always just saw it as another thing I’d have to remember to charge. But using it this last week I think I’ve definitely come around to the idea. I often work on the go in the city, hopping from café to café with my laptop tethering off my phone’s internet. Having this extra battery power has definitely given me a lot more freedom.
My only critique would be that my Samsung Galaxy S6 only gets about 55-65% charge off the 5000 mAh battery when the packaging claims to charge phone 2x. But overestimating battery performance is a common occurrence so I wasn’t all that surprised. If I turned my phone off while charging I’m sure I could bump that number up a bit.
Another feature definitely worth a mention is that the bags have a a smart RFID protection pouch to shield you from electronic pick pocketing. I’m not sure of the prevalence of electronic pick pocketing here in Australia, but for travellers I can definitely see this as being a handy feature.
Hedgren Connect Firm
NETWORK 13″
RRP: $149.00
Hedgren Connect Battery (sold separately)
– 5000 mAh RRP: $149.00
– 12000 mAh RRP: $199.00 (features dual USB charging for charging a smartphone + tablet simultaneously)
Explore Connect features online here: www.hedgrenconnect.com/explore
Hedgren is available in select David Jones stores nationwide, as well as independent luggage retailers.For stockists please call: 1300 30 30 21.
