We thought it was a bit odd when well-established accessories maker Knog took to a Kickstarter campaign back in the spring to bring out their slick new Oi bell design. I mean, why did a company that clearly could finance a new product through a conventional development cycle go the crowdfunding route? Knog told us then it meant they could accelerate the process from design into production and actually deliver the goods many months earlier than through regular development. It also let them gauge interest entering a new product category. Well it obviously worked out. They raised over a million dollars and have now delivered bells to backers, with them making their way to retail channels now too.
So it makes a bit of sense that going into another new direction, they are reaching out for early backer support again through Kickstarter. This time the new product category is a modular mobile power lineup called PWR. The idea is a new system of products, not overly bike centered but just targeted at outdoor enthusiasts, that combines a modular power (PWR) source to keep your GPS, phone, and lights charged on the go. Besides the basic power supply, there are 300 & 800lm bike lights, a camp light, a headlamp, and even a Bluetooth speaker. Check out the details and how it all will work together after the jump…
Knog is known for their techy, design focused solutions, and the PWR aims to continue that in a move towards consumer electronics for the tech-dependant outdoor sportsman. While they had already produced a wide range of battery and rechargeable bike lights, this project makes the battery pack the central focus.
Called the PWR Bank the 95g smart battery forms the core of the new line and can be used as supplementary power for all of your small mobile electronics via USB port, as well as the integrated power supply for the range of PWR accessories. At $50 it puts 3200mAh to keep all your goodies running strong.
Knog says that the bike light was its offset mount was where the project began. The idea being to develop a modular setup where you could snap on different heads for different types of riding – lower power & longer burn time for road riding and commuting, or higher power & and a trail focused beam pattern for off-road riding.
A $50 pledge will get you the base 300lm road & commuter light with one PWR bank as the first product. It gets an offset mount that means it will work well above or below your bar, and can be set inline with your stem without getting in the way of other on-the-bike gadgets.
The heads of the lights simply twist off of the PWR bank making them easy to interchange. Stepping up to the 800lm head for trail riding will require a $74 buy-in, but adds in not just more power, but an elliptical beam pattern tuned for trail riding. Both light heads also offer great adjustability, with their output, run time and flashing modes fully customizable by plugging it into a computer.
Every thing gets pre charged at home via a standard plug-in charger, but if you step up to one of the more complete kits you also get a desktop PWR dock charger that can power up two PWR banks at a time. Off of the bike (or maybe on it, if that’s your thing) there is also a Bluetooth speaker designed to be simple, rugged, and good sounding. Knog has even developed a water bottle boss-spaced bike mount for the speaker for those so inclined.
Additional options include an elastic headlamp strap that can be paired with either light head and a battery for hands free use around camp. They when you sit down at the table to eat or in the tent for a game of cards there is the freestanding camp lantern to light your evening.
Run times of course vary widely based on how you use each accessory and how you pair them. But Knog seems to have done a pretty solid job of balancing output and battery power, while keeping a light and compact package. And then when you throw in the modularity, and ease of swapping PWR banks from one accessory to another, this could be a solid option for anyone already planning to haul around several accessories.
Knog has thought through several different scenarios where they think their modular concept will really shine and has put together some nice graphics and animations showing how they’ll work Have a look at them, along with more details and how to support the campaign over at Kickstarter. The crowdfunding campaign runs almost through the end of November with product delivery expected for July 2017.
