Recharge with an Eco-Chic Tablet-Sized Bag: The Jen Powered Crossbody from Urban Junket

Urban Junket's new bag for tablets (in indigo)

I haven't had an Urban Junket bag in my hands since I reviewed the Urban Junket Laptop T.O.T.E. three years ago. I LOVED the T.O.T.E. - love the materials it was made from, loved the bold magenta colour and I loved how many organizational options it offered. After my glowing review, I wanted to keep it - but I get a lot of laptop bags and I reluctantly ended up gifting it to a friend. "As least she lives close by," I thought "so maybe the T.O.T.E. and I will still get to visit!" And then she moved to Newfoundland. HA ha! I was bereft.

So when Tracy from Urban Junket asked if I'd like to review the new Jen Powered Crossbody Rechargeable Bag, I jumped at the chance to get another one of these sporty chic bags. This time, I got it in violet. So pretty!

The Jen Powered Crossbody is part of Urban Junket's new PowerTrips Rechargeable Bags line. It's a tablet-sized bag, perfect for your iPad or…whatever other tablets there are. The interior lining of the bag is made from Urban Junket's signature "bottles to bags" material - each Jen bag is made with 36 reclaimed plastic bottles, which makes the bags chic AND eco-friendly. Like the T.O.T.E., the exterior fabric (coated 100% cotton canvas) is water resistant, which makes it less stressful to travel with here in rainy Vancouver.

For smaller bags like this, I prefer the messenger style and the adjustable crossbody strap on the Jen fit my larger frame nicely. The front of the bag has a separate zippered pocket, for things you might need to access quickly - bus pass, smartphone, etc. - and it also has a handy slot for pens or my ever-present lip gloss.

Next is the second exterior zippered pocket which runs the width of the bag. This pocket contains a pouch for your smartphone and also a slit that allows you sneak a cord through and charge whatever's in that front pocket. Plenty of space up front here - enough room for your wallet, e-Reader or paperback for that morning commute.

While we're chatting exterior pockets, there's also a small pocket at the back, which could offer quick access to keys, etc. This back pocket is open, however, so if your bag gets turned upside down (or is stored in an overhead bin), you might lose whatever's in there.



The main compartment of the Jen has another two smartphone sized pouches (one open, one velcroed) and a large removable clutch with a business card holder in front. You can use the clutch as a bag for your gear or, if you don't have a lot of gear, for snacks! Yay snacks! The main compartment always has the velcroed pouch that holds the battery pack.

And now for the main event of this bag - the battery pack that allows you to recharge your devices on the go. I like the idea of having a way to recharge my phone, iPad or e-Reader while I'm out and about - it would be great for travel, or for keeping your phone charged during a power outages (like the ones we've been seeing lately in these crazy fall storms). Apparently, the battery pack is also TSA friendly and doesn't need to be removed from the bag when you're going through security.

The battery pack is actually really easy to use. It comes with an accompanying micro USB to USB cord, which is a must for those of us whose devices don't use a micro USB to charge (like my iPhone). You plug the micro USB in to the battery pack to charge it - it was very quick to get fully charged. You don't have to take the battery pack out of the bag to charge if you don't want to.



Once the battery pack was charged, I had a dilemma - what to charge first? I could have charged my iPhone (the "out" on the battery pack is a standard USB) but I decided to try recharging my e-Reader instead, to see how long it would take. My e-Reader was fully out of battery and generally takes a very long time to recharge. I plugged it in to the battery pack at 10:00 a.m. and an hour and forty five minutes later, it was fully charged. Not bad for the Kobo! The battery also full recharged my half-charge iPhone very quickly and looks to still have some juice left. Pretty cool.

As with all Urban Junket bags, the Jen also features super sturdy construction and great hardware. It's pretty lightweight, even with the battery pack - and the battery pack can be removed if you prefer. Fantastic, functional design, eco-friendly materials, rich, bright colours and a great way to keep your electronics charged on the go - the Jen Powered Crossbody is pretty rad.

I learned my lesson with the first Urban Junket bag - this one will not be leaving my house unless it's with me. You can get your own Urban Junket PowerTrip bag at urbanjunket.com - the Jen retails for $228 USD.