That’s basically what the Sonicwalk allows you to do. It’s a backpack-slash-speaker that will let you play your favorite tunes or key background music wherever and whenever, as long as you’ve got it slung over your shoulders.

The Sonicwalk has two built-in speakers in its straps and hooks up easily with most mobile phones or MP3 players. It’s also got a small LED strip on the back to help make you more visible at night.

Just hit play, adjust the volume on the straps, and do whatever it is you were planning to do – like taking a hike, proposing to someone, or having a romantic outdoor picnic – with your very own soundtrack playing in the background.

The Sonicwalk is available for pre-order from Firebox for £89.99 (~$143 USD).

[via Red Ferret]

This plush Koopa shell backpack is awesome. It measures about 16-inches in diameter, and turns you into a Koopa in like two seconds. Of course you run the risk of people jumping on you and tossing you across the room, but still, it’s a great way to carry your stuff.

You might be tempted to walk really slow back and forth like a Zombie with a shell, or feel the urge to go all Hammer Bros. on someone and bar people’s path even, but I say as long as you look the part, go for it. Just don’t be surprised when a plumber jumps on you and your shell goes flying.

You can get one for $44.99(USD) from Amazon.

Designed by Austin Fleming, the Vagabond is a portable shelter, which one could strap to their back and quickly set up to keep those brain-seeking zombies out of your way. The concept behind the Vagabond is that it would provide a complete safe haven from zombie hordes, thanks to its sturdy coiled dome structure, and its reflective shell.

The exterior of the shell helps the shelter camouflage into any environment, while at the same time, bouncing bright sunlight back into the zombies’ eyes. Sounds like it might help keep vampires out too. Inside the shelter, a ventilation system exhausts CO2, and battery-operated devices can be recharged thanks to the Vagabond’s photovoltaic surface cells. And want to know if the coast is clear or if there are zombies outside? Well, there’s an app for that.

About the only thing missing from the Vagabond is a way to kill zombies from inside the shelter itself. I’d want to have those cutouts they have on armored trucks, which let you fire a gun from inside. Of course, if you happen to have the strain of zombies from The Walking Dead, that’ll just attract more. Guess you could always try and fire a crossbow at the approaching undead.

You can find more entries and runners up from the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition here. My second favorite is the Zombie Steamhouse, which automatically takes care of approaching zombies by crushing them in giant gears and mashing them into a pulp.

[via bustler]

It is made from waterproof fabrics and has a military spec construction. This coupled with a lifetime warranty should make it almost bomb-proof. Okay, it’s not bomb-proof, but it should keep your laptop safe from most of the elements. There are multiple compartments, urethane coated zippers, and an internal frame sheet to give the back a bit of stability. The large zippered pocket will fit most 17″ laptops, and the smaller pockets hold your other gadgets and gear.

The Fitzroy Rucksack is made in the USA and sells for $219 (USD) over at the Mission Workshop store.

[via Bless this Stuff via PicoCool]

The hard shell actually folds back to open up. It has straps to secure your laptop and tablet. There are two compartments to store smaller items, like smartphones. The backpack is made in the Netherlands. The straps look a bit too minimal for my taste, but the rest of the design is definitely unique. It weighs 2.5 pounds and its capacity is 15L. It can fit laptops up to 15.6″.

The backpacks are being sold through Solid Gray’s official eBay site, where you can get yours for appx. $162 USD. They’re available in either white or gray, but the gray color is currently out of stock.

San Francisco artist/software engineer Joe Andolina (aka Megaplow) is actually calling this wearable audio system a “Speaker Vest,” but from everything I can tell, it’s really more like a backpack, just built into a vest. Whatever it’s called, you’ll definitely draw attention walking down the street with this booming audio system strapped to your body.

It’s actually constructed from a Dainese Gilet Cali Tessuto vest, with a Boss audio Bass900 subwoofer strapped to the back. I like the two little satellite speakers that sit over your shoulders while wearing this thing. Power is supplied by a 10-cell rechargeable battery belt which might make you look a little like a suicide bomber, so you might not want to bring this thing with you to the airport.

If you’re ready to rattle your bones and be the life of the party, you can get this wearable speaker vest over on Etsy now for $850 (USD).

Hammacher Schlemmer’s Backpack Umbrella isn’t the first of its kind, but it sure makes a lot of sense. The umbrella is mounted firmly on your back, meaning that the handle isn’t near your face, like some of the other contraptions I’ve seen. This won’t work for everyone, and not in all types of rain. If it gets really windy and the rain comes at you sideways, then this won’t help you much. However, in calmer rainstorms, it will be come in handy so you can carry a bag or even read your tablet while walking.

You can get the Backpack Umbrella from Hammacher Schlemmer for $39.95 (USD).

[via GeekAlerts]

The Reptilian Mad Pax Backpack will probably look at home on your back if you’re into cosplay. In fact, it might even match your outfit. If you think they’re made out of some cheap material, you’d be wrong. Each one is made out of leather. It’s got some breathable back pads, two exterior zip pockets, and an another one inside.

You can get Reptilian Mad Pax Backpack from Perpetual Kid for $59.99. If you want something pinker, then you can get the Pink Mad Pax Backpack, which will make you look pretty in pink. More colors and sizes here.

[via Geek Alerts]

They don’t specify what kind of material is used, but from my experience, electricity and water don’t really mix well together so it will be interesting to find out what will happen when it rains on this backpack. For $800, they’ll probably have used something to insulate the electrical components from the elements.

The solar panel produces 3W of power, and it stores collected energy in a 2200mAh battery unit so that you can juice up your gizmos. In full sun, it takes about four hours to charge the battery pack. Honestly, for $800, I’ll keep my current backpack.

[via CrunchGear]

Dude, the slickest Ray-Bans can’t redeem you from this. You’re wearing a backpack on your chest so you can fiddle with your tablet. You sir, are a geek. Accept it. Embrace it.

The straps are adjustable, and the iPad is secured with velcro, while a brushed tricot fabric serves to protect the screen. The bag also has lots of pockets and slots, and has an “iPod pocket” with headphone cord access. Practical dorks can pre-order the Defender at Assero Industries’ website for $130 (USD). If all you’re after is the hands-free iPad set-up, you can pre-order the Protector instead. It doesn’t have the extra pockets that the Defender has, but it’s only $90, so it’s a fair trade.

[via CrunchGear]

Alright, so maybe I don’t have that much of an issue with sitting on the ground, or on a log. However, there are plenty of occasions where it would be nice to have my own chair. Now I’ve had those cheap fold-up ones from Walmart, but they’re bulky and not fun to carry around if you’re going to be doing any amount of walking. With this in mind, someone came up with this Bag Hug Chair concept.

What you have here is a somewhat regular-looking backpack, complete with pockets for holding various (small) items. When you take it off, it can be converted into a chair. It’s not the biggest of seats, but that’s the trade-off for having a more portable design. If I could actually get away from the computer enough to justify it, I would probably buy one of these. Now they just need to get it out of the concept phase and into production.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via YankoDesign]

The backpack is modeled after the one Chewy wore when 3PO was ripped limb from robotic limb in the Empire Strikes Back. The backpack measures 22″ H x 13″ W x 8″ D and has the golden droid crammed inside with his limbs torn off.

A zippered pouch on C-3PO measures 11″ x 8″ x 2.5″ and can hold things like your action figures or an iPad. The coolest part is that the limbs can be attached to the droid body with Velcro-style fasteners to build C-3PO and when assembled he is 40″ H x 17″ W x 8″ D. You can order yours for $59.99(USD) over at ThinkGeek.

Help has arrived. Quirky has a cool new product in the works called the Trek Support. The thing is a backpack that can hold your gadgets and a notebook, but with an added bonus. The gadget section has pockets for four different items and the thing can charge three items at one time.

The notebook sleeve is removable and is held in place with Velcro. Inside the backpack is a battery that you charge from the AC outlet in your home or hotel. That battery charges the gadgets and is good for 7 hours depending on what you are charging. The laptop section will fit machines with up to a 15-inch screen.

As is the case with all Quirky products, it won’t be made until enough people decide to order one. If you’d like one, you can pre-order now for $130 (USD). As of the moment, they’ve taken orders for 58 out of 1200, so there’s a way to go before this thing becomes a reality, so head on over if you want to make it so.

Don’t place your bounty in your backpack though. That’s a rookie bounty hunter mistake. Put it in the bank, or invest in property or something.

Order the Boba Fett jet pack backpack from the Star Wars shop for $40 (USD).

Wookie or not, this backpack is cute, especially compared to the Yoda Back Buddy, which is kinda creepy. You can order the Chewbacca Back Buddy at Entertainment Earth for $40 (USD).

[via Gamefreaks]

The Stay-Puff Stereo Backpack sells for $60 (USD) at Fydelity and is available in four colors: Deep Space Blue, Black Gloss, Project Mercury and – I swear this is true – Rainbow Bright. My goodness.

[via 7Gadgets]

The backpack is a thing of beauty, with buckles and all, as well as an interior lined with Transformers fabric. Creative–and appropriate–repurposing.

Can you believe this has been up for sale at Etsy for almost two years? At $89.99 (USD), it’s certainly not cheap, but my plain ol’ regular backpack wasn’t much less, and it has no Transformers or seat belts. Just a bunch of extraneous buckles and hooks and things. It’s all very boring.

This not-boring bag is available from 21CannonSalute’s Etsy shop.

Created by industrial design student Joonas Saaranen, the Reppo II backpack features a built in pair of full-range speakers and an amplifier, so you can kick out the jams as you walk down the street. The only thing better would be if that big black patch were a subwoofer. Of course, that might shatter your vertebrae if you turned up the volume too much.

Saaranen’s concept design has gotten as far as a functional prototype at this point, but he hasn’t revealed if he’ll ever have them produced en masse. In the mean time, if you happen to be in Berlin, Germany (where Joonas currently resides) and hear someone coming down the street wearing this bad boy, offer up the mad props he deserves.

[via Square]

While it may look ridiculous, I suppose that it’s actually a really good idea if you happen to spend a lot of time walking in the mountains. As soon as you hear the rumble of the avalanche, you pull the ripcord and an airbag inflates to cover and protect your head and neck within 3 seconds. It even creates a small air pocket for you in case you’re buried under the rubble.

Sometimes I think I should wear one of these wherever I go. Let’s say you’re walking down a dark alley and a gang of thugs come out of nowhere with a baseball bat. How handy would it be to activate your Life Bag right before they whack you over the head? Take that, thugs!

[Coolest Gadgets via GeekAlerts]