These Raspberry Pi backpacks are what my childhood spy dreams were made of

Davide Marchetti's Raspberry Pi backpack. — (Image credit: Bag.builds)

Davide Marchetti's Bag Builds are taking the Raspberry Pi and hacking communities by storm. These backpacks are highly compartmentalized, practical storage backpacks that double as a portable desk, with clips and hooks for keeping your equipment tidy in transit.

There's enough space inside for any kind of hacking hardware and peripherals you might need to keep you amused when you're cruelly dragged out of the house this summer, away from your RPi projects (thanks Tom's Hardware).

In fact, here's the list of equipment that fits, which Marchetti shared on one of his Instagram posts:

Docking station Thunderbolt 4: (just one cable to use all devices)
Router Linksys WRT1900ACS (OpenWrt + VPN)
Raspberry Pi 4
USB HD
USB SSD
Thunderbolt NVMe
Wi-Fi Dongle
Hackrf + Active Antenna 1MHz to 3GHz
Speaker Router GL.iNet OpenWrt - Wi-Fi hotspot through Tor Network (smartphone connection)
Battery 250Wh

Now that's a lot of gear that would get absolutely destroyed if you just let it jangle around in any old backpack. And just think of all the cool stuff you could be building or hacking on the beach, by the pool, or hiding at the back of a friend's garden at a BBQ, refusing to talk to anyone.

The design, complete with bright orange, 3D printed plastic holders screwed to a what looks like a plyboard frame, fits into the Bobby Hero Regular backpack by XD Design, and it's super nifty if you plan to do any hacking on the go.

A week ago, in reply to a fan, Marchetti noted that "It started as personal for myself but as I have received a great feedback I am getting things ready to put the product on the market."

I spoke to Marchetti, who says he's already working with customers to make a bespoke bag setup for their specific needs. He'll be selling them with and without the backpack, and the website where he's planning to sell them is currently under construction.

Cooling off

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360R and EK-AIO Basic 240 CPU coolers on a two-tone grey background — (Image credit: Cooler Master, EKWB)

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By late August we should see these fantastic feats of nerdy travel design coming onto the market, and although the focus will be on the European market at first, they will be shipping to the US. Marchetti says he may even start a marketing campaign in the US depending on demand.

That's great news for anyone interested in getting some Pi-powered, portable goodness, though Marchetti is admittedly still working on a price estimate, and ironing out the kinks in his plan.

Just make sure if you get one, never try to get through airport security with it. That is sure to end badly.

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Having been obsessed with game mechanics, computers and graphics for three decades, Katie took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni and has been writing about digital games, tabletop games and gaming technology for over five years since. She can be found facilitating board game design workshops and optimising everything in her path.