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Recommendations For A Good Laptop Bag?
YOU LIKEWISE FAIL IT writes "So, I was jogging to the bus stop this morning when suddenly - snap, the weight of the laptop on my shoulder vanished, and I heard the dull thud of my powerbook bag hitting the pavement at a wince-inducing speed. The laptop seems to be alright, but the bag (a WWDC giveaway) is completely knackered. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, impact resistant laptop bag that won't come flying apart under stress? Perhaps it's not too late to guilt work into buying me one for a late Christmas present."
Columbia makes some good bags too. Maybe something from North Face would be a little sturdier.
I have been pwned because my
Get yourself a good backpack. I got a great one for $40 at staples made by Samsonite.
I'm a big fan of the cases from Willow Design.
They're relatively heavy-duty and not too bad-looking, although they could be better.
Don't jog with a $1000+ laptop.
As Wile E Coyote would say "gravity makes a great servant but a terrible master"
The bag that thinkpads come with is great. Has a support system so the laptop literally hangs internally from the top by an elastic fabric. There's 2 full inches of dead space at the bottom.
I have a Targus bag, solely because of the fact that it was one of the only sturdy bags I could find that actually fit my 17" Powerbook and was under $100.
It's very sturdy, has a very strong shoulder strap & handle, and has enough room to carry my documents, my powerbook, iPod, iPod Dock & headphones, iPod & Laptop adaptors, extra power cable, and digital camera USB cable. It does everything I need it to, and it was pretty cheap too ($65 at Best Buy, IIRC).
And if you want to know if it's strong enough...I let my friend carry my powerbook in the bag. He tripped and dropped the powerbook, only to then land on top of it. Everything inside was just fine, and everything outside is fine too; barely a scratch on the bag itself.
Brenthaven makes really nice, highly padded bags, that have an extra, built-in, removeable sleeve in them. They make them for all the PowerBooks including the 17in ones. I got one about 6 months ago and have been very happy with it. (I've got the Deluxe Slim I think)
It was a bit on the pricey side compared to what I was thinking (about $100), but it's a really nice, well constructed bag and the padding will pay for itself if you ride the train like I do and would otherwise bang up your laptop.
http://www.brenthaven.com/products/index.html
Have a look at ThinkGeek, there are plenty of them.
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/bags/
Check out the bags from Crumpler - they're from Australia but they have stores all around the world. Simply the best bags you can get.
They started off doing bags for bicycle couriers and developed from there. Very strong, very well designed, pockets for everything and no dirty great "Hey, I've got a laptop in here so steal me!" logos and designs.
I have been using their "Crisp Suit" bag (look in the computer bags section) for over a year, including four weeks using it to carry two (yes, TWO) laptops around Asia while working in Korea, Thailand and Japan. The bag goes with me whenever I carry my laptop (read: almost every day) and I'm still in love with it.
Definitely worth finding the nearest Crumpler store / distributor and picking one up.
I left my body to science, but I'm afraid they've turned it down...
Pelican makes excellent protective cases. Almost unbreakable, water-tight, air-tight, dust-tight. The ones with the "pick-and-pluck" foam can be configured to fit a laptop and all accessories nice and snug. They have a few laptop-specific cases, and several general-purpose cases of all sizes/colors.
If you don't know where to find them near you, check with surveying supply shops, and electronics parts supply (the commercial type, not Radio Shack)
http://www.spireusa.com/
I've been using an Endo for a few years now, super rugged.. even survived the washing machine when it got super stinky once (another tale for another time) with no ill effects. Looks good enough for meeting rooms, rugged enough to handle travel, and slings across the back for bicycle/motorcycle rides or just to get the hands free.
The wife uses a Volt pack. Both come with padded sleeves for your laptop and the usual sets of pockets and storage.
Well worth the money.
Dump the IRS - http://www.fairtax.org
If your laptop survived, get another one of the same bag. $20 bag saves $1,500 laptop, I'd stock up on 10 of those instead of hoping your next bag does as good a job.
sfbags (aka Waterfield Designs) has some really nice, customizable bags.
I use a sleevecase for my powerbook. The sleevecase fits the powerbook like a glove, and does a great job of protecting from bumps and scratches.
Slip the powerbook into the sleeve, and slip the sleeve into a messenger bag (or better yet, a leather version)... Perfection!
While we're on the subject, can anyone recommend a car that gets good gas mileage I can fit into the trunk area of my Ford Excursion that I can use to motor around the city streets? The Excursion gets awful gas mileage in the city so I'd like to carry an extra car with me to use for those short 4-5 block commutes between buildings on campus. I've thought about a golf cart or such but they're not particularly fast. Would a Ford Focus fit?
Timbuk2 makes some bombproof messenger bags - I've kept my PowerBook in one when I ramble about for the last two years, and it's held up great. You can custom-design your bag online, as well, which is most cool. If you prefer stock, they keep several types/styles in stock, and some are carried at the Apple Stores.
Mine is a Bolo with a few goodies and a center divider. I made mine with waterproofed canvas (unfortunately, they don't offer that fabric anymore), and I also have a sleeve for the 15" PowerBook as well. It's the best bag I've ever owned, and if I ever get another PowerBook I'll just make sure to buy a sleeve to fit. The sleeves have handles, too, for a little extra protection.
Timbuk2 also makes the best iPod holders, as well - and they make a handy case for a 1900-series iPaq handheld, too, along with a couple of SD cards. And their custom bags are US-made, which I find to be a nice bonus.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
I have a timbuk2 sleeve for my TiBook in a messenger bag that i totally love. I take it everywhere! from coffee shops to random places and its been great. I have no complaints about it what so ever. The quality is top notch and theres a good solid padding on it. Some say its a bit pricey for the sleeve but i figure i spent close to $3000 at the time with all my "ever so important" upgrades, i can spend a few dollars more. I spent weeks looking for the perfect bag and been routed over and over again to eBags, searched high and low and couldnt find anything else better. anyway play with their site! i believe its timbuk2.com. you can fully customize your bag, and if you think about it... when do you really buy a new bag or backpack? so spend the money!!
A little pricey, but worth being acting nice all year for. Well hard protection for your preciouss.
Holiday Cheers, Jouni
Jouni Mannonen | Game Designer, Consultant
I once had a $80 kensington case [with 'special impact density absorbant padding'], but when a coworker knocked the laptop off of a conferance table onto the ground [not even three feet], it broke one of the hinges for the LCD. Ahem.
The ideal situation I found was this: Fill a cheap walmart school bookbag with 16 inches of foam. I used a mattress-enhancer [lots of foam for around 12 bucks, and in convienient sheet form]. Cut as appropriate and fold the sheets in a coil, until the entire bookbag [get a smaller one, obviously], is almost bursting at the seams with excessive foam load. Leave just enough room for your laptop [and don't forget foam on the bottom and a few layers to fold over the top. I once dropped this down a flight of stairs. It just bounced happily to a rest, no damage to the laptop.
Plus, it looks crappy enough you can take it anywhere without it being a target for theft, like as a swanky specialized laptop case would be.
---
the pen is mightier than the sword, the sword is mightier than the court, the court is mightier than the pen.
This is what you're looking for:
http://www.highergroundgear.com/
Absolute best laptop case I've seen. Hands down.
Otherwise, it depends on the laptop you have. My iBook is sturdier than hell (800MHz white etc) and it goes with me to all my classes (being a comp. sci. major and all). From what I've seen, the cheaper laptops such as low-end Dells are as fragile as Middle-East peace.
So, what bag do I use if I have so much experience? Well, I bought a $10 neoprene sleeve made by Sony for their Vaio laptops and I throw it in my backpack (which is made to carry 40-50 punds of stuff). That bag will never freaking break. The other nice thing about school bags is that they never seem to fail all at once, they tend to rip and give a little, givinng you plenty of warning to replace it. Just make sure not to put your laptop right in the back near your back and below all your books or whatnot.
I've jogged to many a class and that set-up refuses to show any signs of giving up.
I am hard on stuff. I have had three keyboards on my laptop thanks to the "Pepsi syndrome" A book backpack lasts me a year has always been exceptional as far as I am concerned. 3 years ago I bought a Targus Laptop Backpack and the darn thing gives every indication that it is indestructible. It cost me about $70 shipped when I got it, but it shows every indication of outliving my laptop.
... is a Tumi. Yes, they are much more expensive than the competition. Yes, they may not look like the flashiest bag with all the cool compartments in all sorts of places.
But, the fact of the matter is, you get what you pay for. Tumi spends an incredible amount of time & money researching typical usage patterns, wear & tear damage, and the types of storage compartments that people actually use.
I'm currently on Tumi bag #2 in my lifetime (I switched from a backpack to a saddlebag two years ago). All the pockets seem to be in the perfect place, there's no significant wear to speak of... the bag looks great & protects my laptop very well. I'll continue to buy Tumi for all my luggage as long as I can afford it.
Do yourself a favor & spend the extra dough.
--Mid
I consider myself a sort of expert in bags and packs. I actually 'collect' them... well anyway, I'd have three choices: :-) They may have other laptop gear aswell.
1) Backpack Brandname 'Lowe'. They've got one called 'Megabyte' and it's made of some super-extra-hyper thick cordura stuff that looks like Flakwest material. Indestructable, looks cool, costs a little.
2) Eagle Creek. With them I like the bags more than the packs. They got a set that look unobstrusive, yet are specially polstered for laptops. In case you drop it again. Again this is reference grade quality and will cost appropriately. These you can take out to serious business meetings and you won't get queer looks.
3) Big Warehouse inhouse noname brands. Honestly. If you (can) trust your judgement, this is a secret tip. Most brands, exept for the ones I mentioned above, have gone seriously cheapo within the last few years, so it actually is worth a try. My current laptoppack is a no-name from "Horten" (german Warehouse joint), it cost about a third of the brandname stuff, doesn't look to flashy but is of top quality and has some neat extras. Here you have to be carefull and triple check for sloppy seams, cheap material, cheap zippers and brittle cheapo-plastic fastex-rippoff buckles. Keep an eye on all that and you might find a real bargain.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
But go for a laptop backpack. Seriously.
They may not look as professional, but your shoulder and your computer will thank you and you will never go back. Just make sure it is big enough for your computer, your periferals, and some other stuff.
Plus it doesn't look like it contains a computer. Security though obscurity does sometimes work. And while I wouldn't leave my computer lying around, it is also less likely to be stolen by a mugger etc...
42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
There is an excellent list of laptop bag companies in this MacNN thread.
Some of them are geared toward the Apple Powerbook, but most are general purpose ones that would work well with any computer.
-You may license this sig for only $6.99.
Rather than wrapping the computer in a shirt, I recommend making a neoprene sleeve out of a piece of insulate pad (available at REI or wherever) and some gaffer's tape. Simply cut a piece about twice the size of the laptop, fold it in half, and tape it up. Makes an indestructible nest, regardless of what kind of bag you choose to wrap around it.
Historically, I have found Eastpack to be a better quality backpack that Jansport. But that may have changed after Coleman bought them several years ago. Guaranteed for life... maybe longer.
It is cowardly, and a betrayal of whatever it means to be a Jew, to act as a white man
-James Baldwin
Yeah - the bags that you can buy "off-the-shelf" at the Apple Store are the Chinese bags. Custom bags are SF-made, as are all the messenger bags (like my Bolo), and their smaller/accessory bags. The iPod cases are made in China, as are the laptop-specific bags. I don't know if the laptop sleeves are made in China nowadays or not, but mine (2+ years old) wasn't.
Even sneaker companies like New Balance have some of their shoes and products made overseas, despite their strong pro-US manufacturing philosophy. The economics are pretty harsh. If you service a mass market, you're likely to send at least some portion of your business overseas - it's a sad reality of a global economy.
The flip side of it is that companies like Timbuk2, New Balance, and others have at least a stated goal to keep as much manufacturing here as feasible, along with the business aspects of the company as well. New Balance employs a lot of people here besides the ones in China, and a good number of the people here are making shoes. I can live with that. And I buy New Balance's shoes.
-- Josh Turiel
"2. Do not eat iPod Shuffle."
A book bag or soft briefcase made by a company that make rugged outdoor gear is less likely to come apart under typical use/abuse, and doesn't attract as much attention as a Logo'd laptop case. Put your laptop inside a neoprene sleve inside the soft briefcase or small backpack, add a thick magazine (Wired, etc.) on the display side, and you will have a rugged case that doesn't yell "steal me!" in crowded public spaces.
And if you need an expensive briefcase to be seen along with your Armani business suit at some client meeting, carry your laptop in the backpack and your clean shirt/underwear in the expensive case on the trip thru the airport (but this is Slashdot, so never mind...)
Tumi sells a lot of different bags made with different material and with different features. Their "Fusion Z" material, which is what my case is made of, is simply amazing. It's extremely durable -- my bag doesn't even have a worn spot on it yet -- and it's self healing in the event of punctures.
More directed to the original post, the case also has a suspension system for the laptop. The computer sits in a sling, a few inches off the bottom of the case, and the sling is made out of stretchable material. So if you drop the whole bag, your computer never really even hits the ground. Very, very cool. I looked at Tumi's web site and I believe that this feature is called "SafeCase" but I'm not sure.
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I cut pieces of neoprene to make a box, super-glued it together, then (ahem) sewed up a canvas sleeve to keep it from falling apart -- the neoprene isn't very abrasion-resistant. I use a separate small cordura bag to carry the charger, mouse, and whisker antenna for wireless. Works great. I ride a motorcycle to work when the weather's nice, and the whole shebang fits neatly into an Ortlieb Cross-Air pack. Um, this solution probably isn't for everybody, though.Eastern Mountain Sports has a really rockin backpack that has a laptop carrier in it that fits 15" laptops (my 15" power book and 14.1" IBM T30 both fit nicely). There's lots of space for cables/books/MP3 player/cell phone/power adapters/whatever in there as well. Great if you take public transportation.
Then again, it's not as stylish as an actual bag. But I work at a university, so I fit right in.