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Sturdy Laptop Travel Cases?
biglig2 asks: "You may have seen on todays news that, after a foiled attempt to smuggle explosives on a plane here in the UK, UK airlines are now banning all cabin baggage on outgoing flights. Great timing, since I'm probably flying to the States next week, and this means putting my laptop, iPod and cellphone into the cargo hold. Since I have to assume that anything I put in the hold is going to be frozen, depressurized, and repeatedly jumped on by the baggage handlers, what hard laptop cases have Slashdot users found to be indestructible?"
Adamantium.
Anything less, and you might as well not try.
http://www.pelican.com/
if you have the cash for the flash: http://www.zerohalliburton.com/
First get a good Hard Case for your laptop, while Soft Cases are good for normal usage, with luggage being tossed around and odd pressures being pressed on the laptop, a hard case will take the pressures not the laptop. Plus to keep it extra safe against all the tossing about I would put the case in with your clothing and have it packed tight (but not too tight) so it will can take the extra abuse of being tossed around a bit. Finally if you are worried about the cold Keep your laptop running as long as possible, perhaps with some app that gets it really hot, then when you need to give it to be shipped turn it off, and imeadtaely place it in the case, and in your clothing. The Case and your clothing will act like a blanket and keep the laptop warm for a few hours, and above damaging cold for more time. This should allow your laptop survive a trip.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Something like this -> http://www.luggageonline.com/product.cfm?product_I D=1499 as long as you don't mind the cost.
Fast, cheap & reliable. Pick two.
No, I don't mean this discussion. Aircraft holds are pressurized and generally heated, as least to keep them above 0C.
Err, make that Zero
Takes a beating, nary a scratch to show for it, and you look like Jack Bauer all the while.
Ship them ahead of time via FedEX / UPS / Purolator in the original shipping container or something close ?
People usually keep their laptops with because of the theft risk. So don't get someting that stands out as a laptop or other high value item.
Just pack it in the center of your clothing and it will be fine. I fly way to many miles - on the last leg of a multi continent trip, just missing the UK fiasco by a couple days - and always travel with a pair of laptops. Granted, I (use) to make it a point to do everything carry-on, but I would usually slip the spare thinkpad in the center of my suitcase and the other in my laptop bag. No fancy containers, just clean laundry at the start of trip, dirty stuff at the end. If you get a nice 'laptop' case, hard sided or otherwise, expect it to get 'lost'... A beat up bag works great.
Looking at the TSO website, it looks like the folks not traveling with 'carry-on' electronics are from the UK. Domestic flights say laptops can travel with you. No more bringing a bottle of water, however. I'll find out when I fly home tomorrow.
Joy.
+++ UGUCAUCGUAUUUCU
Masonite, styro-foam insulation and liquid nails make a good, quick hard case. You can add layers of squishy foam to further cushion a fall if you want. I put them in my laptop bags. If I have to go someplace soon, I'm going to pack my laptop back inside my clothes canvas bag. That should be good enough for the 12 foot fall you should expect your luggage to experience and in turn be hit by the corner of a hard case from the same distance.
If you want something fast for ordinary luggage, go to wall mart and see if any of the gun cases are big enough. They have plastic shells and squishy foam liners.
Nothing is fool proof so I'm going to avoid travel if I can until this stuff blows over again.
Friends don't help friends install M$ junk.
Pelican 1490 and 1520 fit/are made for laptops.
Colossians 2:8
It's a common misconception that cargo holds are not pressurized or climatized.
I think the unspoken commentary regarding the finish they put on Zero-Halliburton cases is: if you're rich enough to afford it in the first place, then you're rich enough to replace the damn thing every time it gets scratched.
That's actually the biggest reason why I would avoid it, or any other kind of obviously high-end, high-tech luggage. You don't want the bag that has your expensive stuff in it, to look like it has expensive stuff in it.
If I had a Z-H, the first thing I'd do before I checked it in at the airline, would be to put it in a nondescript duffel bag. Maybe something tremendously ugly and/or distinctive (a giveaway bag from the "Swan Lake Camp for Retarded Youngsters" would work well). Particularly since the maximum claimable value for luggage is limited by law to something fairly low, and downright worthless on international flights, you really don't want to have a few thousand dollars worth of stuff stolen. When that nice shiny piece of brushed aluminum or stainless steel fails to come around the luggage-recovery belt, you're going to be out thousands of dollars worth of luggage and gear.
I think the airlines' liability for checked luggage is limited to something around $9.07 per pound with a maximum of $400 per passenger; disguising your bag so that it doesn't grow legs and walk off seems to me, to be a whole lot more important than looking sharp when you're carrying it around.
I'd get a Pelican case, or other kind of hard transport case, and then always check it inside of some other crappy bag. Not only will it protect the "real" case, but it'll make it a little less obvious that whatever's inside the bag is valuable enough to warrant such a container.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
It's a common misconception that cargo holds are not pressurized or climatized.
... what do people think they do, give Fido an oxygen tank and a blanket for the duration of the trip?
You know, the fact that they transport LIVE ANIMALS down there probably should have been a clue
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Since I have to assume that anything I put in the hold is going to be frozen, depressurized, and repeatedly jumped on by the baggage handlers,
None of that will happen.
Your valuables will simply be stolen by the TSA.
I'll add another vote for pelican cases, as they are what I use. Strong, heavy and ugly, they are perhaps the best for the money. Z-H cases are just as good, show damage a bit more, and are more expensive. If you sprung for a black macbook, then you are the type to spring for a zero-haliburton. The pelican foam insert is easily configured for maximum protection.
One caveat for anyone flying with pelican or z-h cases. They have been the drug smuggler's cases of choice for years now, and have a tendancy to get pulled by drug agency enforcers with alarming frequency (close to 100% in my case). There is a myth that having a nice rubber seal around the edges keeps drug sniffing dogs from doing their job, and the number of drug couriers lingering in prisons around the world shows that dogs are better trained than that.
When you travel with an expensive case, always put it inside another bag, I use a backpack which makes it easier to transport, or it will attract thieves like nothing else. I've seen one computer guy who let his daughter decorate his pelican with pink hello kitty stickers after painting it fluorescent pink, it stood out in any crowd, and was a useful deterent to thieves walking off with it.
You can't lock checked bagage any more, so just put a security seal on the case to see if it was opened. Ensure that your laptop cannot boot without a password, and any and all sensitive data is on a fully encrypted partition, with full backups left at home or online. All the other things you can do, such as noting serial and model numbers of everything you check is important, since if you fly regularly the chances of finally losing the laptop to thieves approaches one. Put the list of valuables on a post-it inside your passport and carry it with you. Airlines will not reimburse you for the cost of a laptop, you have to take out additional insurance which specifies full replacement costs. If you buy your ticket with a credit card, they may claim to cover losses due to theft, but often the small print requires you to provide them with a list of items well in advance of flying in order to actually have coverage.
the AC
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
Consider FedEx-ing (or UPS-ing) your expensive stuff over to meet you upon arrival. You can insure your goodies for their full value, should they get lost/stolen/broken. I don't think the airlines will give you that kind of protection.