Laptop Carrying bag advise? (OT not quiet related)

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Gxcad
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Laptop Carrying bag advise? (OT not quiet related)

Post by Gxcad » Fri May 12, 2006 8:39 pm

I just got a 17' powerbook and I am really new to owning laptops. I would like some advise on what kind of carrying case I should be looking out for, particularly how much I should expect to spend. Basically I guess it needs to be easy to carry and protect the laptop from dents and dings. I don't expect it to survive a fall unscathed. Any advice appreciated.

I thought about posting in the off topic but it still is about laptops and thought I'd get more feedback if I posted here. Hope thats ok with yall!

Thanks,

-Ken

dukla2000
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Post by dukla2000 » Fri May 12, 2006 11:07 pm

My opinion is based on the purpose & function of the laptop and how/why/when it will be in the bag. Do you need to carry more than just the laptop - daytrips without the charger? Weekly/monthly trips and you need a printer? Will it go on airplanes? How much other stuff (papers, books) do you carry? How (in other bag(s)?)

My poison was to be as light as possible - I was spending most of my life in check-in queues at airports and taxis. So my laptop was A4 size - I never carried the optical drive, and my bag is 31*24*10cm soft sided. With charger, my journal and minimal (paper) files it was usually under 5Kg but more important is close to 'handbag' size which meant getting my clothes bag on as hand luggage was possible 99% of the time. Being as light as possible also means the bag itself should be light. Some bags out there are >2Kg when empty which to me is farcical!

BigA
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Post by BigA » Sun May 14, 2006 4:43 pm

I agree that you need to carefully consider your needs before purchasing a laptop bag. I'm used to lugging around a heavy case with an 8 pound laptop and another 10 pounds of papers. For my laptop case, I wanted a tough, attractive case which would not attract lots of attention. Given the weight, a quality shoulder strap was very important. Also, I was not looking for a case to further increase the weight I would carry from 20 pounds to 25 pounds. Finally, it had to qualify as carryon baggage.

Years ago, I bought a laptop travel solution which works really well for me.

I place the laptop in a padded laptop sleeve from Eagle Creek. This is basically a cushioned bag with a foldover velcro flap. It fits over the laptop, but cannot store anything besides the laptop itself (such as cords). It has no handles or straps. The purpose of the Eagle Creek bag is to provide interior padding. Eagle Creek does not make these anymore. Fellowes sells a laptop sleeve as does Sumocase. From the picture, the Sumocase seems to be a little bit better made (although it is more expensive) and is similar to my Eagle Creek bag:
http://www.sumocases.com/store/product_ ... ucts_id/52

The Eagle Creek bag is placed inside a Briggs and Riley black ballistic nylon carry bag. The Briggs and Riley bag has extra pockets for mice, power cords, and work papers. The ballistic nylon bag was not inexpensive, but it is extremely durable. Its understated design is attractive, and its simple appearance does not advertise that you are carrying a laptop. They sell carrying cases in various sizes at:
http://www.briggs-riley.com/businesscas ... /index.asp

You might also take a look at their regular totes:
http://www.briggs-riley.com/travel/totes/index.asp

I bought my case in a store and probably paid list price, but was happy to do so, because it gave me a better feel for what I was buying. I brought my laptop with me and the salespeople were helpful in showing me what my options were and how these might work together.

PositiveSpin
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Post by PositiveSpin » Sun May 14, 2006 5:06 pm

I can strongly recommend the Crumpler range of laptop bags - they have bags for pretty much every need (other than hardsided leather or metal!).

All Crumpler bags are made from heavy-duty nylon fabric, strongly stitched, very high quality finish. Their laptop compartments are well padded, and their carrying straps are seatbelt webbing. They use velcro and black nylon fasteners.

They have bags designed to hold nothing but the laptop (to put inside a briefcase, for example), bags designed to hold a day's worth of stuff (charger, papers, etc), and bags designed for travelling (back-pack for laptop + heaps of stuff). They even have specialty bags for photo-journalists - backpack to hold laptop + camera/lenses/flash + stuff.

They also have a range of add-ons - things like a little bag for your cell-phone that attaches to the strap of your laptop bag.

They come in a wide variety of colours, too - from bright and cheerful through to sober and business like - such a refreshing change from a line of all-black laptop bags :D

I have no financial interest in Crumpler, but I have several of their bags (two laptop bags, two camera bags, and a couple of general purpose bags). They are not expensive for the quality (read, typical Crumpler bag might be US$100).

Oh, and one of the coolest things is that their laptop bags and camera bags do NOT scream out "I am full of expensive stuff - STEAL ME"!

You can find the main website at: http://www.crumpler.com.au but be warned - this is a STRANGE web site - it takes a bit of getting used to!

PositiveSpin
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Post by PositiveSpin » Sun May 14, 2006 5:16 pm

Forgot to add - for your 17" laptop they have plenty of options:

School Hymn 17 - padded sleeve to put laptop into another bag
Skivvy 17 - minimalist padded bag for laptop carrying without other stuff
Dreadful Embarrassment - padded sleeve plus lots of carrying space

and there are others - those are just the ones that I spotted quickly.

Hmm - did I mention that they give their bags some very strange names? I have a "Crippy Duck", a "7 Million Dollar Home", a "Next Venue", and one whose name is too rude to type :D

narrasuj
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Re: Laptop Carrying bag advise? (OT not quiet related)

Post by narrasuj » Sun May 14, 2006 7:31 pm

Gxcad wrote:I just got a 17' powerbook and I am really new to owning laptops.
The advice everybody is giving is very useful, which is simply tailoring to what you need/want. Another company that produces excellent quality bags is MacCase (www.mac-case.com) that designs it's bags specifically for Macs. It's a bit more expensive, but they've got some interesting solutions. Good luck!

tay
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Post by tay » Sun May 14, 2006 7:52 pm

royalbusiness.com has Tucano bags among others. Reasonably priced, and they dont look like the ugly black targus bags *ugh*.

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