Where Can One Find Nice Laptop Carrying Cases?

Tuesd@y asks: "I have a Sony VAIO PCG-N505VX and have been trying to find a good case for it. Because of the small size I have given up hope on finding one that fits well. I still need a case though and I have decided against the standard "buisnessman black bag". I would prefer something unique, in a courier-bag style, yet not huge. I found this one from CHROME but I was wondering if anyone has seen or knows of a better one. Any suggestions?"

www.thepouch.com

[Anonymous Coward]

I got a case for my 505tx from them.

Bags

[Llama Keeper]

When I'm road-warrioring I use a backpack created by Kelty to keep both my laptop and my carry-on stuff.
Its huge and yet small enought to be within the ever-shrinking carry-on limits. It also carry's all the other stuff I need for work and school besides my trusty new IBM workpad z50. Here's [tesser.com]the specs to the backpack. I got mine from a local sporting goods store, but I'll bet someone can find it online.

Re:Spire

[mlc]

I also own a case from Spire and love it. Since I already own a backpack, I got the Boot [spireusa.com], which is just a little cover thingy that goes inside my backpack. When my current backpack wears out, I'll probably get a new one from Spire, but that's still a while yet. (For me, worn out == holes in it so big that things fall out). FWIW, my laptop is a Sony PCG-F270, which is not one of the ultratiny ones, and it fits quite nicely in the case.

Spire

[eidetic]

Check out Spire. [spireusa.com] These bags are built to take anything, and they look great too. I bought an Endo, which is a smallish courier style bag. It can be worn duffle style or across the back. There is a seperate compartment inside that holds even smaller laptops tight. I've knocked it off a table and the laptop didn't feel a thing.

Re:Brenthaven and EMS (eastern moutain sport)

[non_linear]

I second the rec on Brenthaven. My girlfriend has the 'urban backpack' model. It's very professional looking to boot. It carries a lot of stuff and a laptop (with the padded sleeve); it has withstood the rigors of travel and daily commuting via mass transit. I can't discern any wear nor tear after six months. It's not cheap, but it's quality. She chose the backback over the shoulder bag due to long hours of commuting.

As for me, I just picked up a laptop backback from Eastern Mountain Sports. I got tired of carry two bags for all my work (argh!). The nice feature of the EMS bag is that, in its padded sleeve, the laptop is strapped in the backback to help with shock adsorption. Plus, there's room for my binder, etc. EMS calls it the 'hard drive computer pack'.

Targus pales in comparision. they're okay for light duty.

For ultra coolness

[benenglish]

try Kalispel Metal Products. It'll be heavy, but those guys will custom build anything for a price. Nearly all the Olympic Shooting Team members use their products for good reason. Talk about quality! Slip one into a suitably courier-like cover, and you might have something appealing.

Of course, this applies basically if you want a travel case. If you want something light enough to carry around, look elsewhere. Personally, I think the folks who specialize in camera bags do a great job. Domke and Billingham are excellent names and I wouldn't be surprised if they had something that appealed to you.

Bean's got 'em

[predictive]

I got my case a year and some ago from L.L. Bean's big store in Maine. I was worried about it not being armored like the rest of the 'me too' leather cases (like the Targus ones), but I haven't had any problems in over a year of heavy road warrior duty.

The thing that really attracted me to this case was it didn't scream 'laptop', so you're not as much of a target for airport thieves. It's got lots of storage room too; I carry my laptop, an extra battery, a power adapter, several CDs and three fat O'Reilly books and still have plenty of room.

Laptop bag

[Ellen Forradalom]

If a neoprene bag appeals to you, Shoreline makes a nice shoulder bag for about $75 with a matching laptop insert for about $45. It's lightweight, a little smaller than many briefcases, and its styling is a nice balance between bleeding-edge trendy and business dorky. It does not have the armor needed to protect a laptop you sling around a lot, but it should hold your Sony Vaio very nicely. Their email address is [e-mail] [mailto].

Re:Bean's got 'em

[hugehugh]

Eddie Bauer used to have a nice leather attache case and a laptop holder you could buy for it. I don't see it on the website, so I don't know if they still offer it.

Hugh

Kensington Saddlebag

[jfunk]

I bought a laptop about two years ago and wanted to find a good case for it. I spent hours going through the targuses et al at Staples. None of them were what I wanted. You can put a laptop in them all right, but there wasn't any room for books/binders. Just crappy "file" storage. I went to the net and found the Kensington Saddlebag [kensington.com]. You can fit binders, books, etc. easily into it. The front pouch had room for storing pens/pencils, my TI-86 calculator, a zip drive and a floppy drive. The padding is good, too. It can be carried over your shoulder, in your hand, and there's a pouch in the back that stores bookbag style straps which are useful if you commute on bicycle.

Nowadays I'm rarely without it, even when I leave my laptop at home. It has the great feature of not looking like there's a laptop in it either. I highly recommend it.

Pelican 1470

[mick2275]

A hard pastic case like the ones I use for rifles and cameras, but briefcase size.
My Dell I7.5k just barely fits in the thing with all but the thin top and bottom foam taken out. Add the ac adaptor, some cable, a couple of cd's and pcmcia paraphrenalia and the thing is full.
I like it 'cause it looks cool, but I'd actually recommend it to someone with a less tank-like laptop.
If your machine is a millimeter bigger than the I7500 forget about it though. The specs are available here [pelican.com]. I notice a bigger version is listed on the "coming soon" page [pelican.com]. I guess I bought too soon.