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Hardware

Laptop Carrying Gear? 12

Posted by Cliff from the something-better-than-a-suitcase dept.
jeffx asks: "Okay, it has been long enough and I finally bought a laptop. Not going to get into a great big discussion about what type of laptop I got but something that is just as important,.. the carrying case for it. I have so many gadgets my belt looks like I should be starring in the next Batman movie. So I don't want some silly business-looking laptop bag to carry my new 'gadget' in. I am fond of some of the backpack-looking cases but they still look too professional. So anyone have any input on what I should use to carry my laptop around in? I know this sounds like a trendy thing but before I got the 'right' case for my Palm Pilot I rarely used it. The case needs to be functional more than anything."
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Laptop Carrying Gear? More

Laptop Carrying Gear?

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  • Aren't they pretty much the only company that makes laptop bags? At least ones that I'd chose to buy. The only tradeoff is the price. They're not cheap, but when you're looking for something to carry a $1200-3000 piece of tech around, doesn't it deserve a $50-100 case to live in? Targus Site. [targus.com]
    Unfortunately for me, who carries a portable LAN party with him at all times, I had a hard time finding a case that would hold two laptops, their power supplies, two 8-port hubs w/power supplies, various length cables, all of my LinuxCentral CDs, Windows CDs (95/98/NT/2k), boot floppies, external floppy drive, and 20-disc case of MP3s, and whatever else I think I can cram in there. Enter the case from an old Zenith portable (ZF-171-42). Holds everything I need.
  • Does cliff not even check older ask /. columns? Anyway, here's a good thread that has lots of suggestions:
    Laptop Back Packs [slashdot.org]

    Made me want to buy a laptop just so I could also buy a nice bag for it ;)

  • I got a big ass bookbag from targus. (www.targus.com), its the biggest one they sell, well padded, and tons of space to store your crap.
  • Eagle Creek [eaglecreek.com] makes a great line of bags that are tough and very casual looking. I don't want to look like a corporate drone with a laptop either and I just bought a "Data Port" bag by EC. It will hold the new OmniBook 900 with tons of room to spare and I can even squeeze the old Inspiron 7000 into it with millimeters to spare. It was even relatively inexpensive at $55. I got the black one but it comes in green and something called "Berry" as well.
  • Try Tenba, www.tenba.com , they make cases for photograhic gear, and have branched out into laptop cases. I don't know if they are exciting enough for you, but they are tough and protective!

    Enjoy your new anchor!
  • Don't try to save money when buying a carrying case for your notebook. I tried 2 cheap cases for my notebook and they both broke after about 2 trips out of town. I ended up with a Targus and wish I had bought it in the first place. Whatever you buy, make sure the carrying strap is connected to the bag really really well.
  • This probably won't work for a laptop, but for PDA's or cell phones, it looks pretty good.

    http://www.eholster.com
  • I picked up the messenger bag [amazon.com] from amazon.com
    The laptop area is a little tight, but you can basically live out of this bag. Cell phone holder, palm holder, key rings, can of pop, etc. This thing rocks, I never leave home without it anymore.
  • I love my e-holster. Get one. Now. No really, you won't look like a geek in it. Well, actually you will, but you won't care because the e-holster is so cool. Get one. Now.
  • I can highly recommend the Port Noteworthy Backpack from extensive personal experience. It's listed on the Targus Backpacks [targus.com] page, along with other models. Disclosure: We [kpe.com] built their website.

    The Noteworthy model in particular has gone along with me on a number of grueling road trips. I've used to to carry everything from a 12 lb. Dell Inspiron to my current Dell Latitude LS ultralight.

    I did a 10-city West Coast tour with my favorite band [crackersoul.com] recently, and I used the Targus bag to bring all my taping gear as well as all my notebook gear to every show. The capacity of this thing is unbelievable, I was carrying:

    • Notebook PC with AC Adapter
    • DAT recorder in outside pocket
    • Microphones/preamp in other outside pocket
    • Port replicator (fits easily in the large inner compartment)
    • Voltage converter for the car
    • Cell phone and charger
    • External floppy drive
    • External CD-ROM drive
    • Digital camera
    • Rechargeable batteries/charger
    • Assorted tapes, CDs, patch cables, so on

    There's no question that this bag could easily handle two notebook computers complete will all the accessories, although only one of the inner compartments is lined with the air protection system.

    The bag carries all of this in about the same size as your garden variety backpack. I can tell you that the folks at Targus (and Port, which they own) take their product design and development very, very seriously. They also have an excellent lifetime warranty [targus.com] on all the cases (if it ever breaks, they replace it) and killer customer service.

  • that's an excellent thread, btw. after reading it, i happened to need a new laptop bag for a trip and bought the eastpak [eastpak.com] variety. i find it an excellent backpack to carry all my stuff (although if you really have a lot, you might want to look for something with more pockets), and the best part about it is it looks like any other ordinary backpack. no screaming "look at me! i'm full of expensive electronics!" here
  • Another option is to just buy the padded sleeve by
    itself. I already a heavy-duty backpack that I didn't want to part with, and my computer fits in there and is well protected. I believe the sleeve was made by Jansport. It's a cheap alternative and if a backpack you already have is large enough and it doesn't scream 'i have a computer!'

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