Photo: Stock.Xchng

As much as we’re gadget lovers, we’re also backpack aficionados. Yep, that’s where our very limited fashion sense starts and ends – with geeky t-shirts and awesome backpacks. Somewhere along the way we combined our love for gadgets, backpacks and laptops to bring you our-definitive-in-our-eyes guide on the best travel backpacks for laptops.

It ain’t camping if a laptop isn’t there

Camping has become so much more bearable since the invention of laptops, and don’t go judging us telling us it is defeatist. We’re still out there, aren’t we? Having said that, the hazards of camping are a little more exaggerated than those in our concrete jungle. Hence the reason we have a healthy bias to North Face rucksacks as our travel backpacks and camping backpacks of choice. They just work.

Okay, fine, if you must look more trendy…!

The only minus against North Face rucksacks, the real hiker and the pretend-hiker’s preferred backpack, is that they don’t exactly look trendy. We get that, as do the guys at Berghaus, who have, to their credit, tried to balance the needs of the outdoors with aesthetic consideration, too.

Their bags are well padded, with various compartments, which make them ideal camping backpacks and travel backpacks. But they’re often designed well, with vibrant colours, too, making them look like backpacks you’d throw over your shoulder for campus and the like, as well.

Quick checklist

In short, what you should look for in camping backpacks or travel backpacks is outlined below.

Firstly, large capacity: The bigger the capacity, the less you have to leave behind to make it all fit into one bag.

Secondly, tons of protective padding: Campers, hikers, and would-be adventurers slip and fall all the time. It’s part of the business, apparently. The thing is, your laptop doesn’t respond to well to said business, so make sure it is well protected from impact.

Finally, aesthetics: Remember, we’re backpack aficionados, so any old backpack that meets the first two considerations but slips up in the looks department is not good enough for us.

Photo: Sappymoosetree / Flickr

Some people love screen real estate. They love big, gorgeous screens so much that they get laptops with big gorgeous screens. I mean, we’re talking 18.4-inch laptops and larger here. The kind of laptops with dimensions so big, they simply refuse to fit into the regular laptop bag you usually use. Looking for alternatives? Here are a couple of pointers and options.

Ditch the carry case

Unless you’ve got forearms the size of Brock Lesnar’s and wrist strength that even Chuck Norris would be proud of, you really do not want a carry case as a laptop bag for large laptops. Seriously. Stop. Even if you’ve found the greatest carry case in the history of the world that will fit your colossal laptop, stop it. Got that? Good.

Also, seriously, in 2010, if you’re dragging a trolley bag to work, you should be ashamed of yourself. We’re not ones to judge, but consider yourself judged. Steer clear of those at all times unless you’re traveling.

What to buy, then?

Now that you know what not to buy, let’s dive into where you should be looking. Rucksacks are among humanity’s most under-celebrated achievement. True story. Nothing beats a good old-fashioned utility backpack that can carry nigh on everything. So they’re definitely worth considering.

Sling bags are also fantastic options for carrying those 18.4-inch laptops (and larger). Their design means they’re not obtrusive, but prolonged carry strains your shoulders (assuming you alternate of course), meaning rucksacks are still the most advisable options.

Overcompensation

We compensate for the outdoorsman in us who never actually goes, umm, outdoors (don’t judge, please) by sporting outdoor gear as often as possible. As such, we use Northface laptop rucksacks often.

But your options are varied, just as long as you follow the cardinal rules – ditch the trolley, and if you value your wrists at all, don’t even look at the carry case for your colossal 18.4-inch laptops (and larger).

Photo: Sony

With Sony’s insistence on making many of its Sony Vaio laptops with completely unique form factors, one-size-fits-all bags are often not the best solution for carrying your computer around with you. We’ve rounded up some of our favourite laptop bags for Sony Vaios.

Clever business – make your own bags

Photo: Sony

What is humorous is that nigh-on all the best bags for Vaios are Sony laptop bags.  Ranging from slick, leather carry bags to synthetic fibre sling bags, the options are surprisingly well varied and, unusually, usually better than those made by companies that retail bags full time.

Sony laptop rucksacks

For rucksack fiends (self-admitted, right here), the Sony backpacks are interesting beasts. The Sony VGPE-MB05 backpack is probably our favourite for having a super simple, understated design, something ahead of its years when the first version came out back in 2007. Sony’s insistence on naming its laptop bags using the same naming system as that used for its laptops is bizarre to us, but what do we know, right?

Sony laptop carry bags

As interesting as the Sony backpacks are, their laptop carry bags have a design superiority to them that refuses to be ignored. The manliest of men with even a hint of fashion taste will have a very hard time ignoring the liberally pink-splattered Sony VGP-CKC1. It. Just. Looks. So. Good. Yep, even if salmon isn’t your thing.

Photo: Sony

Other notable entrants in the Sony laptop carry bags range are almost every other full leather laptop in the range. Each of them are simply too good to ignore and have an understated aesthetic that complements the often flamboyant Vaio laptops they’re meant to carry.

There’s argument Sony should play nicely with other carry case manufacturers by adhering to more traditional form factors – which they have been doing lately – but when you can have Sony backpacks and Sony carry bags this good made in-house, why bother?

Photo: Belkin

It is certainly clear the bru-hah over tablet computers is not going to die down any time soon, so it makes sense to start accessorizing. Given most tablets are targeting a 10-inch size, it’s pretty much a guarantee that anything that’s made for the iPad specifically, right now, will work with the many tablets scheduled to launch within the next six months. Below are some standout tablet covers and tablet bags available on the market right now.

Belkin range

The entire Belkin range of tablet covers, ranging from sleeves, to grip sleeves, folios and even envelope-esque designs are a good deal for your money. This is primarily because the design team at Belkin took a very pragmatic approach in making these covers, resulting in products that don’t wow, so to speak, but work exceptionally well.

Cool Bananas range

The good folks at Cool Bananas will forever hold a special place in our hearts for creating John Rambo’s laptop bag of choice, yet with their tablet covers, the team takes a decidedly more sophisticated approach. The hip bags all have a very professional finish – bordering on corporate chic even – with the Cool Bananas TheBook flap leather bag embodying exactly what we’re talking about. Understated? Yes. Sophisticated? Yes. Surprisingly desirable? Very much so.

Hama Aha range

Photo: Belkin

Okay, firstly how awesome is this company’s name? Take a second to appreciate that. Secondly, these tablet covers and tablet bags weren’t developed (nor are they marketed) with tablet computers in mind, but users have quickly discovered they work well as tablet covers. These Hama Aha (love it!) 10.2-inch netbook covers are made of synthetic fibre, with great contemporary artwork on the outside. They come with a shoulder belt, too, if that’s how you roll, or you can grab them by their handle. The great thing about them, is that while other bags go for simple, understated, ‘leaving room for the tablet only’ designs, The Hama Aha (!) bags have additional sleeves and pockets for more accessories.

What do you use to carry your current tablet in? Or, what will you use to carry your future tablet in? And have you come across any tablet sleeves, tablet covers or tablet bags that you think are noteworthy? Let us know in the comments.

Photo: Cool Bananas

We spend a lot of time investing in what goes into our laptops, both in terms of software and output, but very little time investing in what we keep our laptops in. There’s an ocean of laptops bags available on the market, but like Orwell taught us, ‘all laptop bags are equal, but some laptop bags are more equal than others’. Here’s a look at the more ‘equal’ cool laptop bags available on the market.

Cool Bananas BulletProof hardcover case

What is there to not love about this bag? Not only does the company have an awesome name – Cool Bananas for the win – and the bag have an awesome feature – it’s bulletproof (!) – the understated simplicity is what really wins us over. The designed-for-Macbook Cool Bananas BulletProof hardcover case is not only slick, it’s also very hardcore. Not that we recommend you actually try, you know, shoot the thing, but that has to add some street cred to even the nerdiest of guys.

My Documents: the sleeve

Photo: ThinkGeek

Okay, get this: so your laptop’s OS has a ‘my documents’ folder where you store, well, all your documents, right? But, as a result, surely your laptop is one giant electronic collection of your documents, right? So, it stands to reason that you should put your laptop in its own My Documents folder, right? Right! That super-geeky thinking is exactly what the guys at ThinkGeek did when they created the ‘My Documents’ sleeve for laptops up to 15-inches. It comes with the prerequisite pixilated mouse pointer and all. Seriously, we couldn’t make this stuff up even if we tried.

Crumpler wants to party

Photo: Crumpler

If you’re more a sling-bag person than a handheld bulletproof hardcover case or a super-geeky metaphorical-themed bag person, than Crumpler’s range of cool laptop bags has something ideal for you. In fact, the aptly named Crumpler Cheesy Disco for 15-inch laptops may be just what you’re looking for. What’s apt about the name Cheesy Disco, you ask? Well, we don’t know, other than the fact that Crumpler’s naming department knew the fun name could one day put the shoulder bag in a list featuring a bulletproof-freaking-bag. I say bravo to them – it worked.

Have you stumbled upon any uber-geeky, or uber-sexy, downright silly or traditionally cool laptop bags? Remember, you’re up against the Cool Bananas BulletProof bag here, so you need to bring it on. We’d love to hear from you, so leave a comment and let us know.

The importance that electronic goods have taken in this era is really enormous. Our day-to-day activities require that we use these digital appliances on a daily basis. As technology is improving day by day, the size of these devices is shrinking on a massive scale.

Today we have several laptops that are just a few kilograms in weight. In fact, some of them even weigh about 400 to 500 grams only. The reason for such lightweight laptops is newer and smaller components, including CPUs that require less power to cool, solid state disks and more compact batteries.  There are some world famous companies that are manufacturing these lightweight laptops. We shall here look into some of the best lightweight notebooks available.

Samsung’s NC10 (NP-NC10-KA02UK) is one such subnotebook or netbook that is too light and weighs just over 500 to 600 grams. It comes with an Intel Atom N270 and has a clock speed of about 1,600 MHz. It also has an internal RAM capacity of 1,024 MB. The hard disk memory is of 160 GB.

Toshiba NB200-10Z (PLL20E-00200JEN) is a netbook manufactured by Toshiba. This is another lightweight laptop. It comes with Intel Atom N280 processor and has a clock speed of about 1,660 MHz. It also comes with a RAM capacity of 1,024 MB and a hard disk memory of 160 GB. The display screen is 10.2 inches in size.

Sony Vaio VGN-UX1XN is a netbook manufactured by Sony and comes with an Intel Core Solo processor and has a clock speed of 1,333 MHz. It has a small display screen that is just 4.5 inches in size.

The laptop bags that you get as a compliment when you buy a laptop are not very attractive. Often, they do not go well with your attire. Also, there is not much space in the compartment to carry your official documents and other necessities. Carrying a conventional laptop bag can also be uncomfortable because of the poor strap design. Hence, one needs to go for a good laptop bag that is available in the market.

Crumpler The Royale Säckli M is a shoulder laptop bag. It is made up of leather and ripstop. This bag comes in a wide range of colour variants. The size of the laptop pocket is 31 x 24 x 3.5 cm. The maximum laptop size that can be accommodated is 13 inches only. It also comes with an exclusive shoulder belt. The weight of the bag comes to around 900 grams. It can serve as a good hand luggage. The Crumpler The 13 inch GIMP is another variant of laptop bag produced by the same company. The 13 inch laptop bag can also naturally carry a laptop with a maximum size 13 inches. It is made up of Neoprene as well. Be.ez Lemini Street pouch is also a laptop bag that comes in two different colours: grey or silver. This particular laptop bag assures to prevent your laptop from bumps as well as scratches. Also, the appearance of the bag is really appealing. It is also ultra spacious which means that you can now carry much more than your laptop. Laptop size it can accommodate is 13 inches.

Backpacks with a laptop carrying compartment are so handy these days. You can easily fill it with your clothes and other items and also place your laptop in the same bag and in a different compartment. You need not carry a separate bag for your laptop any more.

The North Face Borealis is a laptop Rucksack. The front compartment is made up of waterproof zip and organizer. It can handle a capacity of about 30 litres and shows how North Face laptop bags are just as rugged and reliable as normal North Face backpacks. This Borealis laptop backpack also weighs about 0.94 kilograms. It has a chest strap and a hip strap. It has a padded back and is available in different colours.

The North Face Surge also is a laptop Rucksack and weighs about 1.25 kilograms. It has a very large main compartment that also consists of a laptop pocket along with an organizer and a removable sound pocket and headphone cable port. There are two mesh pockets on both the sides of the backpack. It has a capacity of 34 litres.

The North Face Modem is another option with a capacity of 30 litres. It weighs about 1.04 kilograms. It has a laptop compartment of 17”. The North Face Overhaul 40 has a padded laptop pocket and also a front zipped pocket. It comes with a large main compartment and a capacity of about 40 litres. It weighs about 1.36 kilograms. The fabric with which it is made up of is tarpolin, 421 D nylon and 1680 D ballistic nylon. It has a height of 54 cm. All these are really great buys for everyone.

Keeping in mind the comfort and safety requirements of customers, laptop manufacturing companies are continuously launching new and improved laptop bags. The discussion ahead will help you in getting the best choice for your notebook.

The Toshiba Qosmio XXL Case is designed for Qosmio notebooks of up to 18.4 inches. The cushioned notebook compartment gives sufficient guard to your notebook while you are travelling. Somewhat on the larger end for laptops bags, the black coloured carrying case has dimensions of 50.6 cm x 13.4 cm x 36.3 cm and is also made of 600D polyester material. The carrying strap includes a hand grip, shoulder carrying strap and trolley strap. The shoulder strap is adjustable in nature. In addition to the notebook compartment, the bag also contains separate compartments for Mobile phone, PDA, passport, documents, address and business cards.

The Acer Aspire One Neoprene Cover Sleeve is compatible with Acer Aspire One 10.1 inch D150, D250 notebooks. It is manufactured from high quality 100% polyurethane material and offers total impact, scratch and shock protection to the notebook. Its 2-way zip provides easy access and the inner protection guards your notebook from zip scratches. The Crumpler Cheesy Disco can fit laptops of up to 15 inches. It features big zips with protective seals that provide sufficient scratch protection. It is made of durable Chicken Tex Supreme fabric and has a waterproof lining to keep your laptop safe and dry.

Some other options can be Crumpler the 13 “Gimp, Wenger Coral, Crumpler Slippy Fish and Crumpler Ugly Divorce, which are equally durable and protective.

You must have gotten frustrated at security checkpoints at airports where you have to unpack your entire luggage and other material so that it can be scanned. Most of the time it’s really very bothersome to take care of all the items and again put them in place after crossing the security checkpoint. There is also always a risk of loosing the valuable items, such as even the laptop, during this whole process. With such issues in mind, Travelon has launched the Checkpoint Friendly laptop bags which not only offer large storage space but also get through the security screening easily without making you unpack your entire kit.

There’s a special sleeved attached to the bag that is meant to pack the laptop. You can then put the sleeve in the main bag and go on. The sleeve is much like the Acer Aspire One Neoprene Cover Sleeve, except it is attached to the Travelon laptop bag.  At the security checkpoint all you have to do is take out the sleeve and relax. As the sleeve is still attached to the bag you don’t have to worry about your laptop. This way your laptop and the rest of the luggage get scanned simultaneously without getting separated from each other. Then after the security check you can easily put the sleeve in the bag again and move forward without any reservations.

The bag is rugged enough to tolerate different ecological conditions and keeps the laptop in its place safely even if it’s dropped, by chance. Inside the bag you will find small pockets for keeping laptop accessories. The sleeve is detachable, so if you want you can carry it separately too. To make your journey more convenient strong carry handles are attached both to the main bag and the sleeve.