The Luggage Blog

Seasoned fliers know the drill: take off your shoes, dump the latte, and whip out that quart sized bag of liquids. Now, thanks to the TSA, those traveling with a laptop can keep it inside of their bag. In an effort to streamline the security process and reduce damage to and loss of laptops, the TSA called upon manufacturers to create bags that provide a clear and unobstructed view of the laptop for x-ray screening. Several producers of briefcases and travel goods answered that call and checkpoint friendly laptop bags have hit the market.

Tumi, the leader in luggage and briefcases, added a checkpoint friendly bag to their Alpha Series of business cases. The Tumi T-Pass Medium Capacity Laptop Brief features a split-opening panel along the back of the bag. It also includes foam blocks for accommodating smaller laptops. Briggs and Riley’s appropriately called, 17in. Speed Thru™ Case, uses a clam shell design to house the SpeedThru™ pocket. The laptop section features an orange lining, so you can easily tell that it is open. For a smaller version, look to Codi’s Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Case. Also making use of the clam shell design, one side is a dedicated compartment for the laptop; the other provides additional space for files and accessories.

While the TSA still reserves the right to ask passengers to remove their laptop from its case, any of these briefcases- with specially designed compartments-improves your chances of zipping through security lines.

Visit tsa.gov for more information regarding TSA’s laptop bag procedures.

The TSA just posted a video on their blog to clear up any confusion that still might be out there about checkpoint friendly laptop proceedures for those of us who don’t like to read.

And if you’re still looking for where to buy a checkpoint friendly bag, look no further.

With all of the buzz lately about TSA laptop cases, the question on everyone’s mind is “Where can I find a TSA friendly laptop bag?”  Look no further folks because here is one of the first TSA friendly laptop cases on the market.

CODi Checkpoint Friendly Laptop Case makes getting through security a breeze.  It has a folding twin compartments and side buckles to keep the two compartments secure for portability.  The hinged design allows travelers to grab the handle off of the conveyor belt, so there’s no need to try to “reassemble” your bag before you go.

If you’re still wondering what exactly makes it TSA friendly, read on for all you need to know about TSA friendly laptop bags.

[Read more →]

How about making your business travel a little easier?  I don’t know about you, but it sounds good to me.  The Director of TSA, Kip Hawley, has confirmed that “x-ray friendly” briefs are going to be accepted by TSA.  Two manufacturers, Pathfinder and Targus, already have bags close to ready and should be out for sale around August 2008.  These business cases range in styles from a backpack, non-wheeled briefs and a wheeled brief all at price points from $39-$200.  Quite a few other manufacturers are in the works of making their own versions.

Some might think it’s not worth paying for another briefcase, but I beg to differ.  If you’re in need of a new business case anyway and you travel a lot for business, why not just buy an x-ray friendly one!  In my opinion, I think anything that makes traveling easier today is beneficial to you.  All I know is that it’s bad enough that you need to separate all electronics, liquids, take off belts, metals, jackets, etc and much more, when your going through airport security, then have to put it all back on and together again. So, I wouldn’t mind purchasing an x-ray friendly bag.  Especially since the prices are going to be really reasonable too!  Even though these briefcases are not TSA “approved”, they are still considered TSA “friendly” and hopefully time will show that these bags will make business travel a bit easier.

To read more:

[USA Today] and [Gizmodo]