[ltp] Carrying Case??

[Mark W. Jeanmougin]

On Sun, 3 Jul 2005, David Tansey wrote:
> Does anyone here have a good suggestion for a carrying case that is
> designed either for the X or T series? I have an x40 and am dying for a
> carrying case with some room for a book or two and a few files. 

I'm looking for the same thing.  I had been using bags from L.L. Bean ( 
http://www.llbean.com/ ) for over a decade and loved every one.  Their 
customer support has always been great too.  Once I got my first ThinkPad 
7 years ago or so, I bought a backpack from them that has a padded 
compartment for a laptop.  Very disappointing.  The build quality was not 
up to their normal quality.  The bag, overall, was fine, it just felt like 
the laptop sleeve was a late afterthought.  I tried a second, different 
style from them.  Same thing: Bag was nice, the laptop padding wasn't.  

Now, I'm using a Lowepro backpack.  If you're not familiar with these 
guys, they are more geared to making bags for camera equipment.  Well, 
with photography getting more digital, photographers need to carry laptops 
with them.  These guys know how to build a bag to protect upwards of 
$8000 worth of camera equipment.  So, your ThinkPad will be safe.  :)

My Lowepro back pack is built like a tank.  Very reliable, very sturdy,
and pretty light.  Comfortable to wear, lots of padding to protect my
ThinkPad.  My only complaint is that it doesn't have room for many papers
or books.  I mean, you can fit a magazine or two, and let's say, 50 sheets
of 8.5x11 in a few manila folders, but that's about it.  The nice thing
about the llbean stuff is that you could fit an O'Reilly book or two, a
change of clothes to catch the game after work, a magazine, some papers,
and lunch, all in there with the TP.

Anyway, I now have (from Lowepro) a ... "laptop sleeve".  I'm not sure
what to call it.  It's basically a very well padded, little bag that holds
your ThinkPad, Power adapter, and has another pocket.  I store an extra
Ethernet cable in it.  It's great if I need to bring the laptop to a 
meeting.  I just grab that and I have everything I need, without feeling 
like I'm moving into a conference room.

So, I'm thinking about going back to an LL Bean bag.  I figure that I can
put the laptop in the Lowepro sleeve.  Put the sleeve in the back back, and 
still have plenty of room for all the stuff I like to carry around.

On one hand, I know that I carry too much stuff around with me.  OTOH, I 
figure that the 15 minute walk each way from my car to the office is the 
best exercise I get every day, so I may as well add some weight so I get a 
better workout!  :)

MJ