Protecting a Laptop in a Bag

TECH · GERMANY

Protecting a Laptop in a Bag

Where damage happens, sleeves and padding, what to avoid and travel

Most laptop damage happens in transit rather than in use, and it happens in a small number of predictable ways. A sleeve solves some of them and not others.

The two failure points

Putting a bag down is the commonest cause of damage, because the impact goes straight through the base into the corner of the machine. The other is pressure — something heavy pressing on a closed lid cracks screens.

A sleeve suspended inside a bag, with padding below it so it does not reach the base, protects against the first. A rigid or well-padded sleeve protects against the second.

Measure the machine

Screen size is not a dimension. Measure the actual width, depth and thickness, since two laptops described as fourteen inch can differ by centimetres.

A sleeve that is too large lets the machine move, which is almost as bad as no sleeve.

What good padding looks like

Closed-cell foam rather than thin fabric, a raised base so the machine sits above the bottom of the bag, and a soft lining that will not scratch the lid.

Check the closure, since a magnetic flap that opens when lifted is how laptops end up on pavements.

What not to put in the same compartment

Chargers, keys, pens and anything with a hard edge. A charger pressing against a closed lid overnight is a common cause of screen damage.

Travel

Laptops go in hand luggage, never in the hold. Many security checkpoints require laptops out of the bag, so a sleeve that slides out easily saves time.

Do not leave a machine in a hot car, since heat is what degrades the battery fastest.

Bags and how you carry them

Both straps on a backpack, always. Carrying a loaded bag on one shoulder loads the spine unevenly and is the most common cause of backpack-related discomfort.

Weight should sit high and close to your back rather than sagging at the bottom, and a bag under about ten percent of body weight is a sensible target for daily carrying.

Docks and desks

A stand raising the screen to eye level with an external keyboard prevents the neck problems that come from a laptop used daily on a desk.

Keep vents clear, since using a laptop on soft surfaces blocks airflow and shortens its life.

Check the vents are not covered by the sleeve if you use a laptop inside it, which some designs allow and most do not.

Backups

Physical protection is not data protection. Keep three copies, on two types of media, with one off-site, since a laptop is the device most likely to be lost or stolen.

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