Carrying case for T42p

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#1 Post by **RonS** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 3:07 pm

I'm shopping for a case for a T42p. I've narrowed the decision to three cases. Does anyone any experience with either of these?

1. Thinkpad Vertical Roller Case ($115 best price)
2. Booq Cobra.XM ($180 best price)
3. Brenthaven Topload ($99 best price)

Plinkerton · #2 Post by **Plinkerton** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 3:22 pm

I say the Cobra. I have a Booq Powersleeve and it's great quality. I like their stuff. It looks a bit more manageable than the others also.

texasdiver · #3 Post by **texasdiver** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:34 pm

I just bought a T42p and I'm also looking at bags.

Couple comments:

1. I belive that the 15" T42p won't fit into the Brenthaven topload. Check this out before you go that route.

2. If you want a rolling case and live near a Costco, I just noticed that they have some nice looking Wenger Swiss Army rolling laptop cases for about $69. I took a hard look at it in Costco yesterday and it's just more case than I want. But if you want a roller, it would be an option. It comes with a removable sleeve that can operate as its own case with shoulder strap.

3. I also have my eye on the Booq Cobra. But I haven't seen one in person.

4. Two more possible bags for your consideration would be the Tom Bihn Empire Buiilder and Trager Courier. Both bags are on my list.

http://www.tombihn.com/Merchant2/mercha ... ct_Count=4
http://www.tombihn.com/Merchant2/mercha ... ct_Count=3

#4 Post by **JaneL** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 4:40 pm

Save your neck, shoulder and back and get the roller bag.

texasdiver · #5 Post by **texasdiver** » Fri Dec 31, 2004 5:04 pm

Well, the reason I don't want a roller bag is because I already travel with a rollaboard luggage bag and carry my laptop bag strapped to the clip on my rollaboard bag that is designed for that purpose.

I either carry the laptop around locally without much else in the bag, or I carry it fully loaded while traveling and then strap it on top of my rolling luggage bag. So for my use, a rolling laptop bag serves no purpose.

Besides, the streets and sidewalks around here aren't that great for rolling. I'd rather carry my bag than roll it through mud puddles and dirt.

mm77 · #6 Post by **mm77** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:24 am

I use a Brenthaven Topload and Backpack with a T42 15". The Brenthaven sleeve is very thick and bulky, so I use a Waterfield (sfbags.com) sleeve instead.

The Brenthaven Topload is much lighter without the original sleeve. I believe the tradeoff in terms of size/weight vs. protection is worth it.

#7 Post by **RonS** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 10:48 am

I just ordered the Booq Cobra.XM. If it doesn't work out, then I'll get the IBM Vertical Roller.

texasdiver · #8 Post by **texasdiver** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 1:38 pm

RonS

How about coming back on here and giving us a review of the Booq Cobra after you get it? I'm also interested in that bag.

From what I understand, the Cobra was designed as a bag for the 15" Powerbook. I'm curious to know how good the fit is with a 15" thinkpad with the extended life battery, which is what I have.

I'm also curious how nice the fit and finish is on the bag and how well it is designed.

Thanks!

#9 Post by **RonS** » Sat Jan 01, 2005 2:23 pm

Will do.

#10 Post by **RonS** » Mon Jan 24, 2005 12:24 pm

Okay - I bought and submitted a review of the Cobra.XM on this forum.

I also bought the Thinkpad Vertical Roller bag. It's a good bag with some really nice touches, and one glaring flaw. Here's a quick review:

Targus IBM Vertical Roller Bag

The bag is made out of ballistic nylon with thinly padded handles. The internal puches are velcroed in so you can remove them for loading and unloading, which is a feature I haven't seen in any other bag. The zipper pulls are very easy to grab. There is an outside cell phone pocket and there is supposed to be a water bottle holder, but it didn't arrive with my bag. I submitted an on-line warranty claim for this missing part at the Targus web site five days ago, but Targus hasn't responded.

The bag is fairly light, and it's vertical design allows it to fit through tight places like airline aisles. But since it's more narrow than most bags, loading and unloading papers in the document pouches is a little awkward.

There is a high-quality retractable single-pole handle that is slightly curved, perfect for long-legged people like me who have a problem with their heel kicking the bag when running for a flight. The wheels are small and thinner than most.

There is no removable sleeve for the notebook computer, which is my personal preference. Instead, there is a built-in pocket padded on three sides by air-filled cushions. It's a nice design and perfectly fits the T42 with 6-cell battery. But if you use a 9-cell battery, the T42 squeezes hard against the side air-filled cushions and it barely fits. This bag is clearly not designed for the 9-cell battery.

There is a pass-through trolley pocket that is supposed to fit over the extended handles of a rolling suitecase. But the pocket is so narrow and tight that it won't fit either of my primary traveling suitecases. It's not even close. My suitecases are the standard roller-bag design that fit in the overhead compartment and jet airline. This would have been a great bag for me if it weren't for this one glaring flaw.

I ordered this bag from Amazon.com for $136. It was a few dollars cheaper elsewhere, but I chose Amazon because of their easy return policy in case I didn't like the bag. Since the bag won't fit over my suitecase handles, I'm definitely returning it.

Carrying case for T42p

Carrying case for T42p

Brenthaven Topload and T42

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