If you are someone that travels a lot for work or pleasure, you are likely going to find the need to bring your laptop with you at some point. Bringing a laptop can be a hassle considering the effort it takes to get the laptop out of your bag and back in it while going through security.
Unpacking your laptop backpack if it’s not TSA friendly can be a real hassle, especially if it is packed with your stuff.
Imagine how nice it would be, if you could just simple unzip your bag, unfold it, put it on the conveyor and you are done! No unpacking, no trouble with getting your laptop out of the sleeve.
Well, today is your lucky day, because I’ve decided to review five of the best TSA Checkpoint friendly laptop backpacks and bags and present them on my blog. These gears vary in price, there are premium and general ones as well, to make sure you find one that fits your budgets as well as your budget.
A TSA approved laptop backpack is a must if you are traveling a lot. Here is our list of the best five currently on the market. Feel free to browse the table, and click on the product names to find the reviews about the certain product.
1. Timbuk2 Uptown – The TSA Friendly Laptop Backpack
The Timbuk2 Uptown is a pretty neat looking TSA friendly laptop backpack. It has everything that an everyday traveler might need, even if you are commuting cross-country.
When it comes to organization, this laptop rucksack is the absolute best. The small zippered pocket on the front of the bag is great if you want to keep smaller items where you can easily grab them. There is a side pocket on the left side of the bag which is stretchy, meaning it can fit anything at the size of a water bottle. To be honest, it would be great if there were a side pocket on the right side as well, because most of the time one water bottle is not enough, especially if you are taking a longer trip.
There is a larger space in the backpack as well, which is capable of holding all of your books, your clothes, and other gadgets or everyday stuff you may carry around with you. The design inside this compartment helps you keep things organized.
The laptop compartment of the laptop-friendly backpack can easily hold up any portable computer and mac up to 15 inches. Because it’s a TSA friendly backpack, you can simply send your backpack through security without the need of removing your laptop or anything from your backpack. The Timbuk2 Uptown completely folds out, making your security checks hassle free. The velcro protected laptop sleeve won’t let your laptop to slide out.
This rucksack is pretty comfortable, it has a ventilated back panel, which can be pretty handy, especially when it is summer. The strap design is not my personal favorite, but it’s certainly not bad.
It has a handle on each side, so you can kind of carry it around like a messenger bag if you want to.
On the downside, this backpack is pretty bulky, and heavy even when it is empty.
2. SwissGear Travel Gear 1900 – Airport Friendly Laptop Backpack for Travellers
If you have read the guide about the tibcos list of the top 10 17 inch laptop backpacks i made, the name SwissGear will sound familiar to you. Swissgear is a pretty well known and big name when it comes to travel gears. They literally produce and make everything that a traveler might need when backpacking trough their trips.
This bad boy can fit any laptop up to seventeen inch, and it’s lay flat technology what makes it totally TSA friendly. You just simply unzip the middle of the bag, lay it flat, and place it on the conveyor. It’s simple as that.
The SwissGear travel gear has everything that you might need when it comes to organizing your stuff. The multiple pockets on and inside the backpack helps you to keep track of everything you have placed inside. It has a dedicated pocket for your tablet and smaller peripherals.
The two pockets on the side of the bag allows you to carry two water bottles at the same time, which can come in pretty handy if you are on a longer trip.
This rucksack is pretty roomy and can hold a lot of stuff. Although it comes with a ton of space, it could use more smaller pockets for your medication, sunglasses.
3. Samsonite Pro 4 DLX Urban – The professional
Samsonite is the king of creating stylish laptop backpacks, and this airport friendly pack is gorgeous as well. It has a very clean, minimalistic design, yet its modern and can fit a lot of stuff. The leather finish on several spots of the bag really ads to the quality of the bag, makes it look like quality. If you want some approving looks on the airport, the Samsonite Pro 4 DLX Urban is a good choice.
The backpack is a pretty solid construction, but thanks to that it’s not light. In my opinion it’s not an issue, because i tend to carry around a lot of stuff already, so it does not make that much of a difference, but it might for someone who is used to smaller bags.
Although the Pro 4 seems small, it is surprisingly roomy. The zippered compartments make it very easy to open the bag at airport security checks, and the nylon material makes it elastic, yet durable.
Just like the SwissGear bag in the previous section, this bag has a lot of space and compartments as well. To be honest, this bag has even more.
The only thing that is missing from this backpack is the water bottle holders on the side of the backpack.
4. Alienware Awbp18 Orion Notebook Backpack – Checkpoint friendly for gamers
Are you a gamer, who travels a lot, and is sick and tired of slow airport checkpoints? Well, the beast backpack is going to be your best friend then. The Alienware Orion was purely made for gamers, it can hold any oversized, heavy gaming laptop up to 18.4 inches. Thanks to the flat layout of the bag, it is super easy to fit in even those big gaming laptops as well.
The Orion has a specific pocket for your gaming laptop, and in that same pocket there is a smaller zippered pocket where you can easily fit documents, CD, or any smaller item.
The middle zippered pocket of the bag is pretty big as well. It’s the same size as the laptop pocket, with a mesh zippered pocket, and a simple one. You can fit your USB Cooling pad here, your Ipad, tablet or even a smaller notebook might fit as well.
The third, last section has several smaller pockets, for your USB sticks, memory cards, or any smaller gear in general. These pockets are actually labeled, making finding your stuff easier.
The Orion is TSA Complaint, with scanfast, meaning you can simply leave your laptop in your backpack when going through security airport checks.
If you have a larger laptop that you carry around with yourself on trips, this backpack is a must-have.
5. Swiss Gear SA8733 – TSA Friendly Messenger Bag
I know, it’s not a backpack, but I had to include this messenger bag, because it’s so good quality and comes in very handy, when you only want to pack a few things, or don’t like backpacks.
Just as usual, SwissGear equals quality, and it really shows on this bag. The quality of the construction, the good zippers, the padding on the shoulder strap and the fabric material of the bag is high quality.
Despite it’s look, the Swiss Gear SA8733 has a lot of space. It can easily hold any laptop up to 15 inches, your textbooks or documents, while still leaving a lot of space to carry your stuff.
The messenger bag feels very good quality, feels like Swiss Gear is always aware of the material they make bags out of.
The bag has 5 pockets overall, including the one in the front. There is a big pouch for your laptop, and there are several other ones, with smaller pockets to help you keep your stuff organized.
The TSA Friendly name fits, because the bag is pretty easy to open and fold out.
The shoulder straps are pretty comfortable and padded, they are attached with two big hooks, that can be deattached if you want, so it’s pretty easy to remove the shoulder straps.
Although Swiss Gear does not say that this bag is waterproof, it’s pretty good. I walked with this bag trough heavy rainfall, and everything inside was totally dry and secure.
Although its a smaller bag, it’s got a little bit of weight, and if you don’t zip the bag correctly, your stuff can easily fall out.
Thanks to the great feedback we received to this post, we have decided to review the best laptops as well, that you can fit in these bags and are TSA friendly! Click here for the Tibco Approved 17 inch laptop list!
