Back in September, when the TSA announced their new relaxed rules for laptop bag designs, virtually every manufacturer jumped on the bandwagon. We are now more than a month into the new rules, and the following 11 manufacturers have at least one checkpoint friendly bag available for (pre) ordering.
Here are the current bags with their prices and availability:
Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer
Tom Bihn bags managed to be one of the first to actually ship a TSA friendly laptop bag. Their Checkpoint Flyer bag was reviewed here in October.
The Checkpoint Flyer is available in three colors as well as 13″, 15″ and 17″ dimensions, plus an upcoming version for the new 15″ Macbook Pro.
The Checkpoint Flyer costs $225 and most sizes are available for immediate shipping. When you order, be sure to add a shoulder strap!
Belkin FlyThru
Once again, Gadling got the scoop with the first review of this TSA friendly bag. The MSRP is $59.99 and it is available from many retailers right now. At $36.81 (through this reseller), it is currently the cheapest TSA friendly bag on the market.
The Belkin FlyThru bag holds laptops up to 15.4″ and has an expandable front pocket as well as plenty of internal storage space.
Skooba Design Checkthrough Bag
The Skooba Design Checkthrough bag has a fairly standard design, and is made for most 15.4″ laptop, though Skooba Design report that it will hold many slim 17″ machines too.
The bag costs $139.95 and is currently in stock and ready to ship.
CODi CT3 Checkpoint Tested
CODi announced 4 different checkpoint friendly bags (a backpack, 2 regular laptop bags and a wheeled case).
With the exception of the Mobile Lite wheeled case, they are all currently available to order. Prices start at $200.
Mobile Edge ScanFast Collection
Mobile Edge was among the first bag designers to announce a lineup of checkpoint friendly bags, and their ScanFast assortment consists of 3 different bags.
The lineup offers a backpack, a briefcase and a messenger bag, and they all cost $99.99 each.
The backpack holds laptops up to 17″, and the briefcase and messenger bag are designed for laptops up to 15.4″.
Like most other bags in this overview, the checkpoint procedure is as simple as unzipping the laptop portion, and placing the unfolded bag on the conveyor.
Travelon Bags Checkpoint Friendly
Travelon Bags has announced not one, but six different TSA friendly laptop bags. Their collection covers everything from a simply laptop sling to a stylish ladies brief.
Prices start at just $24.99 (for the laptop protector) up to $189.99 for a wheeled laptop briefcase.
Briggs & Riley SpeedThru
Briggs & Riley is the clear winner when it comes to the number of checkpoint friendly bags. Their assortment covers a whopping 16 different bags, so they are clearly taking the market for these bags quite seriously.
There is however one big difference; not all the bags are dedicated “checkpoint friendly”.
Most of the other bags in my overview have special design features that allow the entire bag to go through the X-Ray machine without taking pieces out, but the Briggs & Riley solution depends on you removing their “SpeedThru” sleeve from the bag, and placing it on the belt. This obviously puts their bags at a disadvantage over most other bags here.
The Briggs & Riley SpeedThru compatible bags start at $167 for a basic messenger bag, up to $429 for an expandable leather overnight bag.
Tumi T-Pass
Tumi has taken a similar approach as Briggs & Riley, as their lineup also depends on you placing your laptop in a TSA friendly sleeve inside a regular bag.
The T-Pass lineup consists of 9 bags and 4 different sleeves for the various sizes of laptop computers.
The cheapest Tumi T-Pass compatible bag starts at $375 for the Alpha medium capacity laptop bag, up to $995 for their Sloane leather briefcase. The required T-Pass sleeve is an additional $60-$85 depending on the size.
FitzWell Checkpoint Friendly
Many of you will have heard of Zappo’s, famous for their online shoe sales. Their in-house brand is “FitzWell”, and they too have introduced a checkpoint friendly bag.
The FitzWell Wheeled Checkpoint Friendly bag is as the name implies, a wheeled notebook briefcase. The wheeled briefcase comes with an internal removable checkpoint friendly sleeve for laptops up to 15.4″.
At $139 it is one of the cheapest wheeled checkpoint friendly laptop bags in this lineup.
Aerovation Checkpoint Friendly
The Aerovation Checkpoint Friendly Laptop bag claims to be the world’s first TSA friendly bag. The bag is available in regular Nylon ($129.95) and Leather ($279.95).
Aerovation has posted a 5 minute
video clip on their site showing exactly how their bag and a laptop look when passing through the X-Ray machine.
TurboBag Checkpoint Friendly
TurboBag may be the brand with the silliest name in this overview, but their bags are nothing to laugh at.
The TurboBag checkpoint friendly bag lineup consists of 4 different bags, with 3 models for laptops up to 15.4″, and one for 17″ machines.
The bags are fold-open, which means you only have to unzip the laptop bag portion to slide it through the checkpoint conveyor.
Each bag even comes with a free “TurboLapDesk” laptop pad designed to protect your lap from computer heat.
The cheapest bag (in polyester) is just $58.95, and the most expensive is their T-400 TurboBag, in real leather for $109.95.