What to look for when purchasing a netbook bag
With the popularity of netbooks and the iPad there are literally thousands of netbook bags to choose from. Many local stores have a fairly good selection and then once that you take a look at mega-stores like Amazon you'll be able to spend hours sifting through the different types available. Your netbook bag selection can have prices that range from around $15 to well over $250! It may be tempting to pick up the cheapest bag just to save money, but this could be a very costly mistake in the long run.
Why the cheapest netbook bag often isn't the best decision
These low end models are usually made of lower quality material and have poor workmanship. The seams may be weak. The materials may be damaged or become worn quickly.
They may not offer much protection from bumps and jolts. Although they might work well for simple transportation of your computer, these often do little to actually protect it. These cheaper bags are usually made of plastic, vinyl, or some other synthetic material.
They are typically not going to last very long, because these materials tend to be damaged easily and don’t stand up to normal use very well. If you spend a little more money to get a higher quality netbook bag, you’ll have something that offers a lot more protection for your netbook or iPad.
The higher quality bags are usually made of leather, nylon, or even Kevlar (the material bullet proof vests are made of). They may also have metal or other heavy duty material added on for extra strength and durability. These netbook bags are generally well-padded, don’t easily puncture, and offer a range of protection against all sorts of potential damage.
There are several major types of rugged netbook bags:
Hardback cases are usually made from a hard material like metal or plastic. These are made to protect the iPad from being crushed under the weight of other items, and are especially handy for protecting a netbook when it’s inside other luggage.
Waterproof netbook bags can be made of various materials including polypropylene copolymer resin and even soft, tightly-woven fabric-type material or neoprene (this is what they use to make many wet suits and scuba gear. They may have welded seams or even gaskets that make the shell completely submersible!
There are also water resistant netbook bags so be sure to read the product description is you are looking for a waterproof bag and not just a water resistant bag.
When traveling with your netbook, you might want to pack further insulation into your laptop bag along with your laptop. There are many types of foam insulation to choose from. One type of padding is known as EthaFoam.
This is the same material used by art museums when they ship expensive and rare art pieces. It is made of polyethylene foam and can be cut specifically to wrap around the dimensions of your laptop. This offers added protection against jolts that may damage the hard drive, as well as bumps that might damage the LCD screen. You may have also seen this foam in expensive camera bags to protect the equipment in even the most jarring of circumstances.
When searching for a rugged laptop case, be sure to select one that seems to be made of a very durable material.
Read the product description well and if there are customer reviews available, read those also as customers will tell it like it is and not just to sell an expensive bag. Also try to look for bags that have at least 10 reviews so that you can see what the average person has to say. Sometimes if there is just 1 review you are only getting 1 person's opinion.
Also try to stick with popular brands such as Targus, Case Logic, Case Crown, Mobile Edge, Skooba (which also make terrific checkpoint ready netbook bags) , Timbuk2 amoung others.
If you find that you are really on a limited budget look for netbook bags that have been reduce or on clearance due to style changes and not to poor customer satisfaction. Often you can get last season's netbook bag for 50-70% off. Now that's a deal!
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