What Is a Travel-Friendly Laptop Bag?

Do you feel annoyed or anxious every time you go through the TSA security screening checkpoint with your laptop backpack? Take it out, put it back, and what to do next? It’s okay if you feel both. And like many travelers, you wonder what is a laptop bag that may make going through the TSA security checkpoint more convenient.

Taking the laptop out of the bag for x-ray screening and returning might be a hassle for some. What a mess you make when you put the laptop back, is it in the right pocket and where is the velcro strap? You also worry about your laptop’s safety, but you may be able to reduce some of this hassle if you have a travel-friendly laptop backpack.

What Is a Travel-Friendly Laptop Bag: Brief Background

In 2008, the TSA started thinking about ways to streamline the standard airport security check-in process. Around this time, some bag manufacturers began designing laptop compartments intended to allow clearer screening with the laptop inside.

In many travel-focused laptop bags, the laptop pocket is designed without zippers, straps, or other components that could obstruct screening. In short, the laptop is intended to appear as if it were placed in a TSA bin, with nothing blocking the X-ray view.

With this initiative, manufacturers introduced and added a line of TSA-friendly laptop backpacks or bags with a dedicated laptop compartment. Because of this, travelers started wondering what a TSA friendly laptop bag is and how it’s different from a regular laptop bag.

What Is A TSA Friendly Laptop Bag?

A TSA-friendly laptop backpack is commonly described as a bag that can fully unzip so the laptop compartment can lie flat on the conveyor belt. The laptop may go through the scanner while remaining in the laptop compartment, depending on the screening process. The other side of the bag with its contents is either upright or flat on the X-ray belt. The laptop compartment is typically designed to be free of zippers, straps, or anything that could obstruct the scanning process.

Let’s now look at the commonly referenced features of a travel laptop bag.

Common Features of Travel Friendly Laptop Backpacks

To help understand what is commonly meant by a TSA-friendly laptop bag, it helps to look at general TSA screening practices for laptops.

• The laptop bag typically has a dedicated laptop-only compartment that can lie flat on the X-ray belt when opened or unzipped.
• These bags are usually designed with a laptop compartment free of metal snaps, buckles, zippers, or straps that could obstruct scanning.
• The laptop compartment is usually designed without additional pockets inside or over it.
• Only the laptop is in the compartment, and there cannot be a dedicated tablet pocket over the laptop pocket.
• The laptop bag is commonly designed to unfold to about a 90-degree angle so it can lie flat on the X-ray belt.

With these guidelines, you might wonder what makes a TSA-friendly laptop bag if you can’t put other items in it. To be clear, TSA screening focuses specifically on the laptop compartment, which is intended to hold only the laptop and no other items.

Accessories such as portable chargers, cables, and phones are usually placed on the other side of the bag with your essentials. Remember that it is always better to pack correctly and keep things neat and organized.

What Makes a Good Travel-Friendly Laptop Backpack?

And since many manufacturers now offer TSA-friendly laptop backpacks, how do you know you got the best one? Consider these factors along with the basic features of what is a TSA friendly laptop bag:

Size

A travel-friendly laptop bag still needs to fit your laptop properly in the device compartment. First, choosing the appropriate laptop bag size is essential. For example, do you have a 17-inch laptop? Then, select the bag with a 17-inch laptop sleeve and a main section where you can put everything else – chargers, cables, headphones, etc. along with your other essentials.

Weight

When choosing a laptop backpack, it’s important to consider airline policies on weight and size limits for carry-on or personal items. In addition, check the other features that will help you carry the bag comfortably – padded shoulder straps with a built-in sternum strap and trolley straps compatible with most carry-on telescopic handles. What’s the point of a travel-friendly laptop bag if it’s not comfortable to carry?

Add-On Tech Features

Are you always on the go? How convenient will it be to have a laptop bag with a USB charging or headphone port? The best laptop backpacks offer innovative design features to make your travel experience comfortable and hassle-free, not just from TSA security screening but everything else.

FAQs

Here are some questions many ask about travel laptop bags.

How does TSA check laptops?

For standard TSA security screening, if you do not have a TSA friendly laptop bag, the TSA officer will ask you to remove the laptop from your bag or compartment and put it in a separate TSA collection bin. No other items will be in the same bin as the laptop.

Can I take a laptop bag and a backpack on a plane?

Airline rules on carry-on bags vary. A laptop backpack is your laptop bag and can be a personal item if it fits in the seat in front of you.

Overall

As a frequent business traveler who brings work everywhere, what a travel-friendly laptop bag is can be an important question. Having a travel-friendly laptop bag can make security screening more convenient in many situations.

It’s relatively straightforward: In many situations, travelers unzip the laptop bag, lay it flat, and send it through the airport scanner, depending on screening procedures. Then grab the bag, zip it back up to close, and head out to the next stop.

Can traveling be any more manageable and convenient than that?

Happy travels, and thanks for reading this article, we hope it helped!