Outside's Go Magazine - Travel and Style for Men

FRIENDLIER SKIES

By Laurence Liss

If you travel for business or take a laptop with you on vacation, you know the drill: Unpack your computer and send it through the airport X-ray machine in a gray bin. The task is not difficult, though it is irritating, slows down the line, and, if you’re like me, tends to result in shocking your computer with static buildup from the rubber conveyor belt—which doesn’t extend the life of the machine. Passing through security just got a little easier with the introduction of checkpoint-friendly laptop bags and cases such as Pathfinder Luggage's new line (pictured at right). The policy started several months ago when the Transportation Safety Authority (TSA) asked luggage manufacturers to design cases for laptops that by nature of their material and the location of their compartments would be effectively transparent to X-ray machines. Only a handful of manufacturers (Mobile Edge, Briggs & Riley Travelware, and Targus, to name a few) were able to produce a prototype that met the TSA’s specifications. Also among the approved designs were several from Pathfinder Luggage. “The way we’ve designed our bag is to have the laptop completely separate from the other items in the case,” explains Ron Davis, executive vice president of Pathfinder, who says the new bags are just as effective as non-checkpoint-friendly bags. The designs from Pathfinder incorporate foam padding and ballistic nylons, making them tough enough for just about anything a security line will dish out.

Take heed, though: If you don’t pack a checkpoint-friently case to TSA standards, it won’t be checkpoint-friendly, and you’re likely to cause a conveyor pileup. The key is to not pack other items in the same compartment as the computer. Chargers, cables, peripherals, papers, or books must be placed in one of the case’s other pockets.

Ultimately, it might just be a bag. But if it saves time, it’s a blessing. At least we’ll have one friend in the security line. From $99; pathfinderluggage.com