After I watched travel guru and consumer advocate Christopher Elliott talk about Checkpoint Friendly (yes, that’s a capitalized, trademarked term) carry-on luggage, I was a little concerned about traveling with my TSA-approved laptop bag over Thanksgiving.
When he recorded the video for his blog in mid-October, it was only two months after the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began allowing the use of these laptop bags in airports. Chris noted that it was unlikely all airport screeners would be aware of the newfangled bags, and therefore, travelers may still need to pull their laptops out and send them naked down the conveyor belt in one of those plastic bins.
Thankfully, I can report that of the five airports I traveled through in 11 days, four of them allowed my laptop to sail through the X-ray machine inside my Checkpoint Friendly CompuBrief by Pathfinder.
The TSA screeners in Denver (DIA), Aruba (AUA), Miami (MIA) and New York (JFK) didn’t blink an eye when I opened up my “butterfly-style” computer bag to lay it flat on the conveyor belt. With the laptop in a special “only laptop goes here” compartment, the X-ray screeners could get a good look at the computer all by itself.
It was only in Curacao (CUR), where I pleaded like a fool, “But it’s TSA approved!” that I was asked to remove my laptop and put it in a plastic bin. (Which I absolutely hate doing. I am petrified that the bin is going to get bumped off the table and I’d be forced to watch my computer crash to the ground.)
But since four-fifths of the time the bag worked as it should, I give my CompuBrief a huge thumbs up.
The Compu Brief bag, which retails for $99, has a shoulder strap and a Velcro strip on its side that allows me to stack it on my wheeled, pull-behind carry on. (Pathfinder sells a wheeled style for $149, as well.) Besides the laptop-only compartment, there’s tons of room for folders, pens, business cards and the like, as well as pockets for electrical cords, chargers, iPods, cell phones, cameras and a quart-size plastic bag of toiletries. Indeed, it’s roomy.
As the concept of Checkpoint Friendly luggage grows, and more small airports get a clue, I’m sure more types of TSA-approved laptop bags will be introduced — including fashion-forward ones designed for women. But for now, I’ll happily use my standard-black, very-executive-looking CompuBrief on future travels. I have no problem foregoing a dash of style to keep my laptop from going in those plastic bins.
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