Backpacks for laptops/tennis racket

[flyingsliverfin]

Anyone know of a backpack that can safely carry a laptop and 1 or 2 tennis rackets? Might come in handy next year if i get on the tennis team...

[Sean Moran]

http://www.rt.luggagegear.com.au/images/image.php?products/1550_HS5462-Front.jpg?xh=130

That's the one I've been using for the past year. Made by a mob named High Sierra. If you type "high sierra rucksack" into Yahoo! you should find a few links to retailers that do them.

It's great because I have a Toshiba laptop bag to carry my Compaq Presario in, and that entire bag fits into the High Sierra second compartment. The rucksack has two main compartments, and even when I pack the little Vox stereo speakers and the Benq keyboard into the laptop bag, I can still squeeze it into the second compartment of the rucksack. BRB 15 min.

(Sorry - maid just came to clean the room. She's usually working alone so I feel it's my duty to help make the bed and empty the bins and empty beer cans and stuff. Much more work involved in making a bed by yourself than having two people to handle the left and right sides as a team.)

Back to the rucksack. It's been great for transporting my laptop on planes, and buses, and songthaews (little Isuzu trucks that have benches in the tray and open to the air and the rain and tend to vibrate in the diff like you wouldn't want your grandma to have to ride on one, let alone your prize laptop) and on the back of my motorbike when I had one.

The trick is to use that second compartment for the laptop, so that other things are packed either side of it: clothes (or tennis raquets) in the first main compartment, and other stuff in the pouches on the other side of the second compartment, such as the obligatory torch and binoculars, and the Bible and stubby holder and stuff that's unbreakable to take out the vibrations that would otherwise be likely to have a more direct impact on the laptop. Also, I have two plastic bags and an old helmet bag that always wrap the laptop nice and dry before stashing her into the Toshiba bag, and then finally into the centre compartment of the rucksack. If it rains, she won't get wet.

Of course, on planes, you're only allowed 7kg of cabin baggage with Tiger Airways, but they do allow passengers to also bring either a laptop or a handbag onboard, so the way to get around on this globe is to pack up your rucksack with 7kg, but leave the centre compartment empty. Then if you pack the laptop into that compartment for the taxi to the airport, you'll have around 10kg total, but when you go through the departures, they will want you to take out your laptop anyway, so just take it out and carry it separately, and your cabin baggage is down to 7kg again + a laptop. Then when you arrive at the new place, you can stow the laptop back in the rucksack again and only have to carry one bag.