2 Laptop (work & personal) Setup
 

Hey guys, looking for a laptop bag and I’m surprised how hard the search is coming.

I will be getting a second laptop soon and need a lightweight, personal item size bag capable of carrying:

• Two laptops and two laptop chargers. Laptops are 14” and 13”.
• 1 wireless mouse, 1 iphone charger.
• A few loose files… usually about 3-4 legal pads.
• Sometimes one thick novel
• Some miscellaneous loose items… receipts, pens, and earbud headphones usually, sometimes a sunglasses case.

Budget is around $100-150.

It seems that finding a bag designed for two laptops is difficult. I’m brainstorming here, but maybe I could put one laptop into a neoprene sleeve next to the other. Then I would just need a bag capable of holding two chargers and the rest of my list, and not necessarily two specific laptop pockets.

It’s an interesting set up because it’s a mix of work and personal stuff. The novel and one of the laptops is personal, while all I need for work is the other laptop, charger, legal pad, and a pen. So maybe I could just get two slim bags and put one inside the other or something. That way I’d be able to carry a smaller bag while working and leave the rest at the hotel.

Would be interested in hearing if anyone else has a similar situation or knows of any suggestions. Thanks!

You'll have to remove your 2nd laptop, even at TSA Precheck, so I'd go with the sleeve option.

(My apologies, I was mistaken.)

Did not know that, I've never traveled with two laptops before. Thanks for the heads up!

Any suggestions on a laptop bag capable of holding 2 laptops (1 in a sleeve) two chargers, and the rest of the stuff on my list? Doesn't seem like it should be too hard to find, but it's tough to gauge from online photos.

Untrue. I routinely fly with 2 laptops (and a tablet) stacked closely and never had to remove.


To the OP: I use a High Sierra Swerve Backpack in black. It has a double laptop compartment (one is meant for an ipad but accommodates my 13 inch work laptop; look at the first supplementary picture on the link to see what I mean). My personal is a 15 inch. Tons of room for a carry on (3 additional compartments) and it fits fully under the seat in front of you. 4 years now, week in week out, not a single issue. And you cannot beat that (sale) price...

Everki Atlas? http://the-gadgeteer.com/wp-content/...i-atlas_22.jpg this is the laptop compartment, easily eats two laptops IMO as the tablet sleeve is also full width and the main laptop pocket accepts up to a 17" laptop. Opens flat for the TSA. The main compartment will eat a novel or two. This review shows a Playstation there :D

This is a little over your budget ($190), but the Tom Bihn Brain Bag is designed to hold two laptops. Everything you mention should fit easily into it.

I don't have this bag, but the very thoughtful design and exceptional quality have made me a big fan of TB stuff in general.

Not sure if it meets your (OP's) specs/style but I switched to a Timbuk2 messenger bag and haven't looked back. It's big enough for 2 laptops and holds quite a bit. You might want to browse through their range of bags.

I also picked up backpack at Costco, though the brand escapes me at the moment. It was quite affordable (<$75) and designed to carry a laptop, a large tablet, and bunch of other gear. It's not too big and has a fairly rugged design.

If you go the sleeve way (and need/prefer lightweight):
http://shop.eaglecreek.com/packit-sp...3/d/1299_cl_-1

Never had to remove laptop from that sleeve (EU/UK) and it protects very well at 3oz/85g weight.

#1 Rule in my book while shopping>>> get the lightest bag possible while EMPTY.

I have on Occassion traveled with two laptops and sometimes and Ipad or two. I want the bag to be light. Many bags have slots/compartments/dividers for stuff. Laptops really can be next to each other, but something with just a bit of buffer does help.

Sorry... do not have the name of one handy...but they change all these things so fast anyways.

Yup, I own the Brain Bag. Thing will probably hold 6 laptops if you needed it to, but it cinches down tight as well. Their sleeve and rails system is great for TSA as well.

The Tom Bihn Synapse series would be another option.

I like to travel as light as possible. My current setup is a no-wheels shoulder bag with concealed backpack straps (MEI Executive Overnighter) as main bag/carry-on, and a really small and soft, thin backpack that weighs only 12 ounces.

It folds up all small and into one of the inner pockets if needed. I use it to carry two laptops (Dell XPS 13 and Lenovo X250), one Ipad mini, a pouch with the 2 different laptop chargers, an extension cable, iphone and another charger, and spare cables. To protect the laptops in the unpadded backpack, I simply used two air-padded UPS pouches (one slid into the other) as basic, cheap protection. An extra piece of thin foam padding (packaging material) between the laptops (laptops inserted with screen side facing each other) helps on top. Works fine for me, and just returned from a 2 weeks RTW trip with that. For me it is totally convenient, lightweight, and the parts can also go into my main bag easily if required.

To make this setup even more useful and perfect :cool: I just bought two slim foldable seat cushions at a Japanese 100 yen store (about U$1) in a neutral dark color. A bit like this, except I paid only 10% of the price:
With these slim seat cushions (they are the size of a 13" laptop), I have basic protection for the laptops, and a seat cushion when needed during my leisure strolls.

Overall, while I have contemplated many different and sturdier, larger, more expensive packpacks for my electronics, as day bag, and personal item on flights, I am so far quite happy with this minimalistic choice.

This doesn't help with the bag selection but what is the use-case for the personal laptop? Could it be trimmed down to a tablet, hybrid, or other more compact device (something like the Asus T100HA or Surface 3 comes to mind)? At this point you'd be looking more for a bag with separate laptop and tablet pockets which might open things up significantly and also save you some (probably not all) of the hassle at TSA Pre-Check if you chose to not proactively remove both.

How about a roller briefcase? Carry the laptops in sleeves that you can easily pull out from the brief.

Conversely, I travel with 2 laptops,an ipad pro and a kindle and have never had to remove any electronics in pre-check.

My Everki Versa Premium backpack has separate laptop and tablet compartments. The tablet compartment can actually fit my 14" HP EliteBook, so shouldn't be an issue to have 14" and 13" laptops in there. It's also checkpoint friendly, so should be easy enough to just open it up to separate the two laptops and remove one, if necessary. A little out of budget at about $190, but Everki makes others which are a little less expensive. Not the lightest bag, but does stand upright on its own, which I like. Also has a suitcase handle sleeve. Plenty of room for a book and some notepads/files.