Speed cases: Checkpoint-friendly laptop bags

Michelle Thatcher, Senior Associate Editor November 19, 2008

The security checkpoint remains one of the great bottlenecks at airports, clogged with passengers removing shoes, belts, liquids, and laptops on one side of the scanner, only to walk through and have to quickly gather all their items on the other side.

That's why frequent travelers rejoiced when, earlier this year, the TSA issued guidelines for the construction of a bag that would let you zip through security without removing your laptop. The basic goal of every checkpoint-friendly design is to keep your laptop separate from other travel detritus so that a security screener can get a good look at it as it goes through the X-ray. The advantage: not only do you have one fewer item to remove, but you also don't have to worry about leaving your laptop behind.

All of the bags below are manufactured to meet the new guidelines. Most feature a butterfly design, with two compartments connected via a center zipper that, when unzipped, lets you lay the bag flat for screening. One standout, the Tom Bihn Checkpoint Flyer, features a modular trifold design. And several of the bags accompanied our editors on business trips, where they cruised through the screening process without incident.