Panniers for Laptop
 

I commute at least 3 times a week with a laptop. I'm planning on getting an Ortlieb pannier for clothing items and such.

What I need is an absolute waterproof pannier for my laptop that is designed to carry the laptop. The laptop is my academic life and I can not afford to lose it to water damage as I probably couldn't afford to replace it. Any thoughts?

I know the chances of me riding in bad weather are slim, but I don't want to take the chances of getting it wet.

flyingcadet

messenger bag?

timbuk2 & chrome both make waterproof bags for laptops

I have one of those foamy sleeves for my laptop. If it rains it goes in a plastic bag.
My panniers are open top grocery panniers. so I often just put the computer sleeve in the computer bag and put that in the pannier. Again, it all get bagged if there's rain.

I too have my academic life on my laptop. Both as a professor and a student.
I hope you have a backup plan.

I have an Arkel Commuter which has a built in padded, suspended notebook sleeve. The bag alone looks like it would be water resistant enough for a quick shower, and they also sell a waterproof cover. If you expect a lot of wet you might do well to buy one of the panniers made and advertised to be waterproof such as the Arkel Dolphin... but the plastic bag idea would do just as well and save you some really, really big $

This:
http://www.otterbox.com/pc-tablet-um...w-file-folder/
plus this:
http://www.waldsports.com/index.cfm/...39baskets.html

Not taking chances = Good. Not backing up such critical data = Bad. Step one to safely maintaining your entire academic life is to have a good backup plan in place. Step one for safely transporting your entire academic life is the same. I say this as a student, and as one who has worked in the tech support office of the engineering building, and has witnessed many a student (and professor) almost literally fall to their knees in tears when we informed them that there simply was nothing we could do short of sending the drive away for very expensive recovery which may or may not work. So, I say as a fellow student, make sure that even if your machine never moves an inch, that you have a good backup solution in place, especially if the data is so critical.

Step two, in such a case as you are presenting, transporting a laptop doesn't have to be a dangerous endeavor. Firstly, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS make sure that the laptop has shut down, or at the very least the hard drive is not spinning (Hibernate, not Suspend) before loading the laptop into whatever solution you wind up with. This isn't always true, especially with the new solid state drives, but its probably still a good idea not to have your machine running while having it jostle around either way.

For me, when I start needing my laptop on campus it will be packed in a padded case which fits it like a glove. If its raining that'll get wrapped in a plastic bag, and then the whole mess will be suspended in the pannier from a bungee cord. My pannier is a DIY deal, luggage bag/backpack with wheels turned into a rack-mountable bag, with no laptop provisions, so this will all be DIY - but I'll trust it. I worry more about the screen cracking than the drive dieing - and if the screen did crack, I could still easily recover the data.

+1 on the Arkel Commuter pannier! I've been carrying my laptop in it most days for the past year, through the torrential Pacific Northwest winter, and I'm really happy with it. The material will probably take quite a bit of water before it wets through, but I've been using the accessory raincover. The suspended, somewhat padded laptop sleeve holds the computer very snugly, and Arkel's mounting system is rock solid on the rack and removes with one tug. It was expensive, but I'd buy it again. http://www.arkel-od.com/panniers/com....asp?fl=1&site=

A lot of people swear by Ortlieb, and they have a laptop pannier as well: http://www.rei.com/product/768571

As for transporting the laptop, it is only stowed for transport after a complete shut down. The homework is backed up on two seperate usb thumb drives. Once I get my Desktop on a router, i'll have it set up so I can SSH in and push the files into a CVS server from anywhere. I'm not worried about the screen cracking, I can always plug a monitor or TV into the back of the laptop, not to mention I probably could replace the screen myself.

Right now, It looks like I'm going with either Arkel or Ortlieb. I've heard plenty of good reviews about their products. Not to mention I'm willing to dish out a little extra because it is a wise investment (not to mention my back is slowly getting frustrated with me). For now, it seems to be coming down to the price that my LBS will charge me when I order them.

flyingcadet

Ah, a true nerd (or at least you fulfilled some of the metrics for me determining a nerd, most notably the acronyms SSH and CVS).

Out of curiosity, any reason you'd order through the LBS? I'm not against supporting local businesses but is there a reason you'd be against ordering them online?

THE ONLY MASTER WHEEL BUILDER IN NORTHWEST FL!!! not to mention, he is a great mechanic. Also, he is a whoot to hang out with, so I do my best to help him keep the doors open.

The few times I've ordered online, I ordered the wrong part/accessory and had to return them (incompatability). After paying more in return fees than my refund was worth, I decided that I'd rather have somebody with 25 years of experience tell me it won't fit and save me the hassle than for me to get the part, be all giddy about it, and then become depressed at the realization that I'm a guber.

BTW, does declaring "Long Live the Penguin!" and using Linux to access this site help with the nerdiness?

flyingcadet

Fair enough, I hope it didn't come off as a criticism - more a curiosity. As for the penguin part, only slightly ;)

I strap a Targus backpack to the bike rack and carry a plastic bag for rain. I have two things that I must do to keep the laptop in good order, put a change of clothes in the pocket between the rack and the laptop for cushion, and most important(!), put a piece of cloth between the screen and the keyboard! Repeated bounces of screen against the keyboard will eventually damage the screen.

I use the Ortlieb Office Bag, it works great for carrying my laptop as well as various items that I need to bring in to work (lunch, etc). It's very secure, and I have NO question that it will keep my laptop absolutely dry.

I use the Arkel commuter bag mentioned already in this thread. Plenty of room for laptop, a few files, and clothes for the day.

It holds up well in light rain / mist...if it's really pouring I cover it with the waterproof cover.

I have a unique sense of humor, which doesn't translate well in bb because you can't see my facial expressions, so no offense taken. I tried to be humorous with my post, but now that I read it, it didn't come through like I had hoped. O'well.

As for the topic at hand, I've decided on the Ortlieb Office Case with the Laptop sleeve. It is a bit more expensive, but when you get cought in the rain out here, It Rains! I don't like the idea of having to stop and put a raincover on, while I'm in the rain. Knowing me, that is what I would do because i probably wouldn't think of it till I was soaked :)

flyingcadet

I just pack an external USB drive instead of hauling the whole laptop. Much less risk of anything getting broken that way, and the external USB drive is a lot lighter...

That is what I would do. However, I've discovered that the only way for me to take notes, keep them organized, and actually use them is to save handwritten notes on my Tablet PC. I've never been able to successfully maintain a system with paper. If the notes are not in electronic form, then I'm liable to just lose track of it and not use it while studying.

flyingcadet