Carrying your laptop (in a bag) in the rain

I often travel to the Northwest with my laptop and need to carry my
laptop for significant distances in rainy weather. I have a great
laptop backpack that I like and prefer, but its not exactly
waterproof. It gets damp inside the bag. In the past I would just wrap
my laptop in a trash bag. But thats probably not the best solution. I
could use an umbrella, but I hate them, I prefer a good rain jacket
with hood.
What ideas do others have to protect your laptop in rainy weather
(besides just the backpack itself).

 

In

Since you like the backpack but your current one leaks, maybe you just
need a better backpack.

 

how about a giant condom....of course if there is a hole in it you could
have
problems in about 9 months.

 

Of course, it's not the knapsack's fault. They aren't intended to
be waterproof, they are intended to be water resistant. YOu aren't
likely to find one where there are flaps over the zippers to make
sure rain can't get in, or made of material like rubber that won't
let rain in.

I wouldn't trust plastic bags since they can be ripped so easily,
by the laptop or something else in the knapsack, and plus, you really
can't seal them. But realistically, everyone knows that you do have
have some extra layer for things that you don't want getting wet in
your knapsack.

When I took my Radio Shack Model 100 out decades ago, I had a plastic
"envelope" with a foldover top and velcro to seal it shut. I got it
at a hiking store, and I've carried a smaller one around for decades with
odds and ends and the things inside have never gotten wet. It's made
of plastic, so rain can't get in, and it's fused together rather than
sewn like the knapsack, so the seams don't let water in. The fold
at the top rather than a zipper ensures that rain can't get in that
way either.

I haven't seen them in a long time, but of course a bigger problem now
is that most laptops now are too big for the one I had, and I don't
recall a bigger size. But that might be the place to look. Since
knapsacks do let water in, hikers want this sort of thing to make
sure their rice or whatever doesn't get wet. Of course, my Aspire
One would fit right into that bag, and I ought to look for a new
one for the Aspire.

I've seen in the flyers neoprene "sleeves" for knapsacks. That
would seem to be the solution, though how they are put together and
how you seal them would be key factors. I'm assuming since laptops
are hot now, there likely is a range of such sleeves, from really
cheap and not so waterproof, to something that will keep the laptop
dry while sitting in water. They also protect the laptop from scratches,
and provide some padding, which for a lot of uses is all that's needed
if you're carrying it in another bag.

Michael

 

On Sat, 6 Dec 2008 19:01:57 -0500, Michael Black wrote

Your best bet would probably be a dry bag. Try SealLine
<http://www.seallinegear.com>. Made for protecting things from getting
wet during outdoor activities like kayaking.

-- Sarpedon Andrejs

 

Use a rucksak cover?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HIGH-VISIBILI...14&_trkparms=72:1298|66:2|65:12|39:2|240:1318

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Small-Waterpr...14&_trkparms=72:1298|66:2|65:12|39:2|240:1318

http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/product73.asp

etc...


Guy

 

I use this, so find something like it?
A backpack cover is "built-in", there's a zipper at the bottom from where
you pull it out

http://www.targus.com/uk/product_details.asp?sku=TCB001EU

 

Barry Watzman wrote on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:14:50 -0500:

Hard to use an umbrella when your hands are full. That is why I don't
care much for them. Plus they don't work well on my motorcycle.