Last week, I posted an update as to where I am currently at in my travels. It’s a busy time with job hunting, flat searching, and trying to get temporarily settled in Queenstown, New Zealand. I also offered up a challenge I had recently faced and asked for some insight from fellow backpackers. This was the question:
While on a backpacking trip, how do you find it best to carry your backpack and your laptop?
Inevitably, as a travel blogger on the road, you’re bound to have loads of gear to carry with you: Laptops or netbooks, portable USB hardrives, chargers, cameras, and the list of electronics could go on. When you travel with a backpack as your primary form of luggage, carrying these pricey electronics can be a challenge – whether that is in regards to their safety or the ease of transport. My question centered on the ease of transport options – though some of the replies brought safety into the mix as well.
I was blown away with the number of responses I received. Thank you all for your advice. After reading through the comments, this is what I walked away with.
1.) If possible, smaller is clearly better with regards to the laptop you carry. If you can manage to keep up with your online responsibilities using a netbook, this will make your traveling between destination significantly easier. Obviously, lighter is easier to manage. Some of you mentioned that using a netbook simply wasn’t an option considering the need for photo editing software. Also, my going concern with netbooks has to do with their small keyboards.
Dustin (@skinnybackpackr) from Skinny Backpacker had this solution:
I carry an ultralight notebook, more power than a netbook and less weight than a 13″+ notebook. 11.3″ screen, keys are full sized, and weighs about 3lbs. Cost me about $450CDN 8 months ago. I threw in a 500GB hard drive to deal with all of my photos. Might be a decent compromise.
2.) Regardless of the size of laptop you carry with you, the going consensus is that the double turtle approach seems to be the best option for carrying your laptop on the road. You know the look, the full size backpack on the back, smaller daypack on the front.
While bending down to tie your shoelaces isn’t an option, this approach has two main advantages.
First, with this approach you have the advantage of having all of your valuables in one secure place. Getting through security at the airport is easier and you can take better care of the daypack.
Secondly, I believe this option is far more comfortable than swinging the messenger bag over one shoulder. This approach doesn’t evenly distribute the weight, it feels awkward, and you end up off balance with one side of your back hurting more than the other.
The double turtle approach seems to be the way to go as your comments showed:
Anil (@foxnomad) from foXnoMad added his support to this approach with this comment:
I usually use a day pack to carry my 15 inch Macbook and my main backpack for my backup (just in case). It’s a bit annoying through airport security lines but usually I can fit my day pack into the larger pack when just walking around.
I like the separate pack for accessibility and the fact that the smaller pack tends to get knocked around less (and thus better for the laptop).
I especially liked Keith’s (@travelingsavage) thorough advice from Traveling Savage.
I recently bought two bags from Tom Bihn to function as my new travel gear: the Aeronaut and the Smart Alec. The Smart Alec is a small backpack that holds Tom Bihn’s “Brain Cell” laptop case. I have a 15″ MacBook Pro that fits snugly in the sized-to-fit Brain Cell, which fits perfectly in the Smart Alec (the power of integrated systems here). The Aeronaut is my main bag and can be carried by a shoulder strap, handles, or hide-away backpack straps. Everything is made of ballistic nylon and other rugged materials.
Grand total this is about 70L worth of space, and all the pockets, nooks, and crannies make it feel like a lot more than that.
I purchased this pair to ensure that I would never need to check baggage again and to keep me packing light. The Aeronaut is designed to be the maximum allowable carry-on size. So far, I love it.
And lastly, for you ladies out there, consider Alicia’s (@Taggio) easy approach to carrying your laptop on the road.
I have a MacBook Pro and bought a great clear shell for it as well as a zipper case and throw it right into my purse. It’s times like this I love being a girl. Bringing back the bag lady look.
Thanks to everyone for their comments. As soon as the budget allows, I’ll be considering daypack options for the double turtle approach.
Backpacking Matt 
I can’t do the double turtle look, it looks so uncomfortable. I do put my netbook in my messenger bag/purse and it’s so light it doesn’t throw off your balance. But then I guess it depends on how much you are carrying.
@Ayngelina I wouldn’t call it comfortable – but I think it’s the best option if you’re carrying lots of electronics!
@Erin It sounds like that is an excellent way to go assuming you can travel as light as you and Simon. I can’t quite get myself to pack that light – but that’s a post for another day! What do you do during the day when you’re out and about? Use the 30 litre backpack as a daypack?
@Chinamatt Yes, the smaller the better. I wouldn’t go any bigger than my 13″ Macbook.
As we are working on the road we carry a Macbook Pro 13 inch and an Asus Eee PC 10 inch netbook. The double turtle looks so uncomfortable and must be boiling in hot countries. Our solution is to travel as light as possible.
We travel with one backpack each, plus a travel guitar. Simon carries both our laptops in his 40 litre backpack which we can then take with us on to buses and planes. I have a 30 litre backpack which I can also carry on, and I have my SLR camera in there and the back up drive. So, no need for a separate laptop bag and it’s much more comfortable.
I need a new travel laptop…and just a new laptop; this one is too slow. I tried traveling with my enormous laptop once and learned my lesson.
I just throw my laptop in my bag. It’s so old (2004 PowerBook) it doesn’t matter much to me. I do use the Double turtle approach when moving between cities though my laptop is tucked away in my main pack.
I used a krumpler messenger bag for our macbook 13″ and it worked great. I always make fun of the double backpack people (because it looks so stupid, but is functional) so unless I wanted to endure endless comments from Dee I backed myself into a corner with it. But it worked out great and the messenger bag was also my day bag wherever I went.
It does look slightly silly! Still, I think it’s the best option assuming you don’t want your laptop in your main pack. It keeps your valuables separate, accessible, and is more comfortable than the messenger bag over the shoulder option.
I use a Lenovo Thinkpad X61 and it’s only 3 pounds without the battery (I think that swells it up to like 4 lbs). Lighter is definitely better and it has enough computing power to surf the web on the 12.1″ screen, watch videos, and do anything else I need it to do. As for the backpack, I use a Samsonite package I bought online.
I like the double turtle approach since it is well balanced. However, 1 major factor is the weather. If it is in the tropics and it is scorching hot I don’t know how long you can last without some kind of ventilation between your bags and your body.
And what about my SLR, backup camera, lens and all the accessories? Those are way heavier than any laptop.
I used to carry my 15″ laptop around in a laptop backpack which was super heavy and a pain to carry to an internet cafe. I’ve now bought a 10″ netbook to save me the hassle- it’s got great battery life, really light and it fits in my handbag, have no regrets whatsoever about buying it and it can still do most of the things I need!!! Being 5ft tall and not so strong I could never carry a main backpack, so I bought one of those split level, surf-shop type bags on wheels. So I usually do small backpack and big backpack with wheels. If I did the turtle approach I wouldn’t be able to keep my balance!
@Victoria Cheers for the comment. I’m simply too accustomed to my Mac to deal with switching to a netbook, though I’m sure that would make life significantly easier!