A rolling laptop bag should have a sturdy extendable handle. Most well-constructed bags have aluminum handles. The benefits of aluminum are two fold. First of all, aluminum is very lightweight which is important because excess weight is to be avoided. Second, aluminum is strong and flexible. It can take a lot of abuse without breaking, a great benefit to those road warriors out there. To extend the handle, you simply press a button and pull. The handle extends so that you can easily roll the bag around. When you are finished, another push of a button collapses the handle and it retracts into the bag, perfect for storage purposes. The bag should have a dedicated compartment that protects the laptop and separates it from the other contents in the bag. The laptop compartment should have enough padding to allow the laptop to survive being dropped when in the bag. Other features to look for include dedicated storage for common computer supplies and accessories such as CD/DVD discs and usb memory devices and power supplies and such.

If you travel a lot and/or have lots of stuff to lug around, then rolling laptop bags are a good option. You can easily carry your laptop computer and all the peripherals and accessories you might need. These bags can be heavy, so for those of you who travel light, this option may not be for you. Whatever choice you make, be sure to take the laptop with you and make sure it fits in your intended purchase.

Most cheap laptop bags are made of ballistic nylon. If you go the cheap route, make sure that the bag has a soft insert. This is critical. If your bag does not have a smooth surface on the inside, you will create tiny scratches on the exterior of your computer. Over time, these tiny scratches will accumulate and the finish of the computer will look dull and will seriously degrade the resale value. A little caution here can save you lots of aggravation later. I know this personally because I have a laptop that looks like I rubbed it with sandpaper because of a cheap bag. You don’t want to make the same mistake, trust me.

There are advantages to having several bags to choose from. Generally, cheap laptop bags don’t bother with things like metal clips for shoulder straps, padding to prevent damage and are really flimsy. This has a side benefit. These bags usually are very light. Light weight is good. After carrying a laptop everywhere for hours, your arms can feel like they are about to fall off. So you see, although I don’t like to go cheap often, there are some advantages to having a bag that is light, especially if you are a careful person and if you are going to carry the computer all day with you. Light and cheap have their place too, just make sure you don’t drop the bag, especially if you are outside. Concrete and laptops don’t make good partners.