Checkpoint-friendly bags - Soft Cell is OK

[merlyn]

Just a quick note: I'm confirming that the Soft Cell that I purchased recently for my MacbookPro-17 (Size 1 Vertical Soft Cell) does appear to satisfy the new TSA requirement for being a "Checkpoint Friendly bag", at least in my first experience at PDX yesterday. They didn't even question me when I put the Soft Cell containing the MBP as a separate item on the belt.

This will be nice... I can't give up my Brain Bag as my road-warrior solution, but I also didn't want to keep pulling my laptop entirely out of my Brain-Cell-in-Brain-Bag just to put the laptop in a grey container on the belt.

Out of habit, I still put the Soft Cell in a grey container, but I'm considering just setting it directly on the belt next time, since the sponginess of the Soft Cell seems sufficient (to me, anyway) to protect my MBP.

The downside is that I can't slip my MBP in and out of the Soft Cell as easily as the Brain Cell for usage at my destination... it seems just a bit too snug. I end up having to pull the Soft Cell entirely out of the Brain Bag (and it doesn't clip in) as a two-steps-to-usage process now.

[Darcy]

merlyn,

Thanks for this valuable feedback! Did you notice anyone else at the airport putting their laptop through security while inside a bag?

[merlyn]

Well, frankly, it was 5 in the morning after sleeping only 3 hours the night before, and I was so worried about whether my laptop would work this way that I didn't notice anything else! I'll keep my eyes out on the return leg out of Atlanta: the security lines at Atlanta are high-volume and all open in parallel, so I may be able to see some others.

[Zephyrnoid]

Actually, As of the last 6 months I've not had to remove my laptop from it's Braincell at all. But I should note that I do not present the laptop/braincell in my bag, just as a 'personal' item- separate basket.
I'm more worried about the new LiIon Battery rules right now.

merlyn,

Thanks for this valuable feedback! Did you notice anyone else at the airport putting their laptop through security while inside a bag?

[Tzporah]

Darcy,

I had my laptop in a soft sided felted case going through Newark and Fort Lauderdale this past week. They didn't say anything to me about having to take the computer out of the case. Seems like the TSA actually passed around the memo on this one.

[backpack]

On trips from August 10 to August 17.

I did not have to take out either of my laptops housed in a Soft Cell or in a
Monolith (the ancestor of the Brain Cell that has no mesh pockets and is thus TSA compatible)

It was a blessing, as I was tired.

The airports were Baltimore, Birmingham, Dulles, Huntsville, Regan International
Airport (DC).

[merlyn]

Actually, As of the last 6 months I've not had to remove my laptop from it's Braincell at all. But I should note that I do not present the laptop/braincell in my bag, just as a 'personal' item- separate basket.
I'm more worried about the new LiIon Battery rules right now.

Were you in the US when you were doing this? I'm really really really surprised that they didn't force you to have the laptop exposed. The new USA rules were put in place only recently. For international flights, I've been able to keep my laptop inside my BrainBag (and its predecessors), though.

[merlyn]

I'll keep my eyes out on the return leg out of Atlanta: the security lines at Atlanta are high-volume and all open in parallel, so I may be able to see some others.

Again, no hassle at all using the Soft Cell at ATL yesterday. And I saw signs along the approach ropes that specifically described the new rules. I looked around a bit for other laptops, and didn't see any though, bagged or otherwise.

[BJ Nemeth]

I did not have to take out either of my laptops housed in a Soft Cell or in a Monolith (the ancestor of the Brain Cell that has no mesh pockets and is thus TSA compatible)

FYI, mesh pockets don't disqualify a bag, unless something is actually in the pockets. Empty pockets don't interfere with the X-ray scans.

[timothy]

Of course, this could be because of the arbitrary laziness of TSA's rules and (surely not all of their) employees. When checkpoint friendly bags become common, I bet non-checkpoint friendly bags will go through with computers *all the time.* I know I've accidentally put through computers a few times, despite the "take out computers" signs, and it really takes something special (like bad digestion, or an unhappy home life) to raise the heavy lids of the typical TSA turtle. Note how effective they are at stopping actual weapons when they're tested.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2008-08-13-tsatests_N.htm

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/04/04/tsa-misses-liquid-explosives-weapons-in-tests/

Ahem.

timothy