Now that at least one major airline is charging for checked bags, we’re going to start seeing more creative solutions this summer to getting your stuff through security when you fly. The Targus 17” Flare Backpack fits into this category because it will let you haul your computer more comfortably on your back so that you can use your arms to manage your other luggage.

It’s designed to fit laptop computers up to 17-inches — like my favorite notebook, which is a horse of a machine and just as heavy. The interior of the pack has slots for ID, cellphone, keys, pens and mobile accessories. But here’s the magic: It has mesh padded shoulder straps and a back panel to help distribute the weight.

Water bottles — empty, of course — go into side pockets. Plus, it has cool rubber cords lacing the backside so you can tuck in extra gear — a paperback edition of Into the Darkness, your flytime bunny slippers – you know, the travel essentials.

It’s made of nylon, which could be a drawback. I’ve gone through three knapsacks in the last year that have started pulling at the straps. Not good when you’re hauling precious cargo. But only time will tell how well this one will wear, pass after pass through the X-ray machines.

As Crankshaft recently said a few days ago, “We’re lucky the shoe bomber didn’t hide the bomb in his underwear.”

Posted on June 8th, 2008 by dian