Higher Ground Laptrap

Higher Ground Laptrap

Published August 25, 2008 at 01:15:50 PM, by Tucker Lucas

When you think of a bag for your laptop, you think of a backpack or messenger case that has an added compartment to hold the laptop. Higher Ground is able to depart from the traditional laptop bag design to a completely new and different carrying case called the Laptrap. The Laptrap is sort of like a transformer; it appears like a typical carrying case, but unfolds to create an office-like environment. When on the go, the bag can be carried using the included carry handle, shoulder strap, or the optional lightweight mesh backpack strap.

For $59.95, the Higher Grounds Laptrap is truly a versatile case that is functional, lightweight, and comfortable.

Design - External

Portability
Weighing in at 2.5 lbs and measuring 15" x 12" x 3.75", the Laptrap is a compact and relatively lightweight bag. With the options of carrying it with the handle, shoulder strap, and optional backpack harness, it is easy to find a comfortable way to carry the Laptrap.

External
The majority of the exterior is composed of 1000 Denier Cordura Nylon with a heavy urethane coating, making it very tough while remaining lightweight and waterproof. The colored portion is constructed with 420 denier "rip-stop" nylon, also with a heavy urethane coating. The edge bound seams are strong and very well done. All the stress points are reinforced, making the bag incredibly strong. The zippers are strong and are easy to open and close.

There are a total of 4 pockets. The 2 front pockets are designed to store your laptop gadgets, such as the laptop power brick, mice, cables, and external hard drives. These pockets have dimensions of 11.25" x 7" x 1" each, although the 1" dimension can extend out a bit more. There is also a mesh pocket for storing small stuff such as USB drives.

The back pocket is designed to store your documents. It's rather thin and won't store more than a couple pages.

The detachable shoulder strap is fully adjustable and padded for user comfort.

Design - Internal

Internal
The main compartment stores the laptop. It is reinforced with heavy foam padding for added protection. The website claims that the bag is able to store laptops with dimensions up to 14" x 11.5" x 2". However, when I tested the bag with my Ibuypower Battalion S-Turbo laptop, which has dimensions of 14" x 10.8" x 1.5", the laptop would not fit. After close examination, I discovered that the bag was not wide enough: unfortunately, the Laptrap can only store laptops with dimensions of ~13.6" x 11.5" x 2". Due to the hard foam reinforcing the edges of the compartment, the compartment isn't very flexible in size, so if your laptop is close to the maximum dimensions allowed, it would be a good idea to upgrade to the Grande version, which supports dimensions up to 15.75" x 12" x 2".

In order to use the laptop, all you need to do is open the case...

...and flip the lid!

There is a convenient CD holder on the side, capable of holding 12 CDs. The material is soft and shouldn't damage your CDs.

There are foam raisers on the bottom of the laptop compartment to aid in airflow then the laptop is being used. The raisers are user adjustable with velcro, so you can move them if they are blocking the air vents. You should move the raisers so that the laptop is being propped up in each corner to aid in airflow and stability.

Multiple Carrying Methods
The Laptrap sports many different carrying methods. For those who like to carry their bags, there is a sturdy rubberized handle. There is a plastic inset on the strap emblazoned with the Higher Grounds logo.

There are 2 grips for your thumb on the handle, so it is easy to hold the handle in either direction.

2 grips for your thumb

The padded shoulder rest is fully detachable and adjustable. One side is nylon, while the other is leather.

There are 4 clips in each corner of the Laptrap.

This enables the strap to be extremely versatile, allowing the bag to be carried as a messenger bag...

Each carrying method is comfortable and feels natural. If you want, you can also purchase a backpack attachment for your Laptrap from their site. Unfortunately, we were not able to test this feature.

Portable Office
The main selling feature of the Laptrap is how it unfolds to become a "portable office." What this ambiguous claim really means is that the laptop can be used without being removed from the bag. The bag is completely specialized for this feature. The main compartment has 4 raisers, which elevates your laptop to aid in airflow. This also prevents your lap from growing hot, which is a great thing, as recent studies have proven. The back surface of the bag, which covers your lap, is rubberized and prevents the bag from accidentally slipping.

The bag holds just about everything a small office would need, with its CD holder, document holder, mesh pocket, and two large pockets. The large pockets are large enough to carry even the largest power brick, along with your mouse, external hard drives, cables, and more. Unfortunately, this leaves no room to carry any textbooks, keyboards, or other large items.

Performance

Obviously the main question on everyone's mind - is the "portable office" feature as good as advertised? The answer is yes, but only for a specific group of people with a specific type of laptop. First of all, with no feasible spot to place a mousepad, the only way to use a mouse is by removing the laptop from the bag, thus defeating its purpose. This makes the Laptrap only useful for programs for which a mouse is not required.

Another problem which I already covered is how the Laptrap does not support all 15.4" widescreen laptops. Considering that 15.4" widecreen models are the most popular size at the moment, this could become a major issue. In fact, many 15.4" laptops are a bit over the rated 14" width spec. For example, the Acer Travelmate 8103 has a width of 14.3". Shawn Jackson did tell me that they had another, slightly wider, revision of the bag coming soon, which should alleviate this problem.

The third problem is that even with the attention paid to maximizing airflow with the addition of the adjustable laptop raisers, the net airflow will still be less than if the laptop had just been placed on a table. While this will cause no problem for the standard Pentium M or other low power CPU based laptop, laptops running AMD64 DTR CPUs or worse, Pentium 4 CPUs may overheat while using the Laptrap.

A personal complaint of mine is that the Laptrap can not carry any larger items, like textbooks or large notebooks, which could have made the Laptrap useful for students. However, that would add to the Laptrap's footprint and weight.

Aside from these problems, the Laptrap is a great mobile office platform. The bag features solid construction and strong seams. Higher Ground obviously paid attention to even the small details, like including thumb grips on the rubberized handle. With multiple comfortable carrying methods, carrying the Laptrap for extended periods of time is easy. Your laptop will be secure in the heavily padded and reinforced compartment. You will be able to carry some documents and all your laptop accessories in a secure fashion, as well as an amazing 12 CDs.

Conclusion

Pros:

• "Portable Office" capability
• Multiple carrying methods
• Stylish
• Light weight
• Small footprint
• Padded laptop compartment
• Affordable
• High quality waterproof material
• Lifetime warranty
• Lots of airflow keeps your lap cool

Cons:

• Laptop compartment size smaller than advertised
• No built-in mousepad, nor support for mice
• No compartment for larger items, such as books
• Slight increase in laptop temperature

Recommendation
The Laptrap is a superb product targeted towards business professionals or frequent travelers but probably wouldn't be ideal for students due to its limited storage capacity. The Laptrap does have some areas for improvement. No support for mice means that users are forced to use the built in touchpad. While the touchpad is good for most applications, some applications, such as games and graphics design, need the high precision that a good mouse offers. In addition, the lack of a large storage compartment for books or manuals means students are forced to carry a supplementary bag.

The mobile office feature is innovative and practical. This feature, combined with the solid construction and comfortable carrying methods, makes the Laptrap overall a useful and functional case. I especially liked the quality of the bag: all the seams and stress points were reinforced, and the heavy urethane coating makes the Laptrap able to withstand the elements. The bag even comes with a limited lifetime warranty, which adds even more to its value.

Even with some deficiencies (nothing is perfect right?), the Laptrap is still a great bag, offering innovation and quality, at an affordable price.

Price and Availability
The Higher Grounds Laptrap can be found at the manufacturer's website and certain online stores for $59.99. The bag comes with a limited lifetime warranty.

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Technical Specifications

No specifications are available.