TB working on "checkpoint friendly" bags, pack

Tom Bihn iw working on new bags and packs designed to meet the TSA’s “checkpoint friendly” standards. The end result will be that with one of these bags you won’t have to remove them from the bag for screening which minimizes hassle and damage risk. Last week Tom flew to a west coast airport for a run-through with the TSA. This post from the Tom Bihn blog explains a few things about the checkpoint friendly program that I was unaware of:

The results? The prototype briefcase is a success: in multiple configurations, it provided x-ray images that met the TSA screening standards. Tom continues to refine the design of the as-yet unnamed prototype checkpoint-friendly briefcase. We expect the briefcase to be available for pre-order within weeks. Tom also has designs in process for a “checkpoint friendly” backpack and messenger bag. These bags aren’t and won’t be just checkpoint friendly: they will offer the same tough materials and handsome, cleverly engineered design that you’ve come to expect from a TOM BIHN bag. We think that you will also appreciate that your TOM BIHN checkpoint friendly bag, specifically designed to go through U.S. airport security, was also designed and manufactured in the U.S.A. under the watchful eyes of our Seattle factory crew. Two current TOM BIHN laptop cases — the Archetype molded laptop case and the Soft Cell laptop sleeve — are already “checkpoint friendly.” That means that sometime in August/September — when the TSA officially initiates the “checkpoint friendly” program — you can leave your laptop in your Archetype or Soft Cell while it goes through the x-ray machine, protecting your laptop from scratches and bumps. (Note: these bags will meet the new TSA requirement as long as you put *only* your laptop in the case, no accessories.) Our experiences testing Tom’s prototype “checkpoint friendly” briefcase revealed the potential this program offers that will save you, the traveler, both time and hassle as well as protect your laptop.

Read more at the Tom Bihn blog.