Sturdy Laptop Travel Cases?

biglig2 asks: "You may have seen on todays news that, after a foiled attempt to smuggle explosives on a plane here in the UK, UK airlines are now banning all cabin baggage on outgoing flights. Great timing, since I'm probably flying to the States next week, and this means putting my laptop, iPod and cellphone into the cargo hold. Since I have to assume that anything I put in the hold is going to be frozen, depressurized, and repeatedly jumped on by the baggage handlers, what hard laptop cases have Slashdot users found to be indestructible?"

There Can Be Only One

[RobotRunAmok]

Err, make that Zero [zerocorp.com]

Takes a beating, nary a scratch to show for it, and you look like Jack Bauer all the while.

Normal luggage works....

[(H)elix1]

Just pack it in the center of your clothing and it will be fine. I fly way to many miles - on the last leg of a multi continent trip, just missing the UK fiasco by a couple days - and always travel with a pair of laptops. Granted, I (use) to make it a point to do everything carry-on, but I would usually slip the spare thinkpad in the center of my suitcase and the other in my laptop bag. No fancy containers, just clean laundry at the start of trip, dirty stuff at the end. If you get a nice 'laptop' case, hard sided or otherwise, expect it to get 'lost'... A beat up bag works great.

Looking at the TSO website, it looks like the folks not traveling with 'carry-on' electronics are from the UK. Domestic flights say laptops can travel with you. No more bringing a bottle of water, however. I'll find out when I fly home tomorrow.
    Joy.

DIY

[twitter]

Masonite, styro-foam insulation and liquid nails make a good, quick hard case. You can add layers of squishy foam to further cushion a fall if you want. I put them in my laptop bags. If I have to go someplace soon, I'm going to pack my laptop back inside my clothes canvas bag. That should be good enough for the 12 foot fall you should expect your luggage to experience and in turn be hit by the corner of a hard case from the same distance.

If you want something fast for ordinary luggage, go to wall mart and see if any of the gun cases are big enough. They have plastic shells and squishy foam liners.

Nothing is fool proof so I'm going to avoid travel if I can until this stuff blows over again.