When it comes to traveling from place to place for business trips and other similar endeavors, it becomes important to have a thin and lightweight laptop that is easy to carry and transport. With this in mind, I did all of the research to find some of the best options that fit into all of these categories.
What are some of the best travel laptops that are lightweight and thin? Some of the best travel laptops that are lightweight and thin include the Dell XPS 13” and the Microsoft Surface Book 2. However, these options can get a little expensive, especially if you are looking to add an additional laptop instead of replacing your old one.
For a more budget-friendly option, you can spring for the Acer Aspire E15 or ASUS ZenBook UX330UA. Regardless of the way that you choose to go with the laptop that you purchase, it is important to find the features and functionality that you are looking for while keeping your needs in mind as well.
If you are a frequent business traveler, you work from home, or you just can’t go anywhere without your electronic devices, it can be inconvenient to carry around a huge laptop that is hard to pack and carry. When you take flights and travel through airports on a regular basis, it can get tiring to lug a bunch of heavy bags around with you.
Imagine being able to have a small laptop that can slip right into one of your existing bags, without even noticing that it is there. This is what we will be discussing throughout this article. Keep reading to discover the 5 best laptops that are both light, thin, and just right for all of your travel needs.
How To Find the Best Laptop For Traveling
When you are getting on a flight to get to another destination, there is an unavoidable amount of walking that is required. You will need to get out of your car and walk for what seems like hours until you get onto the plane.
On top of that, you will probably have to stand in line before boarding, all while carrying all of the bags that you have with you.
If you are a frequent traveler or an inexperienced one, you probably know how important it is to pack light when you are in these situations.
No one wants to walk through the airport lugging 20 bags that are covering both of their arms from wrist to shoulder. It is bulky, heavy, it can get in the way, and you can actually lose a lot of your stuff if you are not able to keep track of it all in one place.
When you are trying to find the best laptop to take with you for traveling, it is important to consider all of these factors before you purchase, along with many more.
To begin our discussion on the best laptops for traveling, we will be outlining some of the main points that you should go over before you start your search.
These are the factors that you need to consider while finding the best travel laptop for you:
- Will this laptop help you pack light?
- Does it fit into your existing luggage?
- How much does it cost?
- Will this be your main laptop, or an additional one just for travel?
- How frequent will you be traveling?
First and foremost, you should be thinking about if the laptop that you are choosing will help you to pack light, as previously discussed. No only will it be more convenient for you while you are walking through the airport with your bags in your hand, but it will also help you to save money while you are traveling.
(For more tips on how to travel lite, check out this article!)
To be more specific, most airlines will give you a certain bag allowance. This will usually include one carry on bag, which is something like a small suitcase that you can place in the cabin above your seat.
You also might be allowed to bring a personal item, which is a smaller bag like a backpack, or shoulder bag. These bags will normally be included in the price of your ticket, but you will have to pay an extra fee if you want to bring anything beyond that.
So, if your laptop is bulky and requires its own bag to carry it in, you will most likely be facing some extra baggage fees for your trip, both ways that you travel.
Since you are in search of a lightweight and thin laptop, this is probably one of the most important things that you should look for in the item that you decide to purchase.
Will the laptop that you are buying fit into your existing luggage bags, or will you be forced to purchase a separate case just to carry it? These are important questions to ask yourself, because ideally you would want to be able to slide your travel laptop right in with your other things, minus the extra luggage and bag fees.
Another really important factor to think about when you are looking for a travel laptop is how much it will cost. If you have a certain budget that you are trying to stick to you will want to incorporate that into your search.
For example, if you are looking online for a laptop, you can use the price filters to place the results in a certain price range. On the other hand, you might just be looking for the best features without thinking too much about the price.
If this is the case, you can prioritize these credentials in your search, and find a way to come up with the full amount for the best possible laptop that you can find.
In addition to the cost, you should think about whether or not this will be your main laptop. In other words, is this laptop going to be the one that you use everyday for business and entertainment as well as traveling, or are you purchasing a separate one just to take with you on trips? Are you using the laptop to manage spreadsheets and other work documents, or are you using it just to create a travel blog site?
This will have a big impact on how much you choose to spend on your laptop that you will be using for travel, which we will get into in the further sections of this article.
Finally, you should think about how frequently you will be traveling with your laptop. If this is going to be just a one time thing, it might not even be necessary to find a laptop just for travel.
However, if you know that you will be going out of town on a regular basis, or you just have the money to spare on these additional expenses, your search for a lightweight and thin travel laptop will be justified.
Keep reading to get a more specific list of the best travel laptops that you can find, to help you out with your research.
The 5 Best Travel Laptops
Now that you have gotten a pretty good understanding of what you should look for when you are trying to find the perfect travel laptop, you might be wondering what the next steps are.
There are so many laptops that you can find on the internet and in the stores, it can be very overwhelming to narrow it down to the perfect option that meets all of the requirements that you are looking for.
This is why I came up with a detailed list of the 5 best travel laptops. In the list down below, you will find a general ranking of all different kinds of laptops that you could possibly use for traveling.
The 5 Best Travel Laptops:
- Dell XPS 13”
- Microsoft Surface Book 2
- HP Spectre X360
- Acer Chromebook
- ASUS Chromebook Flip C302CA
The Dell XPS 13” is one of the best options around when it comes to lightweight and functional travel laptops. It comes with 8th generation Intel Core and 128 GB of SSD storage.
This can be considered the best travel laptop overall, from the capabilities of the technology to how easy it is to carry. With the 13 inch size, it is very versatile in terms of how you can pack it with the rest of your things.
Some of the other great laptops for traveling include the Microsoft Surface Book 2, HP Spectre X460, Acer Chromebook, and ASUS Chromebook Flip C302CA.
All of the above options are able to run Windows applications, so you can use them for almost anything you need when it comes to doing work or conducting business.
They each come with a good amount of storage in case you want to upload all the photos you took with your travel camera, in addition, and you will have the opportunity to use all of the valuable tools and features that can be run on the platforms.
Overall, these options should be considered for your travel laptop if you are willing to spend some more money for good quality. This would be ideal if you are looking to purchase an all around laptop that can be used at home and for travel.
In other words, if you will be replacing your old laptop with a new one and using it for your every day tasks as well as your vacation and business trips, it might make sense to make room in your budget.
However, if this is not the case, and you are willing to compromise on all of the bells and whistles for another laptop that gives you everything you need, keep reading to the next section for some guidance in this area.
Finding a Good Travel Laptop On a Budget
While it is true that the laptop options that were outlined in the previous section are ideal when it comes to functionality and ease of use, they can get pretty expensive, especially if you do not travel as frequently as you would need to in order to justify a purchase that big.
In this section, we will be discussing the options that will be ideal for those who are not frequent travelers, but still want to have a special device to the side for the occasional vacation or business trip.
So, if you are planning on traveling a few times in the upcoming future and you would just like to add on an additional small laptop to your collection of devices to take with you for this purpose, or you would like to stick to a smaller budget for your laptop purchase regardless, the information provided in this section will help you make the right choice.
Take a look at the list down below to find the best travel laptops that you can find on a budget, without compromising the lightweight and thin features that come with the higher end products that were previously discussed.
These are the best travel laptops that you can find when your budget is important to you:
- Acer Aspire E15
- Acer Spin 1
- ASUS ZenBook UX330UA
Some of the best laptops that you can find when you are trying to save a little bit of money on your purchase include the Acer Aspire E15, Acer Spin 1, and ASUS ZenBook UX330UA.
The great thing that all of these laptops have in common is that you will be able to run Windows Software on them. So, instead of spending on one of the more expensive options that were mentioned earlier in this article, you can get the same results for a cheaper price.
On top of that, all of these laptop options are still very thin, lightweight, and ideal for packing. So, the next time you have a travel obligation where you need to bring your laptop, you won’t have to worry about extra bags for any of these.
What Are The Best Accessories For Traveling With a Laptop?
After reading everything you need to know about what goes into finding the right travel laptop, as well as some great options from the higher end to budget options, there is just one more thing left to discuss: your carrying accessories.
While it is true that these laptop options would be able to slide right into the top of your suitcase or carry-on, you might be in need of something more protective and functional.
In addition, you might need some additional equipment for added functionality, especially when you will be traveling very far from home.
To tie this all up, we will be quickly going over some of the best accessories that you can have for traveling with a laptop. Pay attention to the products that are outlined below in order to get some great ideas for your upcoming travels.
Here are some great accessories that you can purchase for traveling with your new laptop:
- Padded carrying case
- Universal converters and adapters (for international travel)
- Wireless notebook cards
- Surge protector
- USB/CD for backing up information
The first thing that you will probably need for all of your travels with your new laptop is a padded carrying case. These cases can serve as a bag of their own, with some of them coming with some kind of shoulder strap for easy carrying.
Additionally, some of these padded cases even come with advanced features that you can use to your advantage. For example, you might find a case that will allow you to charge your laptop while it is still in the case, through an opening in the side.
Depending on where you will be traveling, you might require some additional equipment in order to be able to charge and use your laptop in an unfamiliar place. This is especially true when you will be traveling internationally.
In other countries, the power outlets are very different from the ones that you might be used to in the United States, and you will need to bring a universal converter and adapter in order to be able to use them to charge your device. Otherwise, you will be out of both battery power and luck until you get back home.
If you know that you will need internet connection for whatever you will be doing on your laptop during your trip, you might want to invest in a wireless notebook card, or something similar. This will give you access to Wi-Fi no matter where you are.
Surge protectors are always great for keeping the electrical circuit of your laptop safe while you are using it, and it is a good idea to keep some kind of flash drive or CD handy to save your work in case something happens and you lose it.
As you can see, there are plenty of great options for a lightweight and thin travel laptop that can be available for any budget or individual criteria. Depending on what you are looking for and how much you have to spend, it is very possible to find a great device that you can take everywhere.
Whether you are trying to find an all around laptop for everyday use or it is specifically for travel only, you can’t go wrong with any of the options that were highlighted in this article.