(Pictures courtesy of Nadachair).

This post deals with a product that can help an aching back, or prevent one.  For some time, I have liked the NadaChair produced by a company with the same name.  You can check their website out at www.nadachair.com.  Nadachair sells a portable back support that you can easily take with you anywhere and that comes in a number of varieties ranging from the simple Nadachair itself to the Activest that have removable Nadachairs built into their structure.  With the Activest ($135), you get a useful travel or everyday vest that has a chair that you can use with the vest or remove and use separately, if you don’t want to wear the vest.  They call their flagship model the “Backup” and sell it for $70.  They also make a lighter and more portable version called the SlouchBuster that sells for $40.

The Activest has useful pockets inside and out, making it ideal for travel.  I have worn military style vests such as this for travel for a number of years as a matter of both comfort and convenience.  Having the Nadachair built into the package adds a bit of weight, but a lot of comfort as airport and airplane seating generally provide little support

You can use the support sitting on almost any chair or with your legs folded and sitting on the ground.

The Nadachair consists of a pad that supports your lower back, straps that go around each knee and buckles that let you tighten the straps to pull the pad up against your back and support it.  The system works well and makes your back feel much better than if you slouch while sitting as most of us do.  The Nadachair works great used with a laptop and the straps help stabilize the knees to provide a more solid (and safer) base for the computer.  I have found it particularly helpful on long plane trips as airplane seating generally does not provide the level of support that my back likes.

This nada really amounts to something.  Try it out.

Copyright 2009, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.

One of the neatest laptop sleeves that I have come across comes from Civilian Labs (www.civilianlab.com).  Taking a leaf from Steve Jobs, they created a manila envelope-styled padded sleeve for Apple’s MacBool Air.  They made the sleeve out of leather and did a very nice job.  The design follows the traditional look of a manila envelope, including the red string to seal it.  Not wanting to trust an expensive computer to a piece of string, however, Civilian added two snaps to the sleeve, one on each side of the flap.  The snaps keep the flap closed and the flap keeps the laptop secure.  The string, now more decorative than necessary adds a nice finishing touch to the package and gives your computer the protection of a belt and suspenders approach to closure.

007 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service full

Rob Roy trailer The sleeve, like the old Model “T” comes in any and every color you might want…. just so long as you want black.  The cost?  $49.  The effect? Priceless.  I have used the sleeve for a few months now and the first time people see it, they “ooh” ad “ah” over it.  I have had several people ask me where they can get one.

The nice thing about the Air Manila is that it provides sufficient protection for your MacBook Air that you ca slip it into almost any brief case, with or without, a padded laptop section and feel confident that your computer will arrive at its destination safely.

One other thing, although it technically does not comply with the TSA requirements for allowing you to leave a laptop in its case when going through X-Ray screening, the TSA people on the line have accepted it at several airports and allowed it to go through.

Copyright 2009, Jeffrey Allen.  All rights reserved.