If you’ve been patiently waiting for the Skooba Design Checkpoint Friendly laptop bags to appear, your wait will soon be over. We’ve just received word that Skooba Design is now taking pre-orders for their Checkthrough (checkpoint-friendly) bags, and the bags are scheduled to begin shipping in about 8 weeks. Here’s the latest…

Based on the e-mails, phone calls, retailer and consumer order requests we’ve received since the original announcement of the product–now well into the thousands–we will have our hands… and our sewing machines… full to make sure we produce enough to keep everyone happy through the holidays and beyond. So, we have set up the pre-order option as the best way to insure that those who want these bags can “lock them in.” We also are offering some incentives for early action (info on the order form).

From the Skooba Design site, where you can preorder the bag for $139.99:

The patent-pending Checkthrough™ Bag looks and functions like a high-end business case, but is designed and rigorously-tested to be “checkpoint-friendly,” so you can run it through airport x-ray screening without removing your computer.*

The bag opens and hinges in the middle to separate and isolate the laptop compartment from the rest of the bag. For initial, immediate visual reference, the laptop can be seen by the inspector through a clear, quick-recognition window that is exposed when the bag is unfolded. With the window facing up, the bag is sent through x-ray screening. The design of the laptop compartment is such that the image presented to the screener is the same as if the laptop were removed and placed in a bin. The Checkthrough bag and all of its contents can be carried securely with or without the hinge zipped shut, so it can be readied in line, prior to screening. Once through, the traveler can simply pick up the bag and go, zipping it back up on the move or at the gate.

*It is the intention and expectation of all involved in the “checkpoint-friendly” bag program that once fully implemented, the process will move smoothly and that suitably designed and constructed bags, properly packed and used, will move through the system efficiently as planned. However, in all instances, screening personnel always have the right to require laptop removal, secondary screening, or any other measures deemed necessary to ensure travel security.

Link: Pre-order form live on the Skooba Design website

Link: Full product information