What a student's laptop goes through
A student's laptop goes everywhere: lectures, the library, the kitchen table, the bus, the train home at the end of term. It gets carried all day in a bag with books, a water bottle and a packed lunch, and it gets used in places no office would allow, on a bed, on a sofa, in a café. This page brings together the things that make that easier on the laptop and on you.
What is on this page
This page is put together from whole ranges, not product by product. Every product in the ranges named here is on it, so when a range gains something new, it appears here too. Each product also stays in its own department, and some are on more than one of the pages for different people as well as students.
- Laptop sleeves in every size, the biggest part of the page: slim PU leather, shockproof EVA, felt, neoprene, and cheerful printed and fluffy ones. A sleeve protects the laptop inside a bag you already own.
- Laptop backpacks, many with anti-theft zips and a USB charging port, and children's laptop bags, the school backpacks with a padded laptop pocket.
- Wireless mice, many of them rechargeable and silent, which matters in a library.
- Keyboard covers, thin silicone sheets shaped over the keys, made for named HP, Lenovo ThinkPad, Asus and MacBook keyboards and in universal sizes.
- Headsets with a microphone for online lectures, group calls and language practice, from USB headsets to open-ear Bluetooth ones.
- Lap desks and bed trays for working away from a desk.
Three things worth getting right
The bag. A student's bag gets dropped, dragged and overfilled, so a strong base and good zips matter more than almost anything else. Choose the sleeve or bag by the laptop's own measurements, not only the screen size on the label: the guide to laptop sleeve sizes shows how to measure.
Working in bed. Apple's safety advice is not to use a laptop on a pillow, blanket or other soft material that can block its vents, and the same goes for any laptop. A lap desk or bed tray gives it a firm, flat base.
Long sessions. The HSE's advice on screen work applies to students as much as office workers: for long spells, raise the screen and use a separate keyboard and mouse, and take short breaks often. A wireless mouse is the cheapest first step. More is in the laptop kit list for students.
Questions people ask about laptop accessories for students
Sleeve or backpack?
Both, for many students: a sleeve inside the backpack protects the laptop when the bag is dropped, and the sleeve on its own is enough for carrying it between rooms.
Will a keyboard cover fit any laptop?
Only the one it is made for, or the sizes a universal cover gives. On a MacBook, choose a thin one, as the gap between the keys and the screen is very small when the lid is shut.
How long does delivery take?
Delivery is included in every price and tracked to your door. Each product page says when it usually arrives.
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