Thanks to editor Laarni Ragaza for this review!

I've used my share of laptop bags over the years, and the one peeve that I've had with nearly all of them is this: Even before I put in the laptop, they're already heavy. So when Carol asked me to check out the Skooba Skin laptop bag from RoadWired, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. The Skooba Skin is the miminalist of laptop bags, resembling a padded envelope with handles. This bag is light, light, light, and stylin' to boot.

Like the Infinite Dress of TV infomercial fame, there is more than one way to use the Skooba Skin. Just slide your laptop into the bag and fold the patented mirror-image flaps, one over the other. One flap slides into the case, while the other fastens in place using a discreet Velcro tab right under the Skooba label. And voilá, you have a laptop sleeve you can tuck under your arm to carry, or slip into a suitcase or carry-on for trips. For those who prefer to tote their laptops, just pull the two flaps straight up to use as a handle. There is no shoulder strap bundled in, but that would have just detracted from the design. A couple of caveats: The handle could use a soupçon of padding where your hand meets the bottom of the handle, and some suspension padding at the bottom of the laptop bag (for those times you just plop your bag down with a thud) would have been a welcome touch.

The Skooba Skin retails from $29.95 to $39.95. It comes in three sizes (the 1012 model is for 10- to 12-inch laptops, the 1415 can take laptops with 14- to 15-inch screens, and the 1617 can take laptops with up to 17-inch screens) and several fabric/color combos, including red and black ripstop with gray lining and, my personal favorite, brown corduroy with teal lining.