Belkin's CushTop: This Thing Rocks

[Jason Dunn]

I have a real love-hate relationship with Belkin products. Sometimes they hit the ball out of the park and release great products - other times, they release complete junk and I swear I'll never give Belkin another dollar. I feel like I'm gambling every time I buy anything with the name Belkin on it because I never know what I'm doing to get. Thankfully, the CushTop is one of Belkin's great products, and I'm very glad I bought it.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/belkin-cushtop.JPG" /><br /><br />The CushTop is a very simple product: it's designed to get your laptop up and off your lap for greater comfort and ergonomics. For various reasons (especially if <a href="http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2002/11/56552">you're a guy</a> looking to one day <a href="http://www.searchenginejournal.com/laptop-usage-can-lead-to-low-sperm-count-and-infertility/1141/">father children</a>) it's not a great idea to use a laptop directly on your lap. I've used <a href="http://www.laptopdesk.net/">Lapworks products</a> in the past, and while they're great for providing a stable surface to work on, they do little to protect you from heat build-up, and they don't raise the laptop closer to eye level when configured for sitting in your lap. The CushTop raises the laptop closer to eye level, which makes it more comfortable to type on.<br /><!><br />The CushTop does an excellent job of protecting you from laptop heat because it keeps the laptop a good five inches away from you, and there's an open channel in the middle for air to flow through, which further keeps the heat away from you. The open section in the middle is also designed to keep a mouse or AC power supply in, which is nice for those extended laptop sessions - you can tuck all the excess cables into the CushTop and only have the minimum cables you need attaching to the laptop and to the wall.<br /><br />Construction-wise, the CushTop is made of something (Styrofoam?) very sturdy - there's no pushin' in this cushin'. The fabric (some sort of micro-fibre) is soft enough not to scratch your laptop, but it's coarse enough to provide a surface with some grip. I've used the CushTop in a variety of locations (couch, bed, floor) with my 13.3" screen Dell XPS M1330 and it always feels completely stable. If you flip the CushTop over so the wider part is on top, there's more surface area - which makes it compatible with 17" widescreen laptops. Those Belkin people are clever!<br /><br />Since Belkin's product page for the CushTop <a href="http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=297707">is completely blank</a> at the time of this writing, the best I can do is point you to our <a href="http://thoughtsmedia.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php/page_id=34/form_keyword=Belkin+Cushtop/rd=1">low price directory</a> where several vendors are selling the silver, orange, and green CushTops for as low as $16.39 USD. I've seen Dell selling other versions (chocolate/tourmaline, dove/tarragon) so you may need to hunt around to find a specific colour.<br /><br />The CushTop is an excellent product and one I'd recommend highly for any laptop owner who wants a comfortable way to use their laptop while sitting - I've even found it helpful when using my laptop on my desk.<br /><br /><i>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, and his sometimes obedient dog. He's always a bit suspicious of Belkin products.</i>

[mrozema]

Have you looked to see if these can these be purchased locally (Calgary) Jason?

[Jason Dunn]

Have you looked to see if these can these be purchased locally (Calgary) Jason?

I haven't the foggiest clue. I imagine any place that gets Belkin products could order one - London Drugs for instance.

[Chris Gohlke]

Very cool, might have to pick one up. From the pic it looks like a laptop a little smaller than your Dell should fit in the middle, which would make a nice storage option too for a couch laptop.

[ctmagnus]

I've had an eye out for one of these ever since Judie reviewed it (http://www.geardiary.com/2006/12/28/the-belkin-cushtop-review/). Unfortunately, it's one of those thing that you forget about unless you're in a situation where you could be using it. ;)


Since Belkin's product page for the CushTop is completely blank (http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=297707) at the time of this writing

Erm, ahem (http://www.belkin.com/laptopathome/cushtop/). ;)

Have you looked to see if these can these be purchased locally (Calgary) Jason?

Belkin has very reasonable shipping to Canada.

I have just one issue, though: You can get it in tourmaline. According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourmaline), the colour of tourmaline is

Most commonly black, but can range from brown, violet, green, pink, or in a dual-colored pink and green.

[Deemo]

My wife just usually uses a pillow.

[Silver]

Um - I'd be worried about a pillow for airflow.

That being said does the product you reviewed give enogh airflow on the bottom for fans (or heat to escape)?

[alanjrobertson]

I'm not sure if Ikea is as big a phenomenon in North America as here in Europe but a similar idea from them is the BRÄDA laptop support. It costs a tenner ($20) but has a slightly different design to the Belkin - it has a hard plastic top for the laptop to sit on and then it's like a bean bag underneath.

There's also a pocket on the side for mobile (e.g. for Bluetooth internet access) or accessories. With my HP TX1030 I've found I've also got room for my external USB HDD at one side and retractable laptop mouse at the other.

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60115791

Cheers

Alan

[Chris Gohlke]

I love ikea, unfortunately, the closest one is 6 hours away. :(

[alanjrobertson]

Ahh, the benefits of living in a small country - I've got about 3 Ikea's within 3 hours of where I live (could even fly and drive to a Swedish store in under 6 hours!).

Alan :)