Sony Vaio laptop computer
I took a Sony laptop computer, model PCG-531A, on my trip from Shanghai to Paris. This is their lightweight unit, about 3 pounds, with a 10-inch display.
On one teeth-loosening, rock-covered rural path the Chinese call a road, one of my panniers worked itself loose, fell off the bike and agonizingly bounced over the rocks and gravel before sliding to a stop. There is a law that states when you drop your bread it will always land on the side that is buttered so, naturally, it had to be the pannier containing the laptop. I expected the worst but to my great relief the Sony survived that calamity with flying colors.
This poor little computer was banged, beaten, shaken, stirred, frappe'd and whatever other settings you can find on your blender. The case is scuffed and slightly bent from the abuse but the computer has never once failed me. Life in the pannier could not have been easy. The rough roads and the vibration from the single-cylinder Kawasaki were enough to doom more than one of the items I carried but the little Sony never skipped a beat.
I stored almost 14,000 digital photos from my trip on its hard drive and kept notes every day. The only things I could ask for are a bigger hard drive and a built-in CD burner but those will come with the next one I buy which, is more than likely, will be another Sony. Highly recommended.