Most travel laptops live on the edge; you’re always one trip of the cord or fumbled beverage away from selling their organs on eBay. The 14-inch Panasonic Toughbook F8 is the rare exception. At 3.7 pounds, it’s more than a pound lighter than most laptops, yet its magnesium-alloy shell and water-resistant seals armor it against the drops, smashes, and splashes that are an inevitable part of life on the road. The built-in handle means easy toting, and the 3G wireless modem can connect worldwide wherever a cell signal (from most major carriers) exists. Sure, you can pay less for PCs with the same respectable slate of hardware (1GB of memory, 2.26GHz processor, 160GB hard drive), but in an age when we rely on our computers almost everywhere we travel, this one is sure to survive the journey. $2,500;
