Belkin Cushtop

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A few months back I reviewed a little product called the Lapinator. It was a simple product made from 3M Thinsulate. The premise was simple, when using your laptop, the Lapinator was positioned between yourself and your machine. In addition to providing cushioning, it prevented your crotch from erupting into flames under the heat of your laptop.

It’s pretty hard to beat the Lapinator in terms of utility, as it serves its purpose flawlessly. Belkin has, however, created an alternative that is arguably better for home use. The CushTop works in more or less the same capacity as its competitor, yet it is more thoroughly engineered and far more aesthetically pleasing.

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Whereas the Lapinator comes in two sizes to accommodate laptops of varying mass and width, the Belkin Cushtop incorporates a clever two-sided design. Simply flipping the unit over provides one with a different base size. Most laptops will fit happily on one of the sides. Like the Lapinator, the CushTop also prevents the dreaded crotch fire. Rather than a material solution though, Belkin has opted to make the CushTop considerably thicker than the Lapinator. The effect of these is twofold. Not only does it keep your lap at an agreeable temperature, it also creates a comfortable ergonomic slant for laptop lap-usage.

Finally, the major trump card of the CushTop is its fashion sense. Unlike its competitor, the CushTop, a product made strictly for utility, the CushTop is visually appealing. It’s available in a variety of color combinations, and it looks like something that one use in a house or apartment, rather than a grimy dorm room.

Now to be clear, I’m not hating on the Lapinator. It’s a cool little product that does its job well. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t admit that the CushTop is the better of the two products. It is the evolution of a simple, and necessary, idea. Everyone with a laptop who is considering someday having children, should invest one of these. In addition to making your laptop computing experience more pleasant on the whole, it could actually protect you from catastrophic crotch damage. That is all.

You can find it Online now for under $20.

Belkin