When we first embarked on this road trip, I had visions of being ultra-productive during the many hours of driving using my laptop to write oodles of articles and posts. I also envisioned myself sitting outside of the cramped RV in the fresh air, sipping tea, and outlining my first award-winning novel.
And then reality hit.
I tried writing on my laptop twice while we were driving; it was miserable. I couldn’t see the screen at all because of the glare.
And as it turns out, I can only sit outside and use the laptop when the sun is practically setting (and the mosquitoes are looking for a some fresh meat).
No-go there either.
I begged my problem-solving husband for a solution. He bought me an anti-glare film to put on the laptop. It sort of helped, like a drop of water might help a man dying of thirst. (And then my daughter scribbled her crayon over it which refuses to totally come off the film.)
Ack.
“Please help me!” I pleaded with my husband again.
Never one to run from a problem – unless it involves children vomiting in the middle of the night – he jumped onto Google, created a new spreadsheet, and researched his heart out. And a couple of weeks later this arrived at the RV:
Meet my newest friend: Hoodman HOODPC Hood Sunshade
Today was the perfect day to try it out. It was just past noon and the hot Texas sun was so blinding, I had to squint as I dragged out the laptop to test it out. (And then I ran back inside to write this article because it’s too flippin’ hot outside!)
Here’s a pictures of the laptop au natural:
It’s so bright, you can see all the smudges and old marks on the screen. (Actually, that’s the useless anti-glare film.)
Let’s see how the Hoodman helps the situation:
Not bad. Not bad! I think this might work for me.
Some other things I liked about the Hoodman:
It comes in this hand little pouch, which also acts as part of the shade. See below. (No unessential parts to haul around.)
The bag, which holds the shade when not in use, attaches to the back of the screen acting as a counter-weight so that the wind won’t blow it off. It sets on top of the screen easily and securely. We have 35 mile-per-hour winds today and it didn’t look like it was going anywhere.
All in all, I’m pretty happy with it. I can’t wait to get some work done during the long drive to New Mexico!
Want one? We bought ours at Amazon.com
Do you use your laptop outside or while riding in the car? How do you conquer the glare?
