Customer Reviews

Belkin Laptop Cooling Lounge (White)

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I LOVE this (Belkin F5L028) cooling lounge and had been watching for it to hit the local markets for over two months before buying--after seeing it on Belkin's web site. This unit has been well thought out. It works great with my 16.4" Sony laptop with about 3/4" to spare on each side. It is very comfortable on my lap & the incline elevation is adjustable from underneath. An unexpected plus is how comfortable it is when used on my desk (or a table). The front "lip" is contoured & serves as a comfortable wrist support; the keys are easier to type upon with the "lounge" elevation. This also allows for a customized screen height. If you look under the LT while on this cooling lounge, you can't help but notice there's excellent space for air circululation under the entire LT. Completely across the center area, under the LT's keyboard portion, the lounge's designed with extra space to make it convenient for your hands to lift the LT without dragging the lounge everywhere. To top it all off, the looks can't be beat. You won't be disappointed with this one. I've tried several other cooling pads while waiting for this one. On the other ones, my LT's fans didn't have proper venting/circulation room or either comfort or screen height was an problem. This includes on other Belkin products large enough for my LT (their F5L025 is not yet available locally to try). There aren't many things I care enough about to review. This is definitely one I feel good doing. I had the previous Belkin model (F5L001) with my previous 15" laptop and loved it. However, it was way too small for this LT. Hope this will help you--as other reviews have helped me.

In 4 years this is the 3rd device I've tried, and despite some minor design flaws it's by far the best.

If you're going to use a laptop on your lap, having a cooling pad is essential, especially for the Macbook pro. Your computer will last longer, it's more comfortable, and important for male health.

Benefits:
+ Angled for a more natural position
+ Great air flow / cooling power
+ Secures the laptop with bottom lip
+ Very grippy material that prevents sliding
+ Fan has pleasant pitch, calming and not too high

Drawbacks:
- Bottom lip is too tall, pressing into your wrists
- Fan is slightly loud (but the air flow is also what makes it effective)
- Does not turn off when laptop is off
- (EDIT: Does not turn off on the old MacbookPro when the lid is shut, putting the computer into sleep. It does shut off for the PC when the lid is shut. Not sure what's wrong there.)
- Very bulky, not for travel.

Previously I had a "lapinator", which was just a heat-proof pad. Without a fan, the computer would get insanely hot all the time.

Then I got the "Logitech Notebook Cooling Pad (N100)", which was a tremendous improvement. However, the slick surface was nearly the demise of my laptop. I will say that the Logitech was smaller, more elegant, and quieter than the Belkin; but the slick surface was a deal breaker. When it broke I decided to replace it with the Belkin, and I'm glad I did.

Belkin, if you're listening, please, lower the bottom lip. This thing doesn't have to be a full inch tall to prevent a laptop from sliding off. Even with a giant HP dinosaur that's 2" tall with a beveled bottom, it would be way too heavy to slide off. So please, make the lip smaller!

I recently purchased this product because my aluminum unibody MacBook Pro can put out some heat on some higher CPU intensive tasks. I've had it for a couple of days and really like it. It's very comfortable on my lap and I like the ability to adjust the angle somewhat depending on where I want to use it (desk top, sitting in a chair or in bed) The single fan seems to work well keeping my notebook a good 10 to 15 (even 20) degrees cooler than with out the laptop cooling lounge. In fact, when I use it the notebook fans don't even kick in, even on CPU intensive tasks like watching video, etc. Another feature I like is the concave portion in the middle that allows air to circulate around the bottom of the notebook. The fan is a bit loud, but not hard to get used to. The fan is run via a plug into a USB port and does not appear to diminish battery power inordinately. I find the wrist rests pretty comfortable too, so far.

I would highly recommend it if you like to use your notebook on you lap a lot. On a desk top it works well too because it allows you to angle out the notebook which I think makes typing easier. My only wish I guess would be to have a slightly quieter fan.

Overall - I'm happy with my purchase.

M.

(See my comments below about some problems that developed over 5 months of use)

After purchasing and returning two other models, I settled on this one. It's bigger than most others, so if you are a frequent traveler, you may want a smaller model since this might not fit in a small laptop case. I like the extra room it provides, since I can probably fit a small mouse on the side.

The adjustable mechanism is a great option, but can tricky to adjust. You almost have to flip it upside down to adjust. I worry that the plastic clips that make it adjustable may not hold up.

The fan works fine, its nice and quiet. A nice touch is that they've provided a cord management at the top of the unit for at least two cords.

So they only thing so far that I can see that would improve this would be a gel pack along the bottom edge for comfort. Some might find this edge annoying as you type, but I think it's actually better for your wrist and hands to elevate them slightly. I suppose I could buy some gel pads to stick or glue on this area. If they offered another model with gel and a 4 port USB hub with the option of powering the fan with USB or AC adapter, I think you would have the ultimate device. Overall I'm extremely satisfied with this, I hope it holds up while traveling.

Note that the picture provided is not accurate. Either click on the customer image or look at the pictures below in the Product Description from the manufacturer.

I have used several different types of laptop coolers in the past and this one is, by far, the most comfortable I've used to date. The adjustable band underneath lets you position the angle of the lounge very easily to your liking with several different settings. The natural ergonomics of the lounge make it very comfortable to work on for several hours at a time. I am very surprised how cool it keeps my laptop with only one fan. I am running an Alienware M15x (15.4") and if it can keep this machine cool, I can't see where it would be a problem for any others. I highly recommend....

The fan started to make loud noises like the bearings are rubbing. Very disappointing, it was comfortable and did a good job cooling. Too bad the fan is poor quality.

Well I thought this was gonna be great for my big laptop. I've had it since May and now all of a sudden it stopped working. Belkin guarantees a One Year warranty so I'm gonna send it back for a replacement. It cools down ok but it's not good at cooling down if your are playing games. The stand is a big flaw, it's a plastic piece you move to adjust height and it's not very stable. You have to be careful if your leaning on it to type because the piece will snap back to it's original place I have to insert something so it doesn't do that. I think they could have made a strong better stand. It's the only cooling big enough for a 17" laptop.

The design of the product was well thought out in several areas. It is fairly comfortable on your lap and the adjustable height system works well enough. The cooler also fits a 17" laptop and thusly any smaller laptops as well.

The problem is in the fact the the cooling fan offers no noticeable incease in cooling whatsoever. My Gateway p-7805u under testing was not a single degree cooler using the fan than it was without the fan on at all while testing temps on the cpu, gpu, and hard drive.

Basically this is a $40 piece of plastic that could be replaced with a large book to keep your lap cool. It will not cool your laptop at all.

This product is appropriately rated the 4 stars that it currently holds. It has a sturdy build and nice construction. It's not completely silent- sounds as if you had a small fan in the room to keep you cool or something. Cool air is released through the concave dip in the middle and my laptop is sufficiently cool on the bottom- actually it even cools my legs down!

But, even after a few hours, my own laptop's fan is still running and the keyboard and mouse pad area are still warm to the touch (not hot like they would normally be, but not cool either). This may be because the room is already 82 degrees so maybe the fan just can't get it that cool. I keep my laptop on for a long time- sometimes days- so this cooler still offers me a small comfort that I may be prolonging the laptop's death by a little bit.

I love how there are little paddings on the ledge to stop your laptop from sliding down. And the ledge/ shelf is designed comfortably. My laptop is 14.1" so there are a couple inches on each side and 3" at the top. I was afraid that the positioning would land my laptop's vents on the flat surface causing ventilation problems, but it fits just perfectly so that the laptop's legs are able to sit on the flat surface and offer a clear passage between the laptop and pad for air flow.

If it were able to get my keys to be at least room temperature, I'd have given a 5 without hesitation.

***EDIT***

After almost a month's usage, I noticed that the plastic stand is as other reviewers have noted, a bit flimsy. I had it on the first level (very shallow rise), but halfway sat on it by accident which stretched out the hole for the other part to hook onto. This resulted in me not being able to use that first level of rise anymore. So far I still like it and don't regret the purchase.

This lounge truly makes it possible to not only use your laptop on your lap it keeps it really cool so the life of your laptop may be extended and work to it's fullest capacity. Before I found this I was using a glass cutting board across my lap so that there would be space between me and the laptop. NOT comfortable and not really practical. I started searching for something that would provide a level surface and keep the unit cool. Saw many different designs but most had "feet" that would dig into your legs once the weight of the laptop was added. The adjustable "hump", as I call it, is comfortable and has stayed put in the position I have chosen. The other great feature is the raised ledge on the bottom that keeps your laptop from sliding off. I have read other reviews that complain about the fan noise. Either they have extemely sensitive ears or they got a defective unit. You do hear the fan but it is a very gentle hum and quite frankly I think it's good to have some way of knowing that it is working other than having to visually check it all the time. I also like that it is connected through a USB port so that I can keep it connected - when I shut my laptop down the fan motor also turns off so I don't have to keep disconnecting and reconnecting. I don't know how much if any battery power is drained because I keep my laptop plugged into AC so I cannot address that. Because the air is distributed in both up and down direction you will feel cool air coming from the sides so in the winter you might want to put a little blanket across your legs. I love my lounge and am so happy somebody "got" what was needed.