Traveling with a laptop gives you the freedom to get work done or enjoy entertainment on the go, but they can be tricky to safely store when flying. With so many varying restrictions on carry-on luggage sizing, bringing your laptop along on a trip can become a bit of a headache if you don’t have a solid spot to house it, particularly if it doesn’t fit within your personal item bag . Carry-ons with a separate laptop compartment are the perfect solution.

We tested 288 carry-on suitcases and picked out our favorites with protective laptop compartments for this article. After packing each suitcase for a four-day trip, we maneuvered them through obstacle courses to test the agility of the wheels and sturdiness of the handles. We dropped them off tables and hit them with baseball bats to test durability.…