Let’s face it there is a lot that can happen to your computer when you work in construction. Drops, spills and getting left in the cab on hot days are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So, you need a tough machine. Here is a rundown of some currently on the market. If you have one of these feel free to leave a comment about how much you like, or don’t like it. If you’d like to feed the demolition lover in all of us we’d especially be interested in knowing if you managed to destroy one, (and how it happened).

• Dell Latitude ATG – it has high durability paint, port covers, shock-mounted hard drive (a solid state 32GB HD that has no moving parts is optional), spill resistant keyboard and it meets military specs relating to its susceptibility to vibration, humidity, altitude and dust. Oh, and it has an extra bright screen. Without changing anything on the customization page the unit priced at a little over $2k.
• Panasonic Toughbook – There is a lot of choice here with four categories from fully rugged to desktop replacement. I always like the most rugged thing I can get so I checked out the fully rugged category. The Toughbook CF-30 meets the same mil spec as the Dell above, is encased in magnesium alloy with tough seals, hinges and connectors. Some of the options include an outdoor viewable touch screen, cellular modem, internal GPS and Bluetooth capability. The video shows them pouring water on the keyboard. It also has sealed port and connector covers. You have to call to get the price.
• Durabook D15TS – This one is drop, shock, spill resistant and has a disk lock on the optical drive, and battery protection from surges, spikes, etc. The keyboard is water resistant, it meets the same mil spec as those above, the touch pad, buttons and LED are spill resistant. It has protection from a solid object that is 2.5mm and greater (whatever that means), can take vertical water drops and is protected from a drop of 29 inches. This site showed them listed at about $1400. There are a lot of models offered.

These computer models have gone through a lot of tests but none of them have undergone the nail gun test. Well, maybe they’ll add that to future versions.

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