ThermaPAK Laptop Cooling Heatshift Pad

I own a 13-inch MacBook and I like to use it on my lap most of the time. It can get rather hot, especially on bare legs in the summer or with thin skirts/pants.We have a paste-up board and I use it as a laptop pad off and on, but it is a little too large for comfort in many places and does not travel well. It cannot be cut down (hollow inside). I still use this when I need paperwork and my MacBook since it can hold the laptop with 8.5x11 papers alongside and is easily carried around the house all at once (keeps projects together until completed).My husband gave me a lapdesk-style pad with wrist pad for Christmas one year and it was very comfortable and performed well at protecting my legs. However, the laptop melted the glue holding the top layers together and then we had a flood that ruined it altogether.My dad let me borrow a USB-powered laptop fan (white Belkin). It was a good size, but wasn't particularly comfortable. Also, it was too noisy! While it did a good job of protecting my legs from the heat, it didn't actually keep the computer any cooler. (I was running a program that showed the 'puter's internal temp.)When I went to replace the laptop pad for insurance, I did a google search which ultimately led me to the thermapak site (heatshift 13-inch pad) and lapworks site (ultralite laptop desk) as the top contenders for my uses. I purchased both and like them both (insurance paid for the ultralite). I use the ultralite when I want the 'puter at an angle (in any reclined position; works GREAT in bed or on the sofa). My husband uses it on his desk with his 15-inch MacBook Pro sometimes. It lives upstairs.We both use the heatshift pad the most, though. It lives near the recliner in the living room and that is the most popular spot in the house! The heatshift pad is the most comfortable and least obtrusive laptop pad I have used. It protects my lap from the heat of the laptop AND it keeps the laptop's internal temperature cooler than all of the above options. It works well for both of our MacBooks (13- and 15-inch). I chose the smaller one so it would travel the most compactly and because we already have larger options. My only dislike with this product is that the top surface (white) lets my laptop slide around under some circumstances, most notably when moving the pad and laptop off my lap in order to get up but also if I start getting uncomfortable and move my legs in pretzel shapes while using the 'puter. The bottom of the pad (different material than top) stays put on my legs rather well and is quite comfy. Silence is golden, too, and I really like that it uses no power. My laptop's fan runs less often with this pad, as well.If I could only own one laptop pad, I would choose the heatshift pad because it combines the most pertinent features for us and gets used the most by far... BUT, it is really close to (only a smidge above) the ultralite due to the ultralite's versatility (two sizes and five angles in one product that is slim and lightweight). I am glad we have both. (They serve different purposes.) If it was our only laptop pad and we had multiple laptops, I would chose the size that fit the laptop that gets used the most under circumstances where a laptop pad is desired (on-the-lap usage, fine furniture protection, added travel protection, etc).

Currently using an air cooled pad:I do a lot of intensive computer use on my 13 inch Macbook Pro and the laptop gets really hot and the fans whines. I have a  Cooler Master Notepal X2 Notebook Cooler R9-NBC-4WAK-GP  which has an active USB power 140mm fan under a metal grill below the laptop. I believe this is an awesome airpowered cooling solution, but its a bit bulky and too large for a 13 inch laptop. It does work well, but also needs to be using usb power and thus draining your battery. But the targus air cooling product also isn't great for macbooks since the mac usb connection is on the left and the targus usb port is on the rear right, and the cabling between them is unwieldy.Two Heatshifts work just as well and don't need power:I tried out the heatshift 13 and it is sized perfectly for a macbook pro 13. The heatshift actually seems to perform on par with the aforementioned aircooling solution, but the caveat is that you need two of them that you swap in and out every 2 hours or so. (I would like to try a software temp monitor and can update this review with more scientific settings - please respond if you know of a free one for a mac.) The pad has some crystals in it that get soft - its easy to tell when it is not working well anymore and you need to swap in your second one. The good part is that once the two hours go by, the first pad's crystals have hardened and are ready for a heating beating again!Tip - rotate a single heatshift pad for longer use:A tip is that the heat coming from a macbook is primarily in the left rear, and this is where the crystals soften first. The macbook heat appears to melt the crytals throughout the pad, but the ones closest that area soften the most. You can rotate the heatshift pad and get the harder crystals in contact with that area to use one pad for longer, although eventually you still would need two for heavy computer use (software development, gaming, video editing) for more than two hours.Recommend, especially suited to Macbooks:My rear internal Macbook Pro fan does not turn on now using the heatshift and it stays amazing cool. This product is well suited for macs I think for two reasons: macs cooling is primarily by conduction to the aluminum casing, with the air fan being for backup cooling. As long as the macbook is not hot, the fan wont come on and drain your battery. Since the heatshift contacts the entire bottom surface of the mac it can easily remove this heat via conduction. Also, macs don't have any air intakes on the bottom. I don't think that pad would block an air intake on a dell for instance, since it has a dimpled egg carton like surface, but at least this isn't an issue for macs. I don't think I will use an air cooled solution again. I highly recommend this product, especially for aluminum macbooks. Also, you might think bigger is better and want the 15 inch for your 13 inch macbook, but you don't need it and I don't if it would make a difference since the surface of the heatshift with the crystals need to be touching the laptop to work.

This is the best cooler I have purchased for a macbook pro (2009 model). I have tried a belkin cooler and an enermax aeolus prior.The bottom of a unibody macbook gets very hot in a particular spot and the way this cools with melting crystals works very effectively to dissipate the heat outward from there into a huge heatsink of what becomes gel. The whole macbook becomes more evenly temperatured to touch, and the whole effect seems to result in a much lower maximum working temperature for the laptop even if you use it all day. Very little heat is transmitted to your lap when using it, again, even if you use it all day.I use the 17-inch cooler with a 15-inch macbook, and I am very pleased I made the decision to size up.Just to see what would happen I put the cooler in the freezer for 2 hours, then used it cool the laptop while I worked on it. This worked remarkably well. Unexpectedly so. The pad stayed cold for almost an hour, and cool for a very long time. The macbook itself cooled to being cold to the touch, and seemed as responsive as it ever is even when strained.Really cool product.

I use my Macbook pro in bed (2008 model). For those that don't know the entire case is designed as a heat sink which means it gets really hot (esp if you put it on your lap / legs). This mat is perfect for keeping the temperature of the laptop down as well as the heat away from my body.

Don't be conned into this I couldn't notice any cooling benefits from this, just seems to pool the heat under the mac if not positioned righ covers the vents at the rear of a mac making the cooling worse. For best cooling you should place your mac on a hard surface like a desk or work top

Use it when on my lap, use it when in my bed and it's on top of my duvet... And also use it on glass tables.This does not absorb any significant amount of heat at all.Very disappointed overall.

I have a macbook pro and it's literally cool to the tough when using this product. My laptop slides around a little when using it on m lap but if I get it wedged in it really is worth the effort. Good product, good buy.