Ouch... 17" screen for traveling along with any photo gear - hope you have great backs! When I travel with my large photo backback, I take along my older 12" laptop for exactly the opposite reason.. I don't want to add any more weight. 4lbs vs 8lbs makes a big difference when you are already carrying 50lbs of gear... and the battery consumption of a 12" model is about 60% less than a 17" version.

Glad you found one you like EZ... Good luck with it!