Read full review: The Armor X10gx slate tablet withstands heat, cold and plenty of water
NEXT: Dell Latitude Laptop
Dell Latitude E6400 XFR


This black laptop PC is built like a tank and is only slightly lighter. But that weight is mostly armor that protects it from extremes of all sorts. Out drop tests starts a 12-inches and goes all the way up to a dizzying height (for a notebook anyway) of 48 inches. Dropping the XFR 36 times at each level, which is every 12-inches, would be the death of most notebooks, especially since it has to land on every side, surface and corner. The Latitude tore the hell out of the plywood, shivering timbers like a cannonball ripping through an old sailing ship. But it never got a scratch on it, and booted fine after each drop.
Pros: Extremely tough; backlit keyboard; touch screen.
Cons: Heavy; expensive.
Rugged level: A+
Performance: A-
Ease of use: A-
Features: A+
Value: A-
Price: $4,864 as configured for test
Read full review: Dell Latitude E6400 XFR is as tough as they come
NEXT: Fortress Vehicle Mesh Point
Fortress Technologies ES820 Vehicle Mesh Point

Once installed in a vehicle, the ES820 is surprisingly rugged. We took the ES820 off-road through rocks, streams and more than a little mud. The little 2.5-pound unit won’t put a dent in your hauling capacity. The metal case packs a 500mW 802.11a/n radio and a 250mW 802.11a/b/g/n radio. We setup a base camp with wireless devices, and sent the jeep out loaded with the ES820. Even in a light forest-like environment, the base camp was able to get a signal from the vehicle almost a mile away. It was much better when in line of sight, but had good signal regardless. The network is designed to self-form, self-heal and self-patch, though we couldn’t test this feature because we only had a single unit, but so we see no reason why additional ES820s would do anything but make those connections stronger. A whole fleet of them should be quite powerful indeed.
Pros: Rugged against vibration; can be temporarily submerged in water.
Cons: Initial setup a bit difficult.
Rugged level: A
Performance: A
Ease of use: B
Features: B
Value: A-
Government price: $3,595
Read full review: Fortress Vehicle Mesh Point creates a network in the outdoors
NEXT: Gamma Tech Rugged Laptop-Tablet
GammaTech R13S Rugged Laptop-Tablet

The R1S3 can function as a rugged laptop most of the time, but could be converted to a tablet for activities such as filling out forms or working in the field. The downside to this multifunctional feature set is weight, since the R1S3 is 9 pounds without taking the power cables into account. On the plus side, the low government price of $2,963 is amazing for a rugged unit that can exist as a laptop or tablet. In rugged tests, the R1S3 really shined. We put it through the Mil-Spec drop testing in laptop and tablet format, and it came through without any damage other than a few cosmetic scratches. And the battery lasted a long time — 3 hours, 27 minutes —in our worst case scenario testing.
Pros: Good battery life; touch screen; converts from laptop to tablet.
Cons: Heavy; low benchmark scores.
Rugged level: A
Performance: B-
Ease of use: A-
Features: A
Value: A+
Government price: $2,963 as configured for test
Read full review: GammaTech R13S is one tough convertible laptop-tablet