Crumpler School Hymn 15" Review (with Pics-LOTS 56k beware)

[Ryan1524]

i had some difficulty finding any review about the Crumpler School hymn when i was going to buy it. but i ended up buying it anyway since it sounds like the best choice for me for a simple sleeve with medium protection.

so now i've decided to write one. i hope it'll help people see what the school hymn is really like and help in their decision. ok, so enough of this, on with the School hymn.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6487.jpg

the material is NOT fabric. i thought it was some kind of polyester or ballistic nylon or cordura wrapped around a plastic re-enforcer, but it's not. it's Vinyl. for those who don't know what this means (like me), it's synthetic leather. the sleeve looks like it's made of synthetic leather. it's shiny and might as well be smooth, but there's a very faint leather grain on it, kinda nice actually. but it's not leather. scuffs will show up very easily, but i think it adds character. overall, the surface has a bit of subdued shine to it.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6499.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6486.jpg

the fit is very nice. it hugs the PB on all 4 corners snugly, but there is a bit of space left on the sides, i would guess this means there is a bit of cushioning if it's ever hit from the sides. the case is rather stiff, and i can imagine it taking the brunt of most mild bumps. the sides are also lines internally, so the zippers will never ever touch our babies. i've tried tilting, bending it in many different possible natural ways in the bag, and the zipper never touches the powerbook. in my messenger bag, i often put the sleeve open horizontally in its laptop compartment, so i can pull the PB out quickly. even when opened like this, the zippers never seemed to touch the PB.

one brieff note, there is only one zipper pull. so in order to open it, we have to unzip the entire thing. unlike Shinza'a Zeroshock that has two pulls and can be opened at any point we choose. this is why i leave the zipper open in my messenger bag, the compartment holds it closed, but when i need to take the PB out, i don't have to pull the entire sleeve out to unzip it, sicne the zipper rests on the backside.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6493.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6494.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6495.jpg

overall this is a very nice sleeve. i just wished i ordered it in black or silver, since the blue is a bit too bright candy-like for my taste, but it's slowly growing on me. and the black one will look much nicer since the surface is synthetic leather. i imagine it will look much mroe professional. same with the white, except i think it'll be much more prone to dirts and scuffs.

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6496.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6498.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6497.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6488.jpg

http://www3.sympatico.ca/w.tirtariyadi/SchoolHymn/DSCF6490.jpg

i bought mine from Jason Wood from Storeos.com and he was very helpful. superfast delivery and great service overall. :)

[daxdagr8t]

i have a 12in revc pb and im looking for a sleeve, so this a big help.one question though, how thick is the padding in that sleeve?

[Ryan1524]

not much. i would say about half a centimeter on any ddirection. the top and bottom has a bit of thin foam under the plastic cover under the vinyl layer, but other than that, it feels like there's nothing. so any cusioning will have to come from the folds in the vinyl andd that tihn foam and the plastic re-enforcer. it's not the most protective sleeve. it does feel substantial and durable when it's closed with the PB in it thou, and adds about 60% thickness. so that much is in the padding i guess.

if you want the real protective one, i supposed you should look at Tom Bihn's Brain Cell or Monolith. i'm considering buying one to test as well. maybe i'll do that sometime.

[Chip NoVaMac]

Thanks for the great review and pics. Looks like a good choice for many people.

[jsulens]

can you use your powerbook while it is in the sleeve?

[Dr. Dastardly]

I love these kind of reviews! I will definatly consider Crumpler now that I actually have a review for it. Is this thing durable enough to be able to throw into a large messanger bag with an SLR if need be and not have to worry about it.

Thanks in advance! ;)

[Chip NoVaMac]

can you use your powerbook while it is in the sleeve?

Looks like the fan is blocked when in the case.

[jsulens]

Looks like the fan is blocked when in the case.
thanks :(

[arnette]

I have an orange Wee Bee by Crumpler and it's a rockin' bag. I always get compliments.

Just thought I'd share the awesome power that is Crumpler. carry on.

[Ryan1524]

the sleeve folds back far enough to allow you to use it while it's in the sleeve. i do that sometimes when i'm too lazy to remove it completely. but yea, the fan at the back is slightly blocked. but when you're using it with the case on, most likely it will be on battery power, and it never gets that hot when it's in batt power.

and i'm not sure how much abuse this case can take for the PB, but when it's in it, it feels solid and subtantial. i feel like i can just oss it in a bag and not worry about it. of course, it's better if you stiill take all precaution and be careful with it. (ie. don't toss around your bag) i just went around downtown today with the PB in my messenger, and it did just fine.

[aswitcher]

I've been a silver 17 SH for a month now.

Silver looks very nice with the silver PB.

I find it excellent to handle my PB in and out my STM backpack.

On the train I open it up but leave the PB inside whilst I work and it seems to work fine, not ovrly blocking the vents at the back.

The SH also make a good lap board when working from a chair at conferences, keep the PB up a bit higher and the heat away.

[virividox]

nice pics and review i have a friend who is looking for something like that ill direct them to this thread u might just help them make up their mind

[yinyang]

excellent review and pictures - now i know what to expect when my silver hymn arrive later during the week. i had looked at several, but thought the crumpler a good blend between neoprene glove and padded sleeve. the blue looks pretty cool - not even sure that was an available colour at iswh.

thanks for the effort :)

[itsumo]

I've been a silver 17 SH for a month now.
Would this fit a 15" or would it slide about inside do you think?

[Ryan1524]

if you have a 15", get the Silver 15" then. lol. :p

[stevehaslip]

Would this fit a 15" or would it slide about inside do you think?

they do it in different sizes to fit the different powerbooks
so you can get a 15" one that will fit perfectly. :)

[aswitcher]

Would this fit a 15" or would it slide about inside do you think?

Yeah get the size that fits else its likely to get damaged.

[itsumo]

if you have a 15", get the Silver 15" then. lol. :p
I should have mentioned that I've seen a 17" on sale at half price. :) I'm not that stupid!

[ozone]

Ryan1524... GREAT review! I was looking into the Crumpler Hymn for a 17" PB and just wrote to Jason as well at StoreOS.

So, it does look like the Hymn offers "hard sided" protection?

By the way, I have a Tom Bihn backpack and a Brain Cell. I bought it for an older laptop 4 years ago. The Brain Cell is nice: the laptop is suspended inside so it's unlikely to contact the ground if the backpack drops. It has stiff plastic sides so there is reasonable hard protection (although not as much as a rigid case). The backpack - the Brain Bag (gotta love those names) - I have is older and it has snaps where the Brain Cell snaps into it: I think the design is changed but it still fits in somehow. The backpack is not as big as, say, the ones you can get from Mountain Equipment Coop, but it's plenty big and very durable. It has angled shoulder straps, compression straps, chest strap, and waist strap to distribute and tighten the load - very critical in my opinion. The Brain Cell I have (sorry, they've since changed the name for my Brain Cell so I don't know what its new corresponding size is exactly) seems to be just about as big as it can be for the backpack, and it holds my wife's 15" TiBook "just right". After fours years of almost everyday use and more than a few flights, the backpack looks about 98% new still - pretty damn good. If you want photos, just let me know.

[Cordless_Drill]

I just received my School Hymn for the 15 and it's wonderful.

Fits perfectly. I mean, PERFECT. Definitely recommended.

It's got excellent protection around the edges, where I need it most. If I drop this box -- even in the sleeve -- I can expect problems. But the SH will keep things in good shape for everything short of a full drop ...

I couple it with an Ogio Metro backpack. The SH fits perfectly into the laptop area of the bag, so it's a flawless set up. I'd recommend this setup for anyone who wants a backpack for their 15...

[Whigga Spitta]

This is off topic Ryan1524, but could you do a similar review to your cordless Logitech setup (hopefully bluetooth)? I'm still hesitant to buy the MX 900 + Keyboard even after reading nearly everything I could on these forums. Any input (positive or negative) would be very helpful.

[manosira]

I too ordered my 15 inch Crumpler School Hymn from Jason of Stereos and he also was very helpful to me. I wanted a silver one and the US was sold out so that's how I ended up ordering this one from Canada. Paid a little bit more than I wanted but hopefully it will get here before the end of the week, and judgeing by the pictures posted earlier I will definately be satisfied. :) Anxiously Waiting...

[aswitcher]

I too ordered my 15 inch Crumpler School Hymn from Jason of Stereos and he also was very helpful to me. I wanted a silver one and the US was sold out so that's how I ended up ordering this one from Canada. Paid a little bit more than I wanted but hopefully it will get here before the end of the week, and judgeing by the pictures posted earlier I will definately be satisfied. :) Anxiously Waiting...

Silver is definetly my favourite.

I hope they do a new generation with metallic colours and possibly a harder shell with bettter corner cushioning

[Abstract]

Great review. :)

Now when people do a search for "Crumpler" in this forum, they'll definitely get a good hit.

[evilgEEk]

Now when people do a search for "Crumpler" in this forum, they'll definitely get a good hit.

I just Googled the Crumpler and got this thread! :)

I have a question that could probably be answered if I dug a little deeper..or dug at all...

Will these Crumplers work with an ibook as well?

Thanks

[ozone]

I just ordered and received a 17" black School Hymn from Jason at StoreOS. Excellent service - very responsive to inquiries - and prompt delivery. The Hymn bag in black looks sharp! Good for business and just a little different to stand out from the crowd.

Can't comment on the fit because I'm still waiting for my bloody PB to arrive from Apple! *sigh*

[butterball]

I just received my Black 'Large' school hymn ( I'm in the UK ) which was supposed to fit a 15"2 Mac.

It WON'T fit my 14" ibook :( :( :( :(

Should it ?

It's wide enough, but just won't zip up as the ibook seems too 'thick'

:eek:

[butterball]

..... also.... the damn Tom Bihn stuff doesn't ship 'til October and I'm going to India mid October and want to take the book ( 6 months ).. :mad:

Help !

[jasonwood]

Thanks Ryan for the review, and thanks to everyone else who mentioned myself and Store OS in such positive light! It's always great to find this stuff in Forums around the web. Looks like my obsession with good service is paying off!

One thing to watch out for - and I didn't even realize this until recently when a customer brought it to my attention...

The 15" and 17" school hymn is form-fit for the PowerBooks, but the 12" is made a little big. I assume they did this so it would fit more than just the Apple PowerBooks - or maybe they designed it before the 12" was released.

What this means is that, although the School Hymn - being a fairly hard case, still protects the 12" PowerBook from bumps and bruises, it can move around inside the case. I don't see this as a problem in terms of damage, but some people won't like it given that it is a premium product and you expect it to work a certain way.

The good news is that it fits iBook and even many 12" PC notebooks.

butterball - the 14" iBook is more than .6cm thicker than the PowerBook 15", so I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if it didn't fit. This is a fairly hard case so you can't cheat the dimensions very easily!

Truthfully, if you're in the USA, you can probably find a better price locally. That said, I do have a pretty good supply of most of the School Hymn right now, which I know are in short supply lately, so I'm getting a number of US orders. Let me know if you have any questions!
--
Jason Wood
StoreOS.com

[decoy_cc]

What would you compare the hardness of the case to? Is there any give if you press down on it? I am currrently leaning towards a ZeroShock for my 12" PowerBook I ordered yesterday because of its price and impact protection. How would the hardness of this case compare to the cushion protection of the ZeroShock?

EDIT: I need good protection from bumps and blows for my PowerBook as it's going to be lugged around in my normal backpack along with textbooks around campus.

[jasonwood]

What would you compare the hardness of the case to? Is there any give if you press down on it?

Not really, it's pretty solid when closed. I'm not familiar with the Zeroshock so I can't really do a comparison. You say though that it has cushioning, and you'll be putting it inside another bag. The advantage of the School Hymn is that it would occupy less space.

[Champale]

Great pics and great review!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!

[bobpensik]

what happened to all the pictures, they don't load for me anymore

[Vanilla]

I know this thread is a little old but I just thought I'd add that another advantage of the SH.
Because its a hard shell you can place your PBook on top of it on your lap, conveniently protecting your legs and sensitive areas from unwanted heat....
cheers
Vanilla

[reenshi]

I love these kind of reviews! I will definatly consider Crumpler now that I actually have a review for it. Is this thing durable enough to be able to throw into a large messanger bag with an SLR if need be and not have to worry about it.

Thanks in advance! ;)


hey doc,

what large messenger bag do you have? i have a 15" TiBook and Digital Rebel XT, and i'm looking for something large enough for both with ample room for extras.

hope to hear from you soon!