The MacBook Air "Bags, Sleeves & Cases" thread

optmi said:

I keep saying I'm going to review my felt sleeve but I never seem to have time...stuck between catching up on Mad Men episodes on netflix, work and bar outings....so here goes:

I have the Charcoal Merino Wool Felt Case with Leather Strap from Untype.com and its the one that I recommend to people with MBA's or iPads. When I'm travelling for work, I get asked all the time about it. If you want the cheaper version, there's one without a leather strap. Both look very stylish but I think the leather goes well.

The protection is pretty good in that the felt has protected my MBA while in my messenger bag with all my other crap in there (pens, iphone etc). I swing around that bag quite a bit and its taken serious punishment in the plane overhead bins when I fly.

As for the aesthetic, it goes perfectly with the MBA and keeps the weight off the whole package when you travel. I HATE travelling heavy and that's why I jumped on the MBA, so I needed something that was going to protect but not weight a lot.

The cool thing is that it's hand-made. I would go with either the White, grey or charcoal versions if you do get one. I prefer charcoal but that's just me.

They still have that promotion going on their website which brings the cost down significantly. The code is: "Summer11". Here's the promo code link.

Here's a pic of the one I got from their website:

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I just purchased this thanks to your review, so thanks for writing it. I hope I like it as much as you do.

My Combo:


and

jcg878 said:

I just purchased this thanks to your review, so thanks for writing it. I hope I like it as much as you do.

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Glad to hear it. Did the coupon code work? and did you get the leather strap one or the felt only? I'm sure you'll love it. I'm super rough with my tech gear and the untype sleeve looks nice, is light enough and keeps my MBA from looking like Freddy Krueger has been handling it I'm thinking of getting another MBA for the wife so might have to grab another one, maybe the white. I just can't decide whether I'll keep my 2010 MBA or upgrade to the 2011 i7 and give her a hand-me-down :X

optmi said:

Glad to hear it. Did the coupon code work? and did you get the leather strap one or the felt only? I'm sure you'll love it. I'm super rough with my tech gear and the untype sleeve looks nice, is light enough and keeps my MBA from looking like Freddy Krueger has been handling it I'm thinking of getting another MBA for the wife so might have to grab another one, maybe the white. I just can't decide whether I'll keep my 2010 MBA or upgrade to the 2011 i7 and give her a hand-me-down :X

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The coupon code worked, and I did purchase the leather strap one. Thanks again.

And I think you have a silly dilemma - obviously she gets the hand-me-down

onthecouchagain said:

Muzetto bags are nice, but they are expensive. I personally can't justify it =T

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I have purchased 2 muzzettos and you can't beat the quality as well as the fact that you are supporting an american business, To me thats priceless and worth the extra $$$$$$

As much as I like Waterfield I feel their Muzetto has room for improvement.

- Shoulder strap should have swivels and be removable. The strap gets twisted up too easily, swivels would solve that.

- a grab handle, just a small leather strip sewn into the back seam like on some backpacks. So you can grab and toss it in the car, or easily grab as you slide the strap off your shoulder. It would be so handy, the product would sell even better than it does now.

- it's a minimalist bag, I understand that, but it's design could allow for better organization without scaraficing much in width. Vertical bags are hard to find stuff to begin with. A little more room and pockets are needed to allow for the stuff we may carry each day, you don't have to stuff it full but it's just good design to allow a little extra room. MacBook Air and/or ipad, medium moleskin, power adapter, sub compact camera, wallet, keys, pen, small accessory pouch that holds USB drive, sd card reader, iPhone headphones, change ... Just the daily 'stuff' many of us carry each day ... It's doesn't all really fit or function so well in the Muzetto. Beautiful bag yes, superiorily functional, no.

entatlrg said:

As much as I like Waterfield I feel their Muzetto has room for improvement.

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I agree and their other bags too have one glaring error that I would like to see cleared up. I have a large cozmo and two cargos and all of them have internal pockets with no clasp or closure, they are just open so when you jam them under an airline seat on the side, things come out and find another spot in the bag. I have taken my cozmo and superglued small 1 inch velcro at the top of each pocket and solved the problem. I'm gonna do the other as well. Super glue gel works just fine, with the velcro you sew in.

Waterfield Cargo

I'd really like to try their Cargo in size that holds my Air and iPad.

I also have interest in the Incase Compact backpack, even though it has room for improvement.

The bag posted in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=13269548&marc+new+york#post13269548 made by Marc New York could be the best so far as an everywhere day bag?

entatlrg said:

I'd really like to try their Cargo in size that holds my Air and iPad.

I also have interest in the Incase Compact backpack, even though it has room for improvement.

The bag posted in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=13269548&marc+new+york#post13269548 made by Marc New York could be the best so far as an everywhere day bag?

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over my career of 40 years in business and computers ( since my suitcase compaq and kaypros, LOL) I have had a ton of cases, none are more well thought out that the WF cargo, they just work better...I am particularly fond of my red leather small one...

entatlrg said:

I'd really like to try their Cargo in size that holds my Air and iPad.

I also have interest in the Incase Compact backpack, even though it has room for improvement.

The bag posted in this thread https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=13269548&marc+new+york#post13269548 made by Marc New York could be the best so far as an everywhere day bag?

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It's a really nice bag, though I'm not sure what the fascination over it is. Also, still quite pricey.

Mba envelope

Best to buy is "Sena Envelope". great leather, perfect fit.





Mac Pro 2.8,,MBA13" 2011,,ipad2,,iphone4,,

glen e said:

over my career of 40 years in business and computers ( since my suitcase compaq and kaypros, LOL) I have had a ton of cases, none are more well thought out that the WF cargo, they just work better...I am particularly fond of my red leather small one...

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Does your small red cargo allow room for your 11"MBA, iPad and extra's like a wallet, small camera, notebook, keys..?

I ended up buying this North Face sleeve in black.
It's a very good fit and there is a flap so the zipper won't scratch my MBA. Plus it's water-resistant. And it's cheap, in my opinion

I've been using the Tom Bihn Risretto 13" for the last month and it has to be the best bag I've ever owned. It's sturdy, well designed, and spacious without being a backpack. It doesn't make me look like a student, nor does it lack the character a black executive laptop case would lack.

It can easily fit my 13" Macbook Air, iPad 2, notepad, charger, camera, Nintendo 3DS (for long flights) and journal, plus various accessories like pencils, pens, usb thumb drives and even a keychain flashlight.

That said, I've ordered a 13" Muzetto, which I'm looking forward to comparing to, what I feel to be, the most comfortable bag I've owned.

heydrew said:

I've been using the Tom Bihn Risretto 13" for the last month and it has to be the best bag I've ever owned.

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Do you have the standard strap or the upgraded strap? I've been considering this bag and am torn about whether the upgrade is worth it.

entatlrg said:

Does your small red cargo allow room for your 11"MBA, iPad and extra's like a wallet, small camera, notebook, keys..?

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yes....easily

heydrew said:

I've been using the Tom Bihn Risretto 13" for the last month and it has to be the best bag I've ever owned.

It can easily fit my 13" Macbook Air, iPad 2, notepad, charger, camera, Nintendo 3DS (for long flights) and journal, plus various accessories like pencils, pens, usb thumb drives .

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I'm impressed.

I have the Ristretto and it never left my house. Beautiful bag yes, but I could not seem to get my gear to fit in there well. It was hard to get at or pull out and bulging and because of it's vertical design heavy on the shoulder.

Yet you carry about the same as I do. Could you post pictures of what goes where.

I was going to give it away to a friend but now I think maybe I should if given it a better try.

Look forward to your review on Waterfields Muzetto. Their Cargo looks very functional. I own their Sleeves and Cozmo, it's high quality, but totally overlooked the Cargo until Glen posted his here.

Thanks.

rosemary1 said:

Do you have the standard strap or the upgraded strap? I've been considering this bag and am torn about whether the upgrade is worth it.

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I did upgrade to the Absolute strap which might be why I love the bag so much. It's incredibly comfortable and feels very well made. It also seems to grip my clothes very well when slung over the shoulder. I haven't tried the default strap so I don't know if it's world's better, but I find it to be a very well made strap for a well made bag.

Yet you carry about the same as I do. Could you post pictures of what goes where.

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Sure thing! Starting from the bottom:
-Macbook Air (in the black flap padded compartment)
-Notepad and/or current printed projects, iPad 2 in the 2nd compartment (I also keep a cleaning wipes in the zippered compartment)
-Smallest compartment: Moleskin notepad in the left pocket, Nintendo DS / iPod touch (not pictured) in the right small pocket, pencils and/or pens in the two pen pockets, usb drives and charger (not pictured here) loose in the outermost area.
-I can also fit a pair of Bose AE2 headphones in if I squeeze them a bit.

Personally, I really like the vertical style of the bag as I feel it lets me squeeze in on subways or planes a lot easier. The total thickness of the Ristretto, fully packed, is about 1 1/2 books, if the book is a 1,000 page Stephen King novel.

heydrew said:

I've been using the Tom Bihn Risretto 13" for the last month and it has to be the best bag I've ever owned. It's sturdy, well designed, and spacious without being a backpack. It doesn't make me look like a student, nor does it lack the character a black executive laptop case would lack.

It can easily fit my 13" Macbook Air, iPad 2, notepad, charger, camera, Nintendo 3DS (for long flights) and journal, plus various accessories like pencils, pens, usb thumb drives and even a keychain flashlight.

That said, I've ordered a 13" Muzetto, which I'm looking forward to comparing to, what I feel to be, the most comfortable bag I've owned.

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I would love to hear your thoughts on the Muzetto once you get it. I'm considering one myself, but am torn between the 13" and 15". I know they are pretty thin bags, so I'm worried the 13" might be tight with a 13" air, ipad, and some other small accessories. And the next size up is only $20 more.

Thank you!

I loaded mine up now and will try it over the weekend.

I've got a bag (or two ) on order and will choose from the bunch.

There's a lot on the forum looking for the perfect bag. We quickly turned into kind of a mobile techy culture. The iPad new MacBook Air's the last few years sure helped that along, didn't it?

Seems like many bag designers (similar to windows laptops manufactures ) got behind in the trend. It's easy to find huge briefcases, messenger bags and backpacks for 15" notebooks and up but to find something smaller and functional is hard. I've gone through a lot of bags, for one reason or another they get passed on to my staff, usually because they're too large. The recent threads here in the Air forum have a lot of good options.

It's cool now we can be very productive without a 10 pound mobile workstation. lt's becoming more common to see people taking their day bags everywhere business hours or weekends. It's handy and there's tons of entertainment in the gear we carry.

It seems a lot of Air and iPad owners don't buy backpacks, more shoulder, messenger, briefcase styles. Why I wonder? If a suitable size backpack could be found they're comfortable for all day carrying, you don't get that banging in the hip. Again, it's hard to find a smaller backpack, except the incase compact backpack, but it's not compact when comparing to some of the bags shown in this thread.

I bought a Urbano USECA Ultra Slim sleeve for my Macbook Air 13". It fits very tight and looks great too. I am not sure how much protection it would offer if I were to drop my MBA with it inside, but when I take the MBA with me, I will carry it in a backpack or another bag.

Waterfield Small Cargo arrived

Ordered yesterday, came today, super fast shipping.

I like it pretty good, design is excellent, very functional, the Air and iPad and peripherals all fit in really well.

My only initial initial concern is how rigid and stiff it is. I'm guess/hoping it will soften up a lot? For example, when you unzip the main pocket and reach into the pockets there's a lot of nylon material there, like a tube almost, I guess its where they attached the flap.

Does anyone have experience with this or own a cargo, how much has it softened up, especially on the inside, the ballistic nylon pockets etc isn't like sandpaper but it's pretty rough, imo.

heydrew said:

I've been using the Tom Bihn Risretto 13" for the last month and it has to be the best bag I've ever owned. It's sturdy, well designed, and spacious without being a backpack. It doesn't make me look like a student, nor does it lack the character a black executive laptop case would lack.

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It's interesting that there are so many fans of Tom Bihn gear. I have never liked any of their products. Their bag designs look horrible, and the colour combinations are garish. The same goes for Timbuk2. Ugh.

I'm more of a minimalist and tend to stick to Jack Spade or Banana Republic.

entatlrg said:

Ordered yesterday, came today, super fast shipping.

I like it pretty good, design is excellent, very functional, the Air and iPad and peripherals all fit in really well.

My only initial initial concern is how rigid and stiff it is. I'm guess/hoping it will soften up a lot? For example, when you unzip the main pocket and reach into the pockets there's a lot of nylon material there, like a tube almost, I guess its where they attached the flap.

Does anyone have experience with this or own a cargo, how much has it softened up, especially on the inside, the ballistic nylon pockets etc isn't like sandpaper but it's pretty rough, imo.

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it loosens up a bit..but it's not to be confused with the soft distressed leather bags here like the muzetto....it's a workhorse of a bag meant to last 10 years...return it if you want, the cozmo eliminates that constriction you're feeling when you reach in...

glen e said:

it loosens up a bit..but it's not to be confused with the soft distressed leather bags here like the muzetto....it's a workhorse of a bag meant to last 10 years...return it if you want, the cozmo eliminates that constriction you're feeling when you reach in...

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I have the small cargo indium flap for about 8 months. I have no issues on it being to stiff or the feel inside the pockets. It is very durable and looks the same as when I first got it. I lug this bag around every work day with my MBA, a few product manuals, cables, usb microscope, writing pad, etc. I toss this thing in my trunk or back seat like a frisbee. Great bag for me so far.