MacBook Air sleeve with handle?

drewrosenberg said:

My wife just got a MacBook Air and she is looking for a way to carry it around. She has a bag that fits it nicely but the bag is not water proof and has no padding. She would like a sleeve of some sort that can help protect it and keep the water out when necessary. There seem to be a lot of those but she would also like to have a detachable strap and none of the sleeves that we can find have one.

Does anyone out there have any recommendations? What do you recommend for a teacher with one of the new Macbook Airs who needs to be able to transport it back and forth?

Click to expand...

If your Macbook Air is a 11.6", then I would recommend the STM Jacket Extra Small. It has the unique, permanent handle which is rare for a sleeve. The handle is fixed in position and quite solid, unlike other similar offerings.

It also comes with the extra carrying strap. All the plastic fasteners are on the strap itself and so the sleeve is reasonably light. The fasteners are special snap-on which is very easy to take off but requires a bit force to put in. I guess that is the way which makes it very sturdy to use.

In my case, I seldom use it as I usually put the sleeve in another bag or a hand-carry wheeled luggage. The handle of the sleeve is extremely handy if you want to get the sleeve in and out of another bag or luggage quickly.

It even comes with 3 storage areas -- the back pocket, the front tilted slip pocket (which I find it not very useful as it is designed to hold a small ipod or a bare iPhone, mostly when carrying the sleeve with the strap) and a main zipper pocket which is surprisingly huge. It is slightly larger than the orange stitches in the centre. I put my Apple sync cable, a small SD memory reader there.. anything thin enough is fine.

The padding -- it is quite thick and the presence of the front zipper pocket also helps further. The padding feels like high-density foam. But the weak point is around the perimeter of the sleeve.

The outer material is fine and sturdy nylon which may help keeping the water (and the dust ) out a bit (but I am not sure 100% it is water-proof).

See the pictures.. note the loops at the back of the sleeve for the carrying strap.

They have two color coordinations and it is one of them.

One thing to note is make sure you get the latest batch or ask the retailer. Check the dimensions of the bag on the retailer web site and the STM web site. The newer one has a better fit as it is slightly larger.

I personally use a zeroshock inner case and don't even take it out to use. I just open it and use it. It comes with 2 handles that flip up when you need them. Otherwise they fold flat. As for impact protection, I would say that the foam used on the zeroshock cases is second to none. It's maleable if you push on it, but stiff enough to absorb impacts. Ever since my first zeroshock case, I've been buying them for all my macs. Here's some pics.

drewrosenberg said:

Thanks. I guess I should have clarified. She has the 13".

This one looks like it would work for her. I did a quick search and found a review that says there is one that fits the 13". I'll show her tonight. Thanks for the help!

Here is the link to the review that I found.

http://www.yousaytoo.com/gaj-it-review-of-smt-jacket-laptop-bag/378212

I am still interested to see if anyone else has any suggestions, but it is nice to know that there is at least something out there.

Click to expand...

I am glad the info is helpful to you. Regarding the review, it is pretty much what I've experienced about the STM Jacket products. (I have the STM Jacket for iPad, too.). However, I find the description of the material for the inside a bit misleading. It says silk smooth interior but actuall it is not the smoothest I have seen.

The material used inside the STM Jacket is similar to what is used in Crumpler's laptop bags and their famous x Million Dollar camera bags, if you know what I mean. I am a bit paranoid about scratches, especially the plastic, white Apple logo and so I actually have the Wrapsol film on the macbook air.

I wish the Timbuk2 has the same plush sleeve for iPad for the Macbook Air as the the material used inside the sleeve is even smoother and I won't worry about scratching the Apple logo even without any Wrapsol on.

Just one thing I forgot to mention.. one drawback of a fixed handle is sometimes you have to pay some attention to put it in a tight bag.

Also about the zeroshock bag the other poster mentioned, I have seen that as well. it is a good choice but the handles (two, one on each side) are designed to be more compact but it loses some comfort if you decide to carry for an extended time period. I've seen other color choices as well, such as orange and white. (I think it is made by Elecom or Sanwa, the famous Japanese computer accessories makers) It doesn't come with a carrying strap but I suspect the drop and shock protection especially around the zipper area is much better than the STM Jacket.

The Timbuk2 quickie has a handle, removable strap, and is decently padded without room for too many extras.