I've been doing a ton of research and there don't seem to be any clear winners as far as the best cases or combinations of protections go.
Basically you want to cover 2 main points when trying to protect your new aluminum macbook pros
1) Soft padded protection (incase, applesac, etc...) to help absorb impact and to protect from scuffs and scratches.
2) Hard shell protection (spekt see through and ...?) to protect from any major impacts, from being crushed against books in your backpack, to prevent warping of the aluminum, cracking of the screen from pressure of various odd shaped objects, etc...
Now number 1) is really easy. There are a lot of great options (personally I want to buy an applesac), but for number 2) it gets hard because there aren't really any choices. I went to the apple store and they only sell the spekt clear cases (non in stock yet for the new 13" mpb), but i've heard that they can actually scratch your macbook case from particles and dust and debris that get caught between the plastic and your macbook. Also i've heard that since the aluminum body of the computer acts as a sort of heat since (and they get HOT) that this may be trouble.
So now it seems that the best choice would be to get a hardcase sleeve. So not a piece of plastic that clips on to the macbook case, but a small briefcase like protector (but very small that JUST fits the macbook) that is hard and offers some structural support and not just padding. I can't seem to find this option ANYWHERE.
What combinations would you guys offer? I will be putting the macbook into a large backpack that doesn't have an additional notebook pocket/sleeve in it. It is just a giant hiking backpack that I will sometimes have textbooks in and always have a big lunch bag in, etc... I was thinking of getting a separate carrying bag with a strap for my shoulder like a crumpler bag (they have a crumpler store here in Vancouver), but it seemed stupid to have a giant hiking backpack AND a shoulder back.
I know most people are fine with just a soft case and they toss it in their backpacks and no problems, and I may start by just doing that, but I saw too many pictures of warped unibody cases from minor impacts to be comfortable with just a soft sleeve. I am a student and paying for this all myself and so I can't just toss this thing around like some sort of a cheap frizbee.
I know there have been lots of threads about cases, and i've read most of them, but i'm expanding the question here a little bit to combinations of protections, with a focus on hard shell protection.
Basically you want to cover 2 main points when trying to protect your new aluminum macbook pros
1) Soft padded protection (incase, applesac, etc...) to help absorb impact and to protect from scuffs and scratches.
2) Hard shell protection (spekt see through and ...?) to protect from any major impacts, from being crushed against books in your backpack, to prevent warping of the aluminum, cracking of the screen from pressure of various odd shaped objects, etc...
Now number 1) is really easy. There are a lot of great options (personally I want to buy an applesac), but for number 2) it gets hard because there aren't really any choices. I went to the apple store and they only sell the spekt clear cases (non in stock yet for the new 13" mpb), but i've heard that they can actually scratch your macbook case from particles and dust and debris that get caught between the plastic and your macbook. Also i've heard that since the aluminum body of the computer acts as a sort of heat since (and they get HOT) that this may be trouble.
So now it seems that the best choice would be to get a hardcase sleeve. So not a piece of plastic that clips on to the macbook case, but a small briefcase like protector (but very small that JUST fits the macbook) that is hard and offers some structural support and not just padding. I can't seem to find this option ANYWHERE.
What combinations would you guys offer? I will be putting the macbook into a large backpack that doesn't have an additional notebook pocket/sleeve in it. It is just a giant hiking backpack that I will sometimes have textbooks in and always have a big lunch bag in, etc... I was thinking of getting a separate carrying bag with a strap for my shoulder like a crumpler bag (they have a crumpler store here in Vancouver), but it seemed stupid to have a giant hiking backpack AND a shoulder back.
I know most people are fine with just a soft case and they toss it in their backpacks and no problems, and I may start by just doing that, but I saw too many pictures of warped unibody cases from minor impacts to be comfortable with just a soft sleeve. I am a student and paying for this all myself and so I can't just toss this thing around like some sort of a cheap frizbee.
I know there have been lots of threads about cases, and i've read most of them, but i'm expanding the question here a little bit to combinations of protections, with a focus on hard shell protection.