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Incase Neoprene Sleeve (Plus) vs Boog and others?

Passenger88

Passenger88

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 26, 2010
80
0
The Netherlands
With my new MCB 15" on it's way I want to order a sleeve. I already ordered a Messenger Jackson bag from Fossil but I need some more protection when dragging it from college to college.

I searched a ton already and find many mixed reviews about the Incase Neoprene sleeves. In the Apple store USA there are over 90 reviews with an average over 4**** rating. Almost everyone likes the material and the inside, but many people are talking about the zipper. Some say the zipper scratches your MCB others say it doesn't when you when you seal it properly and put the foam on the permiter or something like that.
Now I found out that there has just been released the same sleeve wich been redesigned with a new material set and upgraded safeguards. This update is supposed to fix this scratches. The name is the same with a "Plus" behind it. The article is from the incase site: http://goincase.com/blog/2010/03/09/new-and-upgraded-neoprene-sleeve-plus/

neoprene-plus-open.jpg


The thing that got me wondering is why there are so many mixed reviews. Did the people with the Plus version not noticed that there are two version out there and just put there reviews on the page of the normale Incase Sleeve? They both look the same and I'm sure many people just see Incase sleeve (almost same price) and just post there review there. Though on the Plus version there are only 2 reviews in the store, wich are good but still someone mentioned that you have to be careful with the zippers.

neoprene-plus-closed.jpg


Since I don't like the scratches I am wondering should I just go for the Plus version or just buy a sleeve without zippers? I also had my eyes on the Boog Vyper M3, but I am afraid it's gonna be to thick to fit in the Messenger bag. It can fit in the other area where my books go, but propably not in the laptop area. I don't want my macbook to shake between my books and other stuff.

VYP1l.jpg


With this topic I am hoping people with more experience about this sleeve can give me some feedback and advice me about these and other sleeves that you would recommend. Appreciated and hopefully there aren't to many grammitical mistakes.
 
I absolutely love my Incase sleeve. I use Incase products with my laptop and my iphone and they are wonderful.
 
I'm in the same boat. That InCase sleeve looks nice, but I am against zippers. If one person's laptop got scratched, that means there's a chance I will make the same mistake. Certainly, the owner could have improperly closed the case -- but its a case. It should be dummy proof enough.

I was thinking about getting this case merely because it lacks zippers and looks thin enough:

http://www.zappos.com/timbuk2-blockhead-sleeve-gun-metal

But I'm not a huge fan of it. I have seen others, but I think my best bet will be to find/create some sort of "laptop sock" (iSock) that I can put my laptop in and then place into the case.

Yes, I realize this is getting a bit neurotic, but what can you do.
 
This might be the winner.

http://www.amazon.com/15-Notebook-F...?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1271693974&sr=1-17

Of course, now you are dealing with a no-name sleeve to go inside a sleeve to go inside a laptop bag...

Do MBP's come inside a styrofoam sleeve? Honestly, we're just looking to put the MBP inside something that will prevent it from getting scratched by the zipper. Since I am guessing that the risk of scratch will only come about during a random occurrence, I am not sure how much protection is really required.
 
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Some other zipperless solutions:

http://www.colcasac.com/damask_blue.html

I'd get this one in lieu of the incase altogether. No zipper, looks like it would fit in nicely in my Oakley bag.

http://foofshop.com/

Again, an Incase replacement.

This was also posted. No great up-close photos here, so I think its a crapshoot, but others liked them:

http://www.radtech.us/Products/SleevzNotebooks.aspx

I couldn't find a shot of their interior padding, but these came highly recommended. There might be a photo on the link at the bottom.

http://www.fabrixcases.com/v2/shop/laptop/

Other notable suggestions on there:

Couldn't find a case, but I'm sure if you looked harder you would find one easily:

http://www.etsy.com/


This thread had some good insight:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/636762/
 
Cheers, from the no zipper sleeves I prefer the blue Colcasac or the Pijama sleeves. The only problem with some of the sleeves I see is that one side is open.
The Incase sleeve for the Macbook Air looks pretty nice, but to bad it's only for the MCA.

black_macbook_case_open_800.jpg


I actually like the brown one more, but the 15" are sold out. The Original looks funny
original_flap_700.jpg

I haven't seen the foof before, but to bad there aren't any bigger pictures on that site.
Actually I just found a ton of the foof pictures http://www.flickr.com/groups/foof/pool/show/
 
I'm a big fan of cases from Tom Bihn and Waterfield. Top-notch design, construction quality, and customer service from both.

Tom Bihn makes a nice (flapped, zipperless) sleeve called the Cache, though I prefer the serious/major protecion of their Brain Cell case (carried inside their Ego messenger bag), and I'm thrilled with them, but the Brain Cell may be too bulky for your uses.

When my sister-in-law wanted a good neoprene sleeve for her unibody MBP, I got her the Laptop SleeveCase from WaterField, and was very impressed with its execution. And it can be configured with your choice of vertical or horizontal orientation, a simple velcro strap over the open end or a more substantial velcro-secured flap, with or without a removable shoulder strap and accessory pouch.
 
CarlJ said:
I'm a big fan of cases from Tom Bihn and Waterfield. Top-notch design, construction quality, and customer service from both.

Tom Bihn makes a nice (flapped, zipperless) sleeve called the Cache, though I prefer the serious/major protecion of their Brain Cell case (carried inside their Ego messenger bag), and I'm thrilled with them, but the Brain Cell may be too bulky for your uses.

When my sister-in-law wanted a good neoprene sleeve for her unibody MBP, I got her the Laptop SleeveCase from WaterField, and was very impressed with its execution. And it can be configured with your choice of vertical or horizontal orientation, a simple velcro strap over the open end or a more substantial velcro-secured flap, with or without a removable shoulder strap and accessory pouch.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately the Waterfield and Tom Bihn are not an option for me. I live in the Netherlands and shipping to the EU cost $25. That's to expensive compared to the product price.
 
If anyone has any information on the foofbags or applesacs, please post.

I am curious to see how these sleeves hold up over time. Do they stretch? this would be important to know for buying a foofbag with an open end. Do they scratch the laptop at all? I definetly dont want something that scratches.

Thanks
LJ
 
Yes, I'm gonna search some reviews also about the ColcaSacs and AppleSacs. I prefer them over the foofbags since it's closed and there is an always an option to take you adapter with you when you leave your bag home.
 
Booq Vyper

I have the Booq Vyper from 2007 for my 07 MBP. I have really liked it, but I added some foam to the inside because I felt that my laptop rattled inside the case too much and I really wanted some extra padding/security. It now feels very solid and protected when all packed up, but it was a shame that I had to add this myself.

The added padding does add some thickness overall, but I think even if you were comfortable with it as-is, the Booq would add more thickness than you may be looking for.

I will say, though, that with the Vyper I have never had to worry about the zipper scratching the MBP.

Sadly, as nice as my Booq sleeve has been, I would not recommend it to you based on your needs, and I will probably not get another for myself in the future.
 
Passenger88 said:
I like The Tech21, but with the pad it is to thick to fit in my messenger bag.
Click to expand...

The Tech21 is not noticeably thicker then a neoprene sleeve, at least to me. Quite frankly if the Tech21 won't physically fit, I'm not sure how you plan on ever getting your notebook out (let alone in) in your bag with the Incase.
 
Yes I was also wondering the differences between the neoprene plus and the normal sleeve. I just ordered a black neoprene plus sleeve for my friends computer from the apple store and it does indeed have the redesigned zipper. I really like the sleeve because its such a tight fit and it has a pretty thick, outer cover that feels like its really protecting. I'm sure if you dropped your computer while in the sleeve.. something would happen but for just lugging it around and slipping into a book bag, its really nice. I have no worries about the zipper scratching the computer. I also ordered myself a gray one from goincase.com. When I ordered the black one from the apple store it came in like a day, way before my friends new macbook pro!
 
thegoldenmackid said:
The Tech21 is not noticeably thicker then a neoprene sleeve, at least to me. Quite frankly if the Tech21 won't physically fit, I'm not sure how you plan on ever getting your notebook out (let alone in) in your bag with the Incase.
Click to expand...

I don't think you understand what I mean. I will try to explain...

f2vh2a.jpg


The Messenger bag I have is the Fossil Jackson.
Interior: 1 laptop compartment, 2 slip pockets, cell phone compartment and adjustable strap, holds 15" laptop
Measurements: 15.5" L x 5" W x 11.5" H

It will definately fit the MCB15 with a sleeve. But on the picture you can see that with the added flap (1) it would be to thick. Well I haven't been able to test it myself yet. But I have asked two people who got the bag and they told me that the Vyper Boog sleeve would propably be to thick. Or it would be really snug and hard to take it out/in. I quess since this is even more thicker with the flap it would be to thick on one side. If the whole bag had the size of (2) like f.e. the incase my quess is it would fit perfectly. The other side note I don't like about the sleeve is (3) the corners are a bit exposed like the AppleSac ass wel. It's propably not that big of an issue but I prefer a full closed sleeve.

I found another sleeve via a dutch forum. It's from Manon and they have it in 3 colours. There is an option for an enclosed sleeve or just 1 side open. It's made from vilt (called felt or beaver in USA). Only doubts I have is that there are not any reviews about them, except a review about their iPhone collection wich seems positive.

macbook-1-gemeleerd_1.jpg


afsluitbaar-macbook-grijs-3.jpg


afsluitbaar-macbook-rood-2.jpg
 
Wow those are some pretty expensive cases. I wouldn't mess with zippers, Metal+Metal= Scratching.Plus going through all that work to get to the laptop.

Just get a plain old neoprene sleeve. Their like 3 dollars here, shouldn't be too bad there.
I'd just get a little piece of foam for the bottom of the messenger bag, if you set the bag down too fast. Other than that the neoprene will work fine. It's not like the macbook is a piece of brittle plastic.
 
Yeah, well after searching alot for sleeves my conclusion is that I'm looking for a zipperless sleeve. The lack of reviews from the manongarritsen sleeves give me doubts wether to buy them. I also prefer to buy a bag from a company who is focussed on sleeves and stuff like that. I read that the Apple/ColcaSac leaves alot mess on your MCB, but overall people are 50/50 about them.

I like the Paul Smith enevelope sleeve, but it's a little expensive :eek:

TW089


TW089_AV4


Well got to wait till I receive my MCB so I got one more week to make a choice ;).
 
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