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Booq Vyper m3 vS Brenthaven Prostyle II hardshell

J

justsome1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Feb 4, 2012
7
0
Good day all,

I am aware there are many threads on cases for our macbooks in the forums. However, having read upwards of 20, and trawled the internet for several weeks, i still can't honestly find the information i'm looking for. Forgive me, if regular users are sick to death of these threads. However, as i imagine anyone here understands, our £2000 computers are investments we have to take real care protecting, and i want to make the right decision. in that sense, the advice on the forums is invaluable to me.

Having considered all case options for my macbook pro 15, i've come to the conclusion that the booq vyper m3 and brenthaven prostyle hardshell are most suited to my needs.

Basically i want a beefed up sleeve - something that slides in the bag i have already, but really will protect from impact as well. As such, i want something padded inside and rigid on the outside, but not massive, like a full on flight case.

I can't find much info on the brenthaven hardshell at all - there's very little info or recommendation compared to the booq, so i was curious if people had any thoughts on the matter.

I would love to hear which, if any, offered better protection. i'm not interested in the incases, specks etc. nor rucksacks or anything like that. Something sleeve like, that can slip in my rucsack, but offer real protection from the knocks a bag takes in travelling and touring.. throwing bags in cars, dropping them on floors occasionally.. that kind of thing.

Thankyou all kindly for your advice in advance.
 
The booq Vyper is the best protection I've ever seen in a notebook sleeve. In my opinion, it offers far better protection than any neoprene case, the zippers never come into contact with your MBP, and it looks great!
VYP4s.jpg
I once dropped my MBP down a flight of wooden stairs, wrapped only in the Vyper. Not a scratch or dent. Zero damage.
 
GGJstudios said:
The booq Vyper is the best protection I've ever seen in a notebook sleeve. In my opinion, it offers far better protection than any neoprene case, the zippers never come into contact with your MBP, and it looks great!
VYP4s.jpg
I once dropped my MBP down a flight of wooden stairs, wrapped only in the Vyper. Not a scratch or dent. Zero damage.
Click to expand...

That is just what I was looking for to protect my MBP.....Until I saw the UK prices....It's more than a dollar per £ here. My messenger bag offers nothing like that level of protection...OP I don't think you can do better than these.
 
Thanks both.

Have either of you seen the brenthaven by any chance?

My only concern with the booq is that the 'walls' of the case look pretty thin, and it overall seems to lack in corner protection?

The brenthaven, looks possibly better to me, it's just there's not a single credible review on it that i can find

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Brenthaven-ProStyle-HardShell-inch-Laptop/dp/B003UYT40A

If you notice, the inside appears to have an 'inner wall' which to me seems to imply better corner protection perhaps?

Would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts. I checked out the Thule at the apple store and was very dissapointed; it looks tough from photos, but when you see it, it's, at best, a quarter cm of rubber that looks like it'd do no good against any damage

sorry if i seem pedantic.. my MBP took me such a long time to afford, that i'm desperate to keep it in mint condition
 
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i guess i'm just after the one with the toughest outside and most padding inside. it's just hard to see from these little pictures!
 
I've no experience with the Brenthaven model, but the Booq Vyper is a great sleeve. It's a perfect (IMO) blend between weight and protection, and the build quality is first rate.
 
I thought I would post because I just recently went through this process too. I was considering the booq, but read a lot of reports of the case being tight around the edges. For some reason, zippers being tight around edges is a pet peeve of mine (I know it's weird). I also thought it wasn't likely that you'd scratch the macbook with a tight fit, but possible.

I narrowed it down between the booq vyper M3 and the Moshi Codex. I ended up the the Moshi Codex. I like it a lot. The macbook pro fits nicely and the padding is soft inside. The zipper is smooth and never comes in contact with the macbook. Good experience so far. I'm not sure how well it protects from falls because I haven't experienced that yet. I'd certainly put it in the mix if you haven't already eliminated it for some reason.
 
That's awesome, i hadn't in any of my research, or in the other 40 threads i'd read on this come across mention of the moshi codex. it does look excellent.

can i ask, how rigid is the outside of the case? and how much padding is inside?

thankyou kindy everyone for your thoughts
 
OP, I think you're looking for something different than what I do, but I'll share it anyways.

I have a speck hardshell case on my MBP, then I put it in a Incase Neoprene sleeve for when I move it around. That's the opposite of what you're looking for though- it's soft on the outside and hard on the inside.
 
Hey guitar,
yeah, you're right.. i am looking for something different really, though i'm sure your solution works great to. thanks for your thoughts though. i guess with all of us, we all have slightly different lifestyles that require these sorts of different solutions. for me, i travel a lot with bands on tours, and my laptop, with the best will in the world, gets in some awkward situations.. my bag being chucked in a cab, my bag being put underneath a guitar case.. you know the sort. i don't want a dedicated bag for it cause i need to be able to move my laptop between different cases as my day dictates.. into a suitcase one minute, into my record bag or rucksack another. thus a case like the moshi or vyper is what i'm after.. something rigid to protect from weight on top, but also soft inside to absorb any shock of say, a bag being chucked into the back of a can, which contains my laptop. nothing too big or like a flight case though, as if i'm walking about town, it still needs to be manageable.

the moshi for example has just gone to the top of my list potentially. the two things i'm still curious about though, are whether the walls are rigid enough, and also whether there's too much room inside and the macbook will bounce about too much inside?

EDIT: It looks though sadly like the moshi codex 15 won't fit the new macbook pro 15 (from what i can work out..) also, it seems hard and expensive to get in the uk...
 
Last edited:
justsome1 said:
the moshi for example has just gone to the top of my list potentially. the two things i'm still curious about though, are whether the walls are rigid enough, and also whether there's too much room inside and the macbook will bounce about too much inside?

EDIT: It looks though sadly like the moshi codex 15 won't fit the new macbook pro 15 (from what i can work out..) also, it seems hard and expensive to get in the uk...
Click to expand...

The walls are quite rigid and my guess is between the inside/outside materials there is a plastic piece. I can also confirm that the current macbook pro 15 fits in the Moshi Codex. It's a snug fit. The padding is at least 7mm, but maybe a little more. The inside padding is like thin memory foam.

I ordered mine from Amazon US. Try Amazon UK, but I believe you could order from Amazon US.

The other reason I ordered the Codex over the Vyper was it has a more professional look imo, but opinions vary.
 
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justsome1 said:
thanks rebelmac, that's great to know.

was yours the codex 15 btw.? i'm going to go with this i thinl:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moshi-Codex...1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1328378247&sr=1-1

it's quite expensive though possibly.... £63 seems pricey for what it is.. about $100 compared to half that of the vyper or brenthaven

i dont think i've ever in my life agonised over a choice so much !
Click to expand...

Mine is a 15 yes. I ordered black though. I paid $70 US for mine with free shipping. I agree that for you it's quite a bit more expensive. If it were me I would probably try the cheaper $50 option first. The only reason I didn't was because it was only a $20 difference for me, not $50.

I'm sure either the Codex or Vyper is fine. Buy your preference. I do like my Codex though.
 
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rebelmac said:
I thought I would post because I just recently went through this process too. I was considering the booq, but read a lot of reports of the case being tight around the edges. For some reason, zippers being tight around edges is a pet peeve of mine (I know it's weird). I also thought it wasn't likely that you'd scratch the macbook with a tight fit, but possible.

I narrowed it down between the booq vyper M3 and the Moshi Codex. I ended up the the Moshi Codex. I like it a lot. The macbook pro fits nicely and the padding is soft inside. The zipper is smooth and never comes in contact with the macbook. Good experience so far. I'm not sure how well it protects from falls because I haven't experienced that yet. I'd certainly put it in the mix if you haven't already eliminated it for some reason.
Click to expand...
For clarification, the zippers on the booq Vyper never touch the MBP, and the corners, while snug, are not too tight. They should be snug, so there's no movement inside. The Vyper has a soft lining to protect the MBPs aluminum surface.
 
i'd love to get that hardcase, but i just feel that it's too big for my daily needs.. commuting etc just doesnt justtify that kind of bulk really, though i'd really like that kind of protection.

the best case i found of all was the axio hardsleeve
http://www.axioluggage.eu/77/132/hardsleeves/p-macbook-pro-hardsleeve-154

however, it doesn't fit the new macbooks, and is also out of stock, so i guess that's impossible. a real shame.

so far, it's the moshi winning for me...
 
I guess one last alternative is to buy alloy cases from Maplin or similar, and cut the foam to fit.

You won't damage your machine at all, but your arms will lengthen over time:



http://www.maplin.co.uk/search?crit...uminium case&gclid=coxxha-hhq4cfvritaodzb9k2q

FWIW, I work in recording studios and take my MBA and my Pro out and about a lot. I have speck clear shells on both, and a city messenger XL bag for carting them in. I have YET to incur any damage, and musicians are not careful with computers...:)
 
GGJstudios said:
For clarification, the zippers on the booq Vyper never touch the MBP, and the corners, while snug, are not too tight. They should be snug, so there's no movement inside. The Vyper has a soft lining to protect the MBPs aluminum surface.
Click to expand...

Fair enough!
 
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