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MacBook Air Diary-Day 7: The best sleeve case

By | February 6, 2008, 12:18pm PST

Summary: The MacBook Air is so tiny that you’ll be tempted to just toss it into a portfolio, briefcase, backpack or whatever you happen to be carrying at the time–but I have to caution against this. With miniaturization come inevitable tradeoffs in durability and ruggedness. The MBA should never be mistaken for a Panasonic ToughBook and [...]

The MacBook Air is so tiny that you’ll be tempted to just toss it into a portfolio, briefcase, backpack or whatever you happen to be carrying at the time–but I have to caution against this. With miniaturization come inevitable tradeoffs in durability and ruggedness. The MBA should never be mistaken for a Panasonic ToughBook and will not be able to take the abuse that even a normal five pound notebook can withstand.

That being said, a quality padded sleeve is a requirement for the MacBook Air. Like some of you, I got swept up in the hyperbole surrounding the MBA announcement in San Francisco last month and couldn’t resist plunking down my US$30 for the AirMail sleeve from Manila Mac. It’s that padded sleeve that looks just like the manila folder that uncle Steve’s pulled the MBA from during his keynote address. The problem is the it’s delayed and I can’t wait around for them to ship.

MacBook Air SleeveCase from WaterField Designs

The best sleeve case for the MBA, hands down, is the MacBook Air SleeveCase from WaterField Designs. The size 13-2 SleeveCase is designed specifically for the MacBook Air and fits it like a glove. They brought sample cases to the first day of Macworld Expo anticipating a new subnotebook and hastily put them into production after they confirmed the fit. The Waterfield 13-2 SleeveCase began shipping on 25 January 2008.

MacBook Air SleeveCase from WaterField Designs

The basic 13-2 SleeveCase retails for US$39 with a open top, side pocket and velcro closure. This is my preferred model for using while inside another bag. If you’re looking for your sleeve to be the only case for the MBA (as many people will) I recommend that you upgrade to a flap (US$15) and if you want to carry it on your shoulder you can add D-rings and a strap (US$12-18). If you want a little extra room to carry an AC adapter and some dongles go for Waterfield’s piggyback case (US$22).

MacBook Air SleeveCase from WaterField Designs

I’ve been using and recommending Waterfield sleeve cases for years because they’re super-protective and built in the United States from high-grade neoprene and ballistic nylon. Plus they look pretty damned good too.

MacBook Air SleeveCase from WaterField Designs

What’s your sleeve/case strategy for the MacBook Air? Are you just going to carry it in a manila envelope?

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Topics

MBA, Problem, Apple MacBook, MacBook Air, Notebooks, Hardware, Notebooks & Tablets, Jason D. O\'Grady

Jason O'Grady is a journalist and author specializing in mobile technology. He has published six books on Apple and mobile gadgets and his PowerPage blog has been publishing for over 15 years.

Disclosure

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady is the creator and editor of O'Grady's PowerPage, which has been publishing mobile technology news since 1995. He maintains an advertising relationship with the following legacy advertisers on the PowerPage:

  • Amazon Associates
  • Google Adsense
  • Tekserve

    • Advertising on the PowerPage is brokered by a third-party agency (BackBeat Media) and he recuses himself from these negotiations.

Biography

Jason D. O'Grady

Jason D. O'Grady developed an affinity for Apple computers after using the original Lisa, and this affinity turned into a bona-fide obsession when he got the original 128 KB Macintosh in 1984.

He started writing one of the first Web sites about Apple (O'Grady's PowerPage) in 1995 and is considered to be one of the fathers of blogging. He has been a frequent speaker at the Macworld Expo conference and a member of the conference faculty. He also co-founded the first dedicated PowerBook User Group (PPUG) in the United States.

After winning a major legal battle with Apple in 2006, he set the precedent that independent journalists are entitled to the same protections under the First Amendment as members of the mainstream media.

O'Grady is the author of The Nexus One Pocket Guide, The Droid Pocket Guide, The Google Phone Pocket Guide, and The Garmin nuvi Pocket Guide (Peachpit Press), the author of Corporations That Changed the World: Apple Inc. (Greenwood Press), and a contributor to The Mac Bible (Peachpit Press). In addition, he has contributed to numerous Mac publications over the years, including MacWEEK, Macworld, and MacPower (Japan).

When he's not writing about Apple for ZDNet at The Apple Core, he enjoys spending time with his family in New Jersey.

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RE: MacBook+Air+Diary-Day+7%3A+The+best+sleeve+case
tomlin21-24319035676893835085146735905770 11th Oct
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0 Votes
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The MBA should never be mistaken for a Panasonic ToughBook
nix_hed 6th Feb 2008
Yeah. The toughbook is a real notebook computer, and the macbook air is a rich person's toy.

Maybe we'll have a cube redux in the lifespan of this product...
0 Votes
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Wow, someone is having envy issues...
Brian Tdot 6th Feb 2008
... you should see someone about that.
0 Votes
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Envy!! What a joke.
Horus418 8th Feb 2008
I love one it looks like you could make a great origami swan with the Air. I like the idea of owning a laptop that if you sat on it it would take on the shape of your arse. Let's leave these tough old style laptops and help poor companies sell us stuff that will die in a few months oh! but hey!! wont we look swish!!
Tough book for me, my son has tried to kill it for the last 6 months and still it works. It's been thrown downstairs, power cables ripped out bashed with anything he can get his hands on and guess what I turn it on (Oh!Baby stroke stroke there there honey) and it works, please though go and buy Air so I can laugh at how sad you look after your dog has eaten it or a good gust of wind blew it off your lap to devastation on the linoleum.
0 Votes
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toughbooks aren't exactly cheap.
lostarchitect 7th Feb 2008
they range from about $1800 to about $3900.
0 Votes
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RE: MacBook Air Diary-Day 7: The best sleeve case
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Each essential be as a result blissful among casino online also live casino because it bottle atmosphere so advantage!
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RE: MacBook Air Diary-Day 7: The best sleeve case
zdnet.blogs@... 6th Feb 2008
How do I read these articles in sequence?
0 Votes
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Wow, that manilla envelope is getting HUGE!!!
NonZealot 6th Feb 2008
So in 7 days, we've learned that you need wired ethernet, an external optical drive, a headphone adapter, and a sleeve to protect the fragile MBA. Hey Jason, can you please measure the thickness of the MBA in its sleeve? After all, you said:
That being said, a quality padded sleeve is a requirement for the MacBook Air.

so the thickness of the MBA without its sleeve is really a false specification. After all, if you can't throw it in your bag without the sleeve, then the relevant measure of how portable the MBA is must include its dimensions while it is in the sleeve. happy
0 Votes
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Waterfield cases are great
davebarnes 6th Feb 2008
We have owned 5 iBooks/MacBooks.
We have purchased a Waterfield case/sleeve for each one.
Waterfield sleeves are great.
Their service is great.
You can't go wrong.

,dave
0 Votes
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Miniaturization DOES NOT mean "inevitable
Feldwebel Wolfenstool 7th Feb 2008
...reliability" Quite the opposite, as in a FOUR-VALVE cylinder head,or the move from vacuum tubes to solid-state...CLICHE-THINKING at it's "best"...
0 Votes
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How about a manila folder lookalike?
geedavey@... 7th Feb 2008
I saw on Fake Steve Jobs' blog that someone is selling a faux manila folder (made of leather, it appears) for the Air. I think that's the most clever and elegant solution.
0 Votes
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RE: MacBook Air Diary-Day 7: The best sleeve case
007baf 7th Feb 2008
I use an Oakley "Vertical" computer bag. The MBA does get lost in it. The sleeve is
good advice.

BTW, love the Air and Apple sent me home with it in this cool bag:

http://www.utterz.com/~u-NTAyNzg5Nw/utt.php#uttNTAyNzg5Nw
0 Votes
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No sleeve case needed...
Namorado_TX 7th Feb 2008
It's the MacBook Air, right?
Inflate a balloon, affix the MBA to it, and a kevlar tether to you.
You can show off your MBA wherever you go, above the bumpy world below.
wink
0 Votes
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Try using a portfolio
mpetrides 8th Feb 2008
I've found my MBA fits quite nicely into the pocket of one of those zippered portfolios
that have a notepad on one side and a pocket for loose papers on the other. The key
is to insert the narrow end first.

I figure this arrangement will protect the Air until I get a more suitable case.
0 Votes
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RE: MacBook Air Diary-Day 7: The best sleeve case
jdalisay@... 10th Feb 2008
i got this, and it is a PERFECT fit. very well made, and you can't beat the price ($9.99!).

http://www.case-mate.com/laptop/13glovez/13gblackcases

the sleeve itself is just a sheet of neoprene folded over and very nicely stitched with
leather piping, so it doesn't have much bulk to speak of (no "height" or thickness). the
dimensions are spot on. and, it's available right now
0 Votes
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RE: MacBook Air Diary-Day 7: The best sleeve case
davebarnes 6th Mar 2008
I just ordered a Waterfield (www.sfbags.com) 13-2 sleeve yesterday. This will be the 4th case ordered from them for various Apple laptops over the last 4 years.

You can't go wrong with Waterfield.
0 Votes
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@ Horus418 : Envy! What a joke
jle5000 Updated - 8th Dec 2010
I bet you drive a bomb of a car so that your can park it anywhere and don't care if you bash into other cars in it when you Park too.

Way to go on the parenting still - Illustrating to your kids that abusing expensive items is a good thing, as they say the nut doesn't fall far from the tree!

Sounds all to '2010 a space odyssey' so as technology moves forward - I can so see you getting around with the family and bashing your toughbook against rocks!

Laughing at people with airbook's - I'd love to see you pull out your cranker of laptop, that would be funny. Not to mention that it would be back in the bag in an hour cause of the great battery life they have.

Oh and by the way I don't have an airbook as the R700 is far superior in technology, I just don't like people that can't respect technology and teach others bad habits.
0 Votes
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RE: MacBook+Air+Diary-Day+7%3A+The+best+sleeve+case
tomlin21-24319035676893835085146735905770 11th Oct
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