[Ice33]

I think I am down to one of these two sleeves for the 12" PB.
I know there have been threads about sleeves in general before but I have found none that compare these two against each other. They are similar in size and look but my question is which of these would best protect the laptop from a short fall (maybe 3 feet) - and don't forget corner protection.

http://shinza.com/product_info.php?products_id=45


http://www.bagsforme.com/bags/CR-SCH12



And where is the cheapest place to buy them?

[Lancer409]

i dont know about the zeroshock, but knowing it's material and thickness (assumption) i know it will not give much protection from a 3 foot fall .. not even a 1 foot fall. i dont think it will even protect from a sharp corner of a book inside ur backpack. the zeroshock is mroe of a gimmick. kind of like neoprene only .. not. it is a soft sleeve, it will not offer much protection besides scratches. it will not even take any pressure off of your powerbook if you are holding it in one hand (squeezing upon the laptop).

the crumpler school hymn will not protect it much from a 3 foot fall. it will not protect it from a 1 foot fall. (not much any way). it has a very thin plastic insert that is sewn in and non removeable. for styling, it looks very nice. i have the 12 inch model, and it is far from snug. it will slide around in it's case. the case came with a foam piece (supposedly to help it hold it's shape in transit i guess) but it's more of a placeholder to be removed when u get the case. i hear the 15 inch model is snug .. the 12 .. from personal experience is not. it is very compact and i feel it is stylish. but it does not offer much protection for falls. it will help protect against books or sharp points pressed against the laptop (granted, little protection) and it is seemingly more rigid compared to zeroshock (because of the plastic inserts). it has a zipper guard so ur laptop will never touch the teeth. in all fairness, one reason why it isnt snug is because it would be more difficult putting the laptop into the sleeve if it was very snug. possibly causing the laptop to be scrapped by zipper when being put into the sleeve.
the build quality is fine, although it does seem a bit overpriced for what it offers.


in conclusion. both provide little protection, but are compact. the crumpler provides considerably more protection than zeroshock (although, since zeroshock doesnt provide much protection at all, it's not saying very much). better to get a padded sleeve (i've looked at BooQ .. seems very well made although THICK. this depends on your needs .. i am keeping the school hymn because i dont like paying shipping twice because i have minor qualms about it's fit (non snugness). they both will not hold ur ac adapter or extra batteries or external mice. the crumpler is better overall in protection but both are not made to be very protective. they are made to be compact. and considering people buying those sleeves from radtech .. both of these offer considerably more protection than those. if you have any questions feel free to ask. i dont know how to post pictures or who will host 'em but i can borrow my bro's camera and snap some if you like. i was somewhat dissapointed, but when i noticed how big other sleeves with good padding is, i said .. hey wtf ... i'll be careful with mine. all in all .. i dunno if booq sleeves will protect from a 3 foot fall either .. but compared to these, those things seem like fortresses.

[Lancer409]

oh yeah .. cheapest for crumpler would be cravedweasel. they sell it under msrp, and with shipping, it'll hit msrp, or a few cents more. other sites may sell at msrp then tack on shipping, or worse, some sites are out of country (huge shipping charges) or sell a 50 dollar retail school hymn for 79.00 before shipping. cravedweasel was very supportive, answered questions, and when they found out i wasnt happy with the fit of school hymn (early on i was bothered by the sliding around) they offered to take it back without restocking fee. i just dont like to eat shipping costs twice. lemme know what u end up doing. i'm curious by nature =)

[Lancer409]

craved weasel link is here

http://secure.cartsvr.net/catalogs/c...showprevnext=1

[n_lim]

Ice33,

The problem you may find is that you are not going to get a very objective review from anyone as it is doubtful that one person is going to have both of these.

That being said, I have the zeroshock and am very happy with it. As far as drops go, I have accidentally dropped my 12" from about 2' inside the zeroshock with no damage whatsoever. It is not just simple neoprene, nor is it a rigid sleeve, but rather something more akin to memory foam. I think it would be able to protect from a hard surface impact if it were to the more planar side as opposed to the edge. There is not much edge protection as that is where the zipper is located. The zipper is covered when the sleeve is all zipped up though.

I was impressed with the materials and quality of construction for the price and I think it is one of the most stylish sleeves on the market. Again, this is not going to offer the optimal protection, for that you need a dedicated laptop bag, but it is extremely compact and can be thrown inside your regular bag so you don't need a dedicated computer bag that screams "steal me".

[Lancer409]

good point brought up about objectivity. But from the shots i've seen, it has to be super amazing for such a thin layer to provide alot of protection. truth be told, my laptop slid off my bed and fell over 2 feet with only a tiny scratch that rubbed out ... so i dunno how much can be attributed to these cases. I guess i assume they do not offer much because i've used good supportive cases with good protection and both look far from it.