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Lesterm10 · Aug 17, 2005, 11:15 AM

I have myself a black STM sleeve/glove. It's form fits very well to the contour of my 12 inch powerbook. The other sleeves from Vyper or Shinza is a bit bulky for carrying around, might as well just get a messenger bag. I love the STM sleeve that I got from radtech although Radtech does sell their SLEEVZ, it's annoying to take out the powerbook from it as it's very snuggly fit inside the SLEEVZ, in my opinion get teh STM, it's a great complement to protect the powerbook.

PaRaGoNViCtiM · Aug 17, 2005, 02:26 PM

I keep my PB in it's Crumpler School Hymn while I'm using it all the time. Is that bad?

bleee · Aug 17, 2005, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by NateEssex

I've got it down to 3 sleeves:
Vyper
http://www.booqbags.com/Detail.bok?no=97

Shinza
http://shinza.com/product_info.php?c...a6ae7d74d5fbf2

STM Rebound?
http://www.stmbags.com.au/rebound

Any opinions on why one is better than the rest? I would like to order this week.

Thanks!

I own the Vyper for 12 inch laptops, its not bad but its not as form fitting as I would have liked maybe the extra room is for impact incase you drop it or something falls on it I'm not sure. Its a nice sleeve but it feels weird opening it becuase unlike neo preen this sleeve opens like a your laptop a clam so you have to unzip the entire case to open it up properely. I mainly use it for travel when I'm going to like the cottage or something and I pack it into a suit case.

Bruck · Aug 17, 2005, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by Lesterm10

I have myself a black STM sleeve/glove. It's form fits very well to the contour of my 12 inch powerbook. The other sleeves from Vyper or Shinza is a bit bulky for carrying around, might as well just get a messenger bag. I love the STM sleeve that I got from radtech although Radtech does sell their SLEEVZ, it's annoying to take out the powerbook from it as it's very snuggly fit inside the SLEEVZ, in my opinion get teh STM, it's a great complement to protect the powerbook.

Could you leave an stm glove in your backpack and insert/zip the laptop into it without pulling the sleeve out of the backpack?

erio · Aug 17, 2005, 11:29 PM

i bought into the hype about the vyper being good and all, so i got one today. like everyone else had said, the vyper.xs for the 12" PB does not "fit like a glove". there are gaps on the front and the sides. i took some pictures for those who are wondering:

gap in the front
gap on the side
rear corner

i took these pictures with my PB pushed to the rear edge of the vyper.xs (as shown on the 3rd pic). i wanted something to hug my PB all around. since it isn't, i will be returning this tomorrow. also, when it is zipped up, there is a gap between the top of the PB and the vyper.xs's shell. i think it is about 1/2" or less. as a result, i can push the vyper cover down onto my PB.

if i pick it up, i can shake my PB up and down and rock it back and forth. in my opinion, that's not good. i don't want something that moves my PB around while i'm carrying it. they should've added velcro or something to strap it down!

this would've been a great add on for my brenthaven fusion flex, but sadly not for me

orijinal · Aug 18, 2005, 02:09 AM

Originally Posted by NateEssex

You actually have your PB on while it's in the case?! Isn't that bad with the heat and all?

i mean, when i use it on my lap, the bottom is still in the case.

it actually runs cooler in it, it's weird.

NateEssex · Aug 18, 2005, 03:53 PM

Originally Posted by orijinal

i mean, when i use it on my lap, the bottom is still in the case.

it actually runs cooler in it, it's weird.

Oh, I thought you had it on and were using an external monitor. I was concerned about the dissipation of heat.

With all these anti-Vyper posts, now I'm really pissed

Can I just mail it back if I don't like it??

iomatic · Aug 18, 2005, 05:52 PM

Just refuse the shipment; or leave a note for your carrier that you refuse the shipment from them.

Get the Waterfield if you have a backpack, or the Acme made, if you have a shoulder bag. Trust me, I have a bag fetish worse than anyone here.

Bruck · Aug 18, 2005, 07:24 PM

so you prefer the waterfield for putting it in a backpack? i was thinking the stm glove

NateEssex · Aug 18, 2005, 11:50 PM

Originally Posted by iomatic

Just refuse the shipment; or leave a note for your carrier that you refuse the shipment from them.

Get the Waterfield if you have a backpack, or the Acme made, if you have a shoulder bag. Trust me, I have a bag fetish worse than anyone here.

I would consider refusing, but I also ordered the MambaXS because it looks like a nice messenger type bag. Any ideas on that bag?

If the Vyper is too big for the 12" PB but fits in the MambaXS, then any of the other "good" sleeves should fit in the MambaXS? Is this faulty logic due to the varying thicknesses of the sleeves?

Lucky8 · Aug 19, 2005, 01:40 AM

Originally Posted by Lesterm10

I have myself a black STM sleeve/glove. It's form fits very well to the contour of my 12 inch powerbook. The other sleeves from Vyper or Shinza is a bit bulky for carrying around, might as well just get a messenger bag. I love the STM sleeve that I got from radtech although Radtech does sell their SLEEVZ, it's annoying to take out the powerbook from it as it's very snuggly fit inside the SLEEVZ, in my opinion get teh STM, it's a great complement to protect the powerbook.

Can you post a pic or two on your black STM sleeve/glove?
I can't decide which one to get. It's down to either Radtech sleeve or STM glove.
For $5 more should I just get the STM Rebound instead of STM Glove?

havocidal · Aug 19, 2005, 07:02 AM

what about foofbag??? =D

iomatic · Aug 19, 2005, 03:05 PM

The Waterfield can be configured for vertical orientation, allowing you to remove the PowerBook (while requiring a little --very little-- fudging to get the flap off) without taking the sleeve out of your pack. Or you could remove the sleeve first, and then the PowerBook-- believe me I've thought about the steps involved in removing a laptop to work quickly and efficiently -- sad, yes, but I did the legwork for us all. Or, you could get a backpack with sleeves built-in.

Some of the older North Face bags have built-in sleeves suspended above, but attached to the back.

This is why I have the Acme for shoulder bags that don't look 'rob-me-now'-- not femme either, as some insecure folks on the board seem to think, just tasteful.

Either way, it's never simple, is it?

Originally Posted by Bruck

so you prefer the waterfield for putting it in a backpack? i was thinking the stm glove

Bruck · Aug 19, 2005, 04:07 PM

I have one of those northface backpacks, but i dont like that stuff will rub up against or scratch the powerbook when its in the bag. I want something to protect it a little more.

zeta101 · Aug 19, 2005, 10:11 PM

Hi everyone, First post on MacNN but have been lurking for a while

I just a got the STM glove for my 12" pb. I was going to get the rebound but there were stock problems from where I was going to buy so changed to the glove at the last minute, glad I did!

Things I like:

- It really does fit like a glove, the material stretches ever so slightly when you slip it over the pb.

- It makes it so much easier to carry the pb, before I got it I found it really hard to take the pb out of the vertical compartment using one hand, I had to apply quite a bit of pressure on the pb to keep grip (maybe I'm just weird with sweat hands or something though

). Now doing the same with the glove on is easy and I have a very good grip on it thanks to the material.

- There is a piece of material that goes round the inside of the zip so once its all zipped up the pb is not touching any zip parts (see pics).

- The glove is a vertical sleeve, this is perfect for the bag I have since i can leave the sleeve in my bag and take out/put back in the pb (see pics).

This is just the glove inside my backpack:

This shows the inner piece of material that seperates the zip from pb:

Removing the pb vertically while the sleeve is still in the backpack:

The glove next to my pb, note how the zip goes around the top half only for vertical loading:

If anyone has any more questions I'll be happy to answer

Lucky8 · Aug 19, 2005, 11:10 PM

Hey zeta101,
Do you think the rebound would have been a better sleve than glove? They told me the glove material is neoprene while the rebound is foam which will scratch the laptop but got more protection?
My backpack don't have a laptop padded compartment in it. Should I get the rebound instead of glove for additional 5 bucks?

zeta101 · Aug 19, 2005, 11:35 PM

I can't really comment on the rebound as I don't have one, but the rebound obviously seems desgined to handle blows better, especially where it covers the top of the pb. I'd imagine a sharp enough blow to the top of a pb could damage the screen and the rebound would help prevent that more than the glove.

The rebound is made from a similar (or the same?) material as the shinza zeroshock sleeve (http://shinza.com/product_info.php?c...products_id=45) and these guys make some bold claims about the zeroshock (see the pane of glass thing).

For $5 more though, I'd just get the rebound.

NateEssex · Aug 20, 2005, 12:03 AM

Originally Posted by erio

i bought into the hype about the vyper being good and all, so i got one today. like everyone else had said, the vyper.xs for the 12" PB does not "fit like a glove". there are gaps on the front and the sides... also, when it is zipped up, there is a gap between the top of the PB and the vyper.xs's shell. i think it is about 1/2" or less. as a result, i can push the vyper cover down onto my PB. ...

if i pick it up, i can shake my PB up and down and rock it back and forth. in my opinion, that's not good. i don't want something that moves my PB around while i'm carrying it. they should've added velcro or something to strap it down!

Erio is correct. The Vyper 12" does NOT fit the PB 12" tight. I just gave it to my wife as it does fit the 12" iBook perfectly.

I want a durable sleeve that will fit in my MambaXS. From reading various posts I'm left with:
STM Rebound
http://www.radtech.us/Products/SpecialtyBags.aspx

and...?

The Waterfield seems to be a tad overpriced at $51-$71 dollars when I was done configuring it.

So, does the Rebound win via disqualifications?

NateEssex · Aug 22, 2005, 10:38 PM

I guess I'll be ordering a STM Rebound...I was just hoping to find someone who successfully uses a Rebound in a MambaXS bag.

PaRaGoNViCtiM · Aug 22, 2005, 10:58 PM

Anyone have a Foofbag, that can post pics and or comment on it????????????

Lucky8 · Aug 23, 2005, 01:11 AM

Just ordered Waterfield sleevecase for my new 12" iBook.
Like everyone else said, the level of customer service is up there..

I'll let you guys know the product quality when I receive it hopefully soon.

Yeast · Aug 23, 2005, 02:49 AM

I eventually decided to go with the 12 inch Sleevecase from Waterfield as well. The customer service is ridiculous it is so good. You almost feel like you could ask Gary for a loan or a ride to the airport he's so nice.

I'll also post my results.

SuperHard · Aug 23, 2005, 12:39 PM

I have both and I'd say both are great. The Waterfield (ie SFBags) is available as either a top-loading (for backpack) or side-loading (for messenger bags). I've had the Waterfield bag for a couple of years, I've seen the new ones and the bag has barely changed. The are in fact quite nice. On mine after nearly 2 years of daily service, the velcro isn't as secure as it used to be. I got the Booq Vyper and I really love it. Since my backpack doesn't have a padded laptop compartment I always wanted a bit of a rigid shell around my powerbook. I love the Booq, costs the same as the Waterfield sleeve. The Booq's fit is perfect. I can actually fit the Booq in the waterfield which is what I've done when I'm spending a busy day riding lots of public transportation, inisde my normal-sized backpack.

Conclusion: both are excellent. If you're bag isn't already padded, get the Booq. Otherwise, get whichever you like.

Cheers!

wuzup101 · Aug 24, 2005, 03:28 AM

I personally have the STM glove that was linked above (bought it from radtech). I slip that into my Northface Borealis backpack to carry around campus. I've been using the sleave since I got my powerbook last summer and the NF bag for about 3 years now. I don't have any complaints thus far. I also have a smaller crippy duck bag from crumpler that I use when I only have to take my laptop somewhere. I would definitely recomend crumpler bags (not sure about their sleaves) as they are definitely high quality.

NateEssex · Aug 24, 2005, 10:57 PM

I'm still waiting for my STM Rebound from Radtech. I'll post the Rebound + MambaXS compatibility when I get it.

Bruck · Aug 25, 2005, 05:12 PM

I just got my STM Glove to go in my North Face Bourealis backpack. FITS PERFECTLY. I'm a little curious how the rebound would be, maybe ill buy one of those later, but i love the glove, definately keeping it.

NateEssex · Aug 26, 2005, 11:15 PM

Originally Posted by NateEssex

I'm still waiting for my STM Rebound from Radtech. I'll post the Rebound + MambaXS compatibility when I get it.

I got my Rebound and it's a nice sleeve. Thick padding with a nice safe zipper that doesn't come in contact with my PB. The bonus is that it fits nicely in my MambaXS. Okay, that's all for me and my laptop case hunt.

Thanks for all of the input.

erio · Aug 31, 2005, 08:46 PM

i was thinking of getting the same thing. would it be possible to post some pics? if you can't post here, you can email me. thanks!

Originally Posted by NateEssex

I got my Rebound and it's a nice sleeve. Thick padding with a nice safe zipper that doesn't come in contact with my PB. The bonus is that it fits nicely in my MambaXS. Okay, that's all for me and my laptop case hunt.

Thanks for all of the input.