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MacBook Pro Bags, Sleeves, and Cases Thread

MacNut

MacNut

macrumors Core
Jan 4, 2002
22,995
9,973
CT
maflynn said:
I've been on a canvas bag kick lately, but I have to say that I'm really liking this bag. It's a bit pricey when you factor in the accessories, like a cache for laptop protection and shoulder strap. It looks like the type of bag, I was looking for to use as carrying on for my laptop and iPad.
Click to expand...
I've always bought Brenthaven bags but I didn't like their current offerings. Yes I went with the cache as well.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,527
43,473
I took the plunge and ordered Tim Bihn's Cadet I was debating between this the Empire Builder. I needed a new everyday carry bag, that I could also use as my carry on bag for flying. This seems to be big enough to carry my Thinkpad, and iPad but a few other things. The only second guessing that I'm having is the color selection, I usually get black on these things but I opted nebulous gray (first picture). I wonder if I would be better off with black ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The shipping charges were a bit high if you didn't choose ground, which I did, so it will probably get it here late next week

upload_2019-6-20_6-23-18.png
upload_2019-6-20_6-23-25.png
 
MacNut

MacNut

macrumors Core
Jan 4, 2002
22,995
9,973
CT
maflynn said:
I took the plunge and ordered Tim Bihn's Cadet I was debating between this the Empire Builder. I needed a new everyday carry bag, that I could also use as my carry on bag for flying. This seems to be big enough to carry my Thinkpad, and iPad but a few other things. The only second guessing that I'm having is the color selection, I usually get black on these things but I opted nebulous gray (first picture). I wonder if I would be better off with black ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The shipping charges were a bit high if you didn't choose ground, which I did, so it will probably get it here late next week

View attachment 844032 View attachment 844033
Click to expand...
I stayed with the black on black with mine. Something classic about a black bag.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,527
43,473
MacNut said:
I stayed with the black on black with mine. Something classic about a black bag.
Click to expand...
I hear ya, and that's probably why I'm wondering if I ought to return/exchange it. I'll wait and see how it looks once it arrives.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,527
43,473
Well Tim Bihn's Cadet arrived the other day and I hadn't had time to really look at it and play with it. My schedule for the next week will be such that I'll not be commuting or traveling so I'll not get to use it until the second week of July.

I'm unsure if I want to keep it. I have 60 days provided its in new condition.
First image is my old Waterfield Racer-X bag and the Cadet, which as you can see the Cadet is a tad taller and significantly thinner - The thinness is something that I wanted. The Racer-X offers a lot of protection but its a thick bag.

Second image is of the handles, and I have to say the Racer X handle has spoiled me so much, it's been a joy to use and lug around. This is why I've held onto this bag for around 12 years. The thing about the handles, is I prefer holding using the hand grips instead of using the shoulder strap (I know I'm weird) and using that mountain bike grip has as the handle has been great. The downside of my old Racer-X bag is that thinkpad barely fits into the laptop compartment and it is bulkier especially on those days that i'm just bringing my iPad into the office - The Racer-X feels like over kill.

Third image is the laptop sleeve and its a basic neoprene sleeve, not much in terms of protection but better then nothing. The clips in the fourth picture are odd and a bit difficult to undo. They're not quick release to be sure and I think the idea is once engaged you don't take them off very often. The inner pocket next to the sleeve (you may kind of see that in the last image) is inaccessible (with the clips engaged.)

IMG_5064.JPG IMG_5065.JPG IMG_5059.JPG IMG_5062.JPG


Reasons for returning.
If I do choose to return the bag, the reasons are as follows:
  • The handles since that's how I carry the bag.
  • The inner pocket is inaccessible and unusable.
  • inadequate protection. I may be over-thinking on this, but the neoprene sleeve doesn't seem to provide a lot of protection.

Overall its a good bag, but the cost was in the 200 dollar price range and for that price tag, do I want to live with some of the short comings?
 
ipodlover77

ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Jan 17, 2009
1,364
393
maflynn said:
Well Tim Bihn's Cadet arrived the other day and I hadn't had time to really look at it and play with it. My schedule for the next week will be such that I'll not be commuting or traveling so I'll not get to use it until the second week of July.

I'm unsure if I want to keep it. I have 60 days provided its in new condition.
First image is my old Waterfield Racer-X bag and the Cadet, which as you can see the Cadet is a tad taller and significantly thinner - The thinness is something that I wanted. The Racer-X offers a lot of protection but its a thick bag.

Second image is of the handles, and I have to say the Racer X handle has spoiled me so much, it's been a joy to use and lug around. This is why I've held onto this bag for around 12 years. The thing about the handles, is I prefer holding using the hand grips instead of using the shoulder strap (I know I'm weird) and using that mountain bike grip has as the handle has been great. The downside of my old Racer-X bag is that thinkpad barely fits into the laptop compartment and it is bulkier especially on those days that i'm just bringing my iPad into the office - The Racer-X feels like over kill.

Third image is the laptop sleeve and its a basic neoprene sleeve, not much in terms of protection but better then nothing. The clips in the fourth picture are odd and a bit difficult to undo. They're not quick release to be sure and I think the idea is once engaged you don't take them off very often. The inner pocket next to the sleeve (you may kind of see that in the last image) is inaccessible (with the clips engaged.)

View attachment 845425 View attachment 845426 View attachment 845421 View attachment 845424


Reasons for returning.
If I do choose to return the bag, the reasons are as follows:
  • The handles since that's how I carry the bag.
  • The inner pocket is inaccessible and unusable.
  • inadequate protection. I may be over-thinking on this, but the neoprene sleeve doesn't seem to provide a lot of protection.

Overall its a good bag, but the cost was in the 200 dollar price range and for that price tag, do I want to live with some of the short comings?
Click to expand...

How is the X1 compared to your old macbook?
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,527
43,473
ipodlover77 said:
How is the X1 compared to your old macbook?
Click to expand...
Its probably one of the best laptops I've ever owned.
I have an expandable, fast laptop with a ton of ports (read no dongles) with what I consider the industry best keyboard (which is spill proof btw). The configuration that I chose only cost me 2260, a similar configuration for the MBP would have run 4,600.

I do miss out on some of the niceties of macOS and the effect of using an iPhone, i.e., ecosystem stuff and the 16" MBP rumors are intriguing but I feel Apple has priced me out of the market - sadly :(

maflynn said:
Reasons for returning.
If I do choose to return the bag, the reasons are as follows:
  • The handles since that's how I carry the bag.
  • The inner pocket is inaccessible and unusable.
  • inadequate protection. I may be over-thinking on this, but the neoprene sleeve doesn't seem to provide a lot of protection.
Click to expand...
As for the Tom Bihn, I'm leaning heavily towards keeping it. I've been looking for a new laptop bag for years and haven't found one that checks all of the boxes, but this one comes the closest. Its small and light enough for everyday carry. It should hold everything I need it to hold for traveling (flying) and using the under the seat storage for carrying on. I was second guessing the color and if I had to do it over again, I probably would pick black The color isn't bad, and I do like that color so I'll probably live with it.

I really like WaterField products but their messenger which has similar dimensions as this bag goes for an astounding 360 dollars and clocks in over 3lbs where as this bag is only 1lbs. Thin, light, holds my stuff -I can't justify spending almost 400 dollars on a bag, that's just crazy.
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,527
43,473
Well so much for settling for the gray :eek:
I chatted with the support folks over at Tom Bihn who recommend I order the black and send back the one I don't like. I'm definitely leaning towards the black over the gray.


IMG_5113.JPG

IMG_5114.JPG
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,527
43,473
DCIFRTHS said:
Keep the black!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm going with the black :)

I hemmed and hawed to such a great degree that I ended up ordering the black in the first place. Its good to listen to that inner voice - not the one that tells you to set fire to the house :eek: but the one tells you when you're making a mistake.

The wife also chimed in on which to keep and she also said black. @cube mentioned that black is classic and, he's right.
 
G

gundam83

macrumors newbie
Mar 20, 2008
9
0
I'm looking for a sleeve that can fit both a 2019 macbook pro 13" and a 12.9" ipad pro that isn't bulky. Does such a thing exist? I'm also open to a regular slim bag with a divider insert to separate the two, but I want it to be as form fitting as possible to reduce bulk.
 
cb911

cb911

macrumors 601
Mar 12, 2002
4,128
4
BrisVegas, Australia
Just wondering if anyone has ordered from Slickwraps recently? Any good/bad experiences?

I snagged a few items (leather look iPhone skin, Glitz series MBP skin, Alcantara MBP skin) at 70% off during their 4th of July sale, no tracking/status updates after 2 weeks so I asked them what was happening and they said they're still processing orders due to the large volume.

Fast forward a month and still no change on the order... and I notice they're now having the same 70% off "summer sale"?!? Seriously - what's up? They're not going to at least fulfil current paid orders before having another sale and creating even more of a backlog??

Or do they operate as a drop shipper or something? Trying to collect bulk orders before they place it with their supplier? Maybe I should have checked that before ordering... oh well... :rolleyes:
 
R

RayLancer

macrumors regular
Sep 6, 2010
152
71
Did they ever fix/redesign the Incase Icon Cases for the current generation MacBooks? I’m looking for a case without zippers.
 
shaun.au

shaun.au

macrumors member
Mar 3, 2009
39
48
Sydney, Aus
Has anyone tried the Bellroy Laptop Brief? It looks like a good small/minimal bag for a 13" MBP --https://bellroy.com/products/laptop-brief-13/venture_13in/moss
Moss13.jpg

They've also got a "Classic Brief" which is only in 15", slightly different design, doesn't seem as laptop-friendly & doesn't have a pass-through loop for luggage handles on the back.

I'd be happy with a Waterfield Outback Solo, Zip or Exec Laptop bag, but the shipping+taxes is horrendous to get them to Australia...
 
mrjohnnyglass

mrjohnnyglass

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2012
127
107
I bought the Solo Urban Convertible bag from Best Buy for $50. It converts from messenger to backpack, which was a huge plus, can hold my 15” MBP, my iPad Pro, a change of clothes, and all my accessories. I wear it as a backpack through airports and I hardly feel it. I can sling it like a messenger on the subway.
 

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SeeGeeAitch

macrumors member
Aug 12, 2019
53
9
Australia
Yep I did that.
It seems if I line up perfectly on one side, it's not quite perfect on the other side :(

It also doesn't stick down properly at the bottom over the space bar - if I blow dust off the trackpad, the kuzy cover will lift up - is that normal?
 
jldesutter83

jldesutter83

macrumors 6502
Oct 20, 2013
379
627
Illinois
SeeGeeAitch said:
Yep I did that.
It seems if I line up perfectly on one side, it's not quite perfect on the other side :(

It also doesn't stick down properly at the bottom over the space bar - if I blow dust off the trackpad, the kuzy cover will lift up - is that normal?
Click to expand...
After some time it lined up and fit better but mine lifts up by the space bar too. It doesn’t bug me too much though.
 
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