Review: OtterBox
Laptop Case |
Febuary, 2008
OtterBox
Laptop Case
http://www.otterbox.com - $189.95
Review by Steve
Douglas
Most
every editor I know has a nice laptop that cost them more money
than they wanted to spend. Fortunately, I have never dropped
mine on a cement walkway, seen it plummet off a shoulder strap
and into the ocean, or spilled a cup of coffee over it. However,
I have seen others suffer through these goofs and offered them
tissues to dry their tears.
Any expensive investment is worth
protecting. Soft cases do a good job of cushioning a laptop from
potential damage but there is certainly no guarantee that they
will be able to protect your laptop from every mishap. OtterBox,
a company known for making hard-shell protective cases for everything
from iPods and cell phones to cigar cases and GPSs, has recently
released their OtterBox 7030 Laptop Case.
This case is designed to fit most
laptops up to 15 inches. Its internal dimensions come in at 14.2"
wide, 11.2" deep and 1.9" thick, while its external
dimensions are roughly 16.4 x14.5 x 3.4 and is made from a stiff,
high impact polypropylene. The folk at Otter state that you can
put your laptop in the OtterBox, close it and stand on the case
without doing any damage to the laptop itself. This is not something
I would actually try but, from the feel and heft of this case,
I wouldn't doubt its' truth. It really is a handsome case with
a deep black finish, and is impressive to look at.
It comes with several rubber internal
corners, 4 large and 4 smaller which are placed in the inside
corners to custom fit your laptop. For my 15" Mac Book Pro
I used the 4 smaller corners. These corners are fitted onto Velcro
tabs, which adhere to the bottom of the case. Once properly placed,
there should be no need to remove them thus avoiding the eventual
degradation that Velcro unfortunately is victim of. The entire
process of fitting my MacBook Pro took about 5 minutes. These
corners further protect your laptop and hold it rigidly in place
along with an internal over strap and top cover pad which provides
additional security.
Easy access within
allows you to work on your laptop without taking it out of the
bag.
Rendering it all the more valuable, the OtterBox comes equipped
with two very secure closing latches and a keyable lock. The
latches themselves cannot unlock accidentally if dropped or if
brushed up against an object. Expect no unanticipated openings.
The unique carrying strap is designed to hang from your shoulder
and features a neoprene center where your shoulder would be.
This center has a grip type rubber on one side to prevent slipping
off your shoulder and feels springy when first put on. That took
a bit to get used to. Actually the soft rubber alleviates the
aching to your shoulders that sometimes occurs when carrying
bags over the shoulder for extended times. Because it is a soft
rubber I cannot predict how long it will last before wearing
away. However, I travel quite frequently and always feel a need
for a good shoulder massage after lugging heavy carry-ons around
the globe. I am certain that this strap will help alleviate some
of that ache.
Not only does it
look good but even the specially designed strap
provides added security and protection. Photo by Randy Siegal.
Even the OtterBox's carry handle fits well into your hand. Four
rubber feet on the bottom of the case help prevent marring of
sensitive surfaces and automatic pressure equalization is part
of the OtterBox's design. Especially when flying, the built in
pressure equalization is certainly a valuable feature. As anyone
sending or carrying a case on the airlines without an equalization
system can attest, trying to open a secure case can be very difficult.
While I have not used it on a plane as
yet, I see no problems if carried on. The laptop can remain in
the case while you work on it and there is access room to the
laptop's ports. Rounding out the OtterBox's valuable features
is that it is waterproof. While I did not intend to test this
claim, I was caught in a downpour with the OtterBox, and laptop
inside, slung over my shoulder. Once safely at home, I opened
up the case praying that my laptop was all right. The good news
is that the insides of the case were as safe and dry as was the
laptop itself.
The only real downside I have found to
the OtterBox Laptop case is that there is no real room for any
cables, chargers or other accessories. This would necessitate
you carrying these things in another bag. However, the purpose
of this case is to provide unprecedented protection for the laptop
itself and the OtterBox does that quite handily.
My bottom line is that while the OtterBox,
especially with a laptop ensconced within, does feel a mite heavy,
it is only bears witness that this case is not something that
will wear out or fail on you anytime soon. As soon as you handle
it you will be cognizant that there is real quality here making
it well worth the investment to protect that even larger investment,
your own laptop. It's not cheap but then again, real quality
rarely is.
Steve
Douglas is a certified Apple Pro for Final Cut Pro 6 and
underwater videographer. A winner of the 1999 Pacific Coast Underwater
Film Competition, 2003 IVIE competition, 2004 Los Angeles Underwater
Photographic competition, and the prestigious 2005 International
Beneath the Sea Film Competition, where he also won the Stan
Waterman Award for Excellence in Underwater Videography and 'Diver
of the Year', Steve was a safety diver on the feature film "The
Deep Blue Sea", contributed footage to the Seaworld Park's
Atlantis production, the History channel's MegaDisaster show
and other networks. Steve is one of the founding organizers of
the San Diego UnderSea Film Exhibition and leads both underwater
filming expeditions and African safaris with upcoming excursions
to Indonesia and the Coco Islands, Costa Rica in 2008, Kenyan
safari in Africa and the Red Sea for 2009, and Truk Lagoon in
Micronesia for 2010. Feel free to contact him if you are interested
in joining Steve on any of these exciting trips. www.worldfilmsandtravel.com
copyright © Steve
Douglas 2008
This article first appeared on
www.kenstone.net and is reprinted here with permission.
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