Today’s JAMM spotlight is shining on another case from Waterfield Designs. I bought myself my first laptop (an MSI Wind) about a month ago and immediately asked Waterfield if they had any designs that would fit the Wind’s compact size. They graciously sent over a laptop sleeve for me to take a look at and I’ve been using it for the last week and a half. Sleeve cases are usually a simple affair: insert the device and it’s protected. But, as it turns out, there’s a lot more to their sleeve design than meets the eye.

Hit the jump for a full review, a few thoughts, and moar pictures.

One thing I’ve come to love about the Waterfield products I’ve reviewed is that beautiful yet rugged quality they have about them. This laptop case is no different. It’s a tough nylon shell that really looks and feels like it can take a beating. Watch out for laying the sleeve on crumbs or a dusty surface, though. I’ve found that small particles really like to make small refugee camps in the nylon and they can take a fair bit of dusting to, uhh, deport (why did I start that weird metaphor in the first place?).

There’s a fair amount of padding on all sides of the case, including the bottom — enough so that I don’t worry about minor bumps as I put my bag down. The padding also really helps to give the whole sleeve some shape, which is great for when it’s empty and you’re trying to push it back into your bag (thinner cases can fold up like tissue paper and are tougher to jam in). This is absolutely fantastic for my current setup, since my messenger bag has a very large, open pocket. I just put the Wind and sleeve in there, and it’s a cinch to take the Wind out for class.

The inside is coated with "high-grade neoprene". It’s soft and there are no scratches at all on the Wind.

Speaking of scratching, one of the things that worried me in my earlier setup (keeping the Wind in the zippered pocket of my bag) was the teeth of the zipper. It would be all too easy to just pull the Wind out the wrong way and have teeth marks just lining the front of the lid. What we have instead of a zipper is a rather generous strip of velcro, so you have a very noisy, but secure closure for the case. I’m on the fence as to whether I’d prefer a magnet enclosure so that opening the case would be quieter, but the velcro works very well as is.

Another interesting design addition is the small loop at the bottom of the case. It’s just big enough so that you can tuck one finger inside it to anchor the sleeve while you remove the laptop. A small feature, but it makes a great difference in the everyday, and that’s what great design is about.

One design element I didn’t quite understand (at first) was the back pocket. It’s long enough to hold an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, but it’s just far too tight to use very easily. Then I thought about keeping my iPhone sync cable in it and it fit just fine. But what about the small power brick that comes with the Wind? That fit, too! So the pocket I initially thought to be far too small and too tight turns out to be a lifesaver: I can bring everything I need for the Wind right inside the sleeve. Brilliant! When the Wind is inside the sleeve all the items in the pocket fit very snugly and are in no danger of falling out, but be mindful of when you take the Wind out, since there’s no lid to keep the pocket’s contents from just falling out.

Conclusion

I’m really, really happy with my laptop sleeve from Waterfield. It’s rugged, fits perfectly into my bag, and keeps the Wind safe inside a padded cushion. What’s more: I can fit the power cables in it, too!

But there’s a lot more up Waterfield’s sleeve. A quick visit to their website shows they have a variety of sizes for the laptop sleeve, so you should be able to fit most any laptop on the market in this nylon shell. In terms of extras, you can add two different kinds of shoulder straps, a front flap so that the laptop is completely sealed, and even a “piggy back” (strap required) so that you can carry even more accessories with the sleeve. A fully loaded Waterfield sleeve is really a very thin laptop bag. So if you’ve got a laptop sitting naked somewhere, I highly recommend you head on over to Waterfield and cover it up in one of their sleeves. You won’t be disappointed.

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Price: varies per model and accessories, base range from $38-59

Models supported: A lot. Check out all the customization here.

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