I've recently acquired an
11" MacBook Air (my perfect Mac!), and I've started hunting for the
perfect sleeve for it. I've been a fan of Waterfield Designs and Booq cases for years, but I wanted to
take a fresh look at the available offerings for my new, beautiful Air,
and Brenthaven kindly offered
to provide a ProStyle sleeve for review.
Brenthaven ProStyle sleeve.
Brenthaven is well-known to be a premium case-maker for Macs, and
while they've always been on my radar, this is my first experience
using one of their products. They sent me the ProStyle MacBook Sleeve for the 11" Air in
Elderberry, which is a color that isn't advertised on their website
(colors currently on their site are black/copper
and charcoal/misted
yellow). It's perfectly lovely, but odd that it's not shown on the
website. My best guess is it's overstock of a previous model.
The Good
The sleeve is water-resistant, as advertised, and very sturdy. Every
fastener, zipper, and stitch appears to be of the highest quality, and
the handle is very securely attached. I would feel very comfortable
carrying my Air around in the suggested grip. The faux-fur liner is
extremely soft and appears to not be too static-inducing; no worries
about scratches.
The sleeve, with its high-density foam, is thick enough that I think
it would provide reasonable protection from a drop, and it would
definitely keep it from getting gouged by various detritus in a bag. Of
course, the trade-off is that it offsets one of the primary selling
points of the MacBook Air, it's unworldly thinness. The sleeve more
than doubles the thickness of the laptop.
The Annoying
The sleeve is very, very snug. I can't speak to whether it's just
mine, or every one they turn out, but I can only insert the Air in one
direction, and even then, it's a bit of a struggle. I initially worried
a bit about the metal zipper bases scratching the sides as the laptop
slides in, but that doesn't appear to be a problem if you only insert
it thin-end first. In hinge-end-first orientation, I have been
unsuccessful in cramming the laptop in at all - it's that snug of a
fit.
To that end, I was disappointed to find that the featured "dedicated
iPhone pocket" is actually too snug to fit an iPhone when the Air is
also in the sleeve. I wasn't able to fit an iPhone 3GS (with or without
a case) or even a bare, very slim iPod touch 4G in the pocket. They fit
fine as long as the laptop isn't in the sleeve, but that doesn't strike
me as particularly useful. I can see using it to hold a couple flash
drives or Apple's USB-to-Ethernet adapter if you need to carry that
around. There is definitely no room for a power adapter or the
suggested iPhone, at least on the unit I tested.
The Verdict
Brenthaven's commitment to environmental friendliness and delivering
high-end products makes them a very attractive manufacturer. I wouldn't
rule out trying more of their products in the future. However, with the
tightness and dubious usefulness of the iPhone pocket with my older
iPhone and iPod touch, this particular product is not for me. That
said, if you're looking for a fairly rugged, extremely well-made padded
sleeve and are neutral about the extra pocket, this may be a winner for
you. 
