Brenthaven Laptop Cases

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I have been searching for the past 4 months for a laptop case that was different. Something that wasn’t black or blue, didn’t look like I had been stuck in a board room all day and would also protect my laptop.

I searched Staples nothing. Office Depot nothing. I found a few options. Leather cases that were outrageously priced and still didn’t offer everything I wanted. The cases that had enough space were even more pricey. The ones that would be almost feasible in price didn’t have enough space. I found canvas bags that at first glance looked like they might work but when it got down to it I was worried about the safety of my laptop. They had a decent amount of space but no padding and when you add in the mouse, cooling pad and power cord that is all extra items to push, pull and scrape against the laptop.

Then I turned the search to the net. Over and over again I found the same bags and the same styles. I like the messenger bag style but they always seemed long and the straps were flimsy at best. They definitely did not have the right amount of padding.

So I was looking for the following:

A messenger style bag
Thick strap (plus if it was padded.)
Storage space (pockets, zippers)
And most importantly, padding

Then I found Brenthaven They have so many choices. I immediately fell in love with the Women’s Messenger bag. Now I was more intrigued. The removable strap cover has a built in storage pocket for an Ipod. Steve is more into the backpack style bags and really liked the Expandable Trek in steel blue. I have to say I love the color but the backpack style just isn’t my thing.

Now I could tell that the strap wasn’t something flimsy that after a few minutes was going to dig into my shoulder but what about the safety? Was my laptop really going to

be safe? I watched the videos of Harvey dropping his laptop over and over and over again. Now if this gentleman is placing a MacBook in this case and dropping it and it’s still running I think the kids would be hard pressed to damage mine. I was graced with the opportunity to review one of Brenthaven’s new Switch messenger bags. The Switch is designed to hold notebooks up to 15.4 ” (Perfect for my Dell and I was able to tell this by using the Perfect Size Locator.) You can change your daily look by simply flipping the flap over. You can also order extra flaps if you so desire.

I chose to go with the Natural flap with buckle and the Chocolate Bliss. Our house is all about the brown and pink right now. So I was excited to see that Brenthaven had an option for me. The picture really doesn’t do it justice. A few short days later and I had a great looking bag on my door step. Then came some more suprising sites:

Pockets/padding

The padding is super thick and the case comes with removeable pads for the actual laptop area to make the bag truly customizeable to your laptop’s size. The black on red pockets threw me for a second but after close inspection I found they were the perfect sizes. The outer pockets would easily hold a thumb drive and the inner pockets are a great fit for SD cards. Worried these valuable items might get lost? No such worries. The area directly behind these pockets is where the laptop goes and there is a padded flap tha comes up, over and velcroes just under the black pockets. (This is closed in the picture to the right.) Look at the pockets for organizing. I have found that the outer pocket of the main compartment is just right for my cooling pad and mouse pad with extra space as well. The zippered pocket to the upper left is a very handy spot for placing my power cord and the pocket directly to the right of that is just the right space for my mouse.

Would I buy it/recommend it: Absoultely!

PROS:

Padding beyond belief. Really don’t think even this Frantic mommy could hurt her laptop here.
Thick strap with padding.
Customizable
Great customer service.

CONS: