i was just looking at those!! does the framework case fit well in there? how thick is it? for some reason there’s no “dimensions” spec on the website like the other things they sell in the store…
I bought a Cocotte Fred messenger bag recently. They’re made in my home town so I could actually go to the shop and meet the folks making the bag, it was awesome. I love the bag and use it every day, but I cram all sorts of stuff in there and I think I could very much use a sleeve (especially waterproof!) for my precious laptop…
… are you happy with it? Do you use it on its own or do you fit it inside another bag?
Anyway, I think my spec is:
waterproof
light and sleek, should fit inside my existing bag
ideally shock/pressure proof
About #3, I feel like I’m often cramming my laptop inside my bag and it gets compressed pretty badly. I already see key caps marks on the screen and I’ve only been using this a few months! It seems I’d need a hard case to work around that problem though, and that makes requirements #2 and #3 fundamentally at odds I guess…
Also:
I just use a separate cloth bag for all that stuff, but now you make me wonder if I should have a case that holds the cards as well… hmm!
Thanks for this thread! This is one of those “oh I wonder what the community came up with” moment, and you folks did not disappoint!
It’s a snug fit, requiring a little push to get the laptop in the sleeve. The velcro top of the sleeve has a short gap because the laptop is longer than the lowest flap position. There’s a zippered front pocket which I keep expansion cards in. The power adapter can fit in there too but it’s pushing it. I could take a few photos later if you’d like.
I purchased this tomtoc sleeve based on the recommendation of @Brian_Butler earlier in this thread. The reinforced corners were what sold me. If I ever drop it on a corner I’ll let you know if that was a useful determinant.
The Framework fits snugly in the fleece-lined main compartment. I’ve even carried it with the Ethernet module attached (that module sits proud of the laptop’s exterior).
The accessory compartment is able to hold a ziplock bag (containing expansion cards, a USB LTE modem and a couple of USB storage devices), the Framework power brick, USB-C cable, 240V cable and a low-profile mouse. With these things onboard the accessory compartment is a little bulgy.
Here goes! Imo for $29 it’s a bargain. I hope this isn’t in clearance, because I really like the design. Note that the front zippered area doesn’t have much depth available once the laptop is in.
You never need corner reinforcements until you do.
They are well constructed and positioned. They seem like they’d absorb some of the shock of corner colliding with glove compartment, desk drawer or suitcase bottom. Time will tell.
In the interests of community enlightenment, I just placed my sleeve under a slowly-dripping kitchen faucet for 10-20 seconds. Water drops beaded and rolled off the surface. The residue was easily wicked off with a sheet of paper towel / kitchen paper.
I have a lot of outdoor gear with zippers and I can say with confidence that the ones on the sleeve will be water transparent.
My assessment: moving briefly through a summer shower of rain, say from mass transit to building, with the sleeve under your arm… wipe/shake water drops off and not give it another thought. Riding a bicycle home in the monsoon with the sleeve in a basket on the handle bars… sodden laptop and accessories.
Also curious, the inside looks like it might be a polyester or something other than a microfiber or cloth type material. I actually dislike microfiber, I’ve found that the fibers eventually begin to wear off and then you have all these particles on your laptop every time you pull it in or out and I’ve found that with the cheaper microfibers, the dye comes off and can dye parts of the laptop, like the feet.
Yeah, I agree! I ordered one and am happy to report back here if people are interested.
Actually, that’s one feedback I heard about Timbuk2: they have good products and a great warranty, except when they rotate products out of their line, and then you’re kind of SOL because they won’t actually fix the device even if you ship it back to them…
Yeah, I see that… The other thing I’m a little concerned about is that the flap doesn’t seem to completely wrap the laptop, you can actually see the laptop’s corner there, so for waterproofing, that’s definitely a weak spot…
Oh, really nice!
If the Timbuk2 doesn’t do it, I’ll certainly try that one next. One concern I had with this one is it says the Internal Dimensions are 11.6" x 8.2" x 0.33", but above it says it’s:
I previously already had a Tom Bihn Cadet Bag TOM BIHN Cadet, Everyday Carry & Travel Laptop Briefcase, 13.5L with a 15D Cache (Latches on inside the bag semi-suspended) TOM BIHN Cache, Protective Laptop Sleeve, Multiple Sizes . It was perfect for my Lenovo T480s Thinkpad…and it is great for my Framework 12th Gen DIY now. All I needed to do was order a new Cache. In this case the 13C Cache is the perfect fit. There was another size more closely matching the exact measures, so exact you can’t actually fit the laptop in and close the zipper. Been using this daily since I got the Framework in November, even had a small scare drop…no damage. The Cache is padded and the way it sits in the Cadet offers some additional protection. The product itself is very durable and well constructed. Overall great combo.
… and that actually looks much better than the Timbuk. I have many problems with the Timbuk design:
it’s too tight: sometimes i have trouble taking the laptop in and out, partly because of the pads under the laptop, but in general, the fit is just too tight, especially when you store stuff in the pocket
it’s not properly sealed: it’s just a flap with velcro that closes the short side of the sleeve, so water can easily splash inside the sleeve
it has clips to add a strap, I guess to carry the sleeve on its own, which I don’t really need at all so it’s extra weight and another thing to snag into things…
I would have much preferred that “zipper” design here. So that tomtoc sleeve (Amazon link) certainly looks interesting now.
I do actually have that sleeve for my Framework. It could be a little tighter fitted (there’s about 5 mm space on every side) so it can wobble around a little but I’m okay with that.
The timbuk is a nice sleeve, but it’s strange in some ways; the flap doesn’t completely close so it doesn’t feel as “sealed” as the tomtoc. there’s also clips in the back that feel weird or at least useless to me.
on the other hand the tomtoc is thicker. now i can’t help but think i really need just a one-layer sleeve of some sort. no padding, just some water/scratch-proof thing so i can shove this thing in my bag without worrying about spills…
oh, and now i guess some will wonder what kind of case will fit the 16" too.
I suspect that’s because your image files are too big. The message composer is a bit coy about saying why it’s rejecting your upload. It rejected several attempts of mine when I was attaching the pictures above. It seems like the file size limit is ~1MB.
