Review: OtterBox Laptop Case

OtterBox makes great rugged, waterproof, dirt- and dust-proof cases and I own a bunch of them for a variety of devices and uses. When OtterBox announced that they were coming out with their OtterBox Laptop Case I was on them like dust on desert boots begging for a review copy.

OtterBox has a very well-deserved reputation for delivering quality ruggedized cases, backed by lifetime guarantees, that perform wonderfully under all sorts of adverse and inclement conditions.

Okay, let’s clarify from the outset that this case is not meant for underwater use. Oh, it’s waterproof all right, but you’re not going to be sitting at the bottom of your pool typing email with it, though that would be pretty cool. I wonder just how hard that would be to do. Well, if any one can bring it to market it, it’s bound to be OtterBox. They did something similar for the Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000 and ST5000 Tablet PCs, but I guess laptops are a whole different thing.

So, the OtterBox Laptop Case is a waterproof box, albeit a very nice looking and sturdy waterproof box, that you store your laptop in. Keep it closed underwater.

OtterBox claims that you can stand on this case and just to test it out I did. I played a little sort of hopping in place dance thing, and the case stood up to the abuse, which is fairly impressive since I’m not exactly a little guy.

I probably wouldn’t use the case regularly to climb up to the top shelves of my neighborhood grocery store, but in a pinch you could. The case is that tough and durable.

The model I reviewed was meant for medium laptops, so my 15.4” MacBook Pro fits but a 17-inch wouldn’t. It’s what I’d call a slim-line case, meaning there’s room for your laptop and power adapter and not a whole lot more. I have carried much heavier waterproof cases in the past and can appreciate the lighter weight of OtterBox’s offering. Trading space for weight is something I’m more than willing to do. My shoulder still aches from carrying that other one around.

“Velcrolicious”

The bottom of OtterBox’s laptop case has one of the biggest pieces of Velcro loop fabric I have ever seen. It serves the dual purpose of providing padding for your laptop as well as giving a surface for the included custom fitting rubber bumpers to latch on to.

OtterBox realized that there were a number of different sizes and shapes of laptops out there and provided three sets of detachable rubber bumpers with ample Velcro hook tapes affixed that you can fit snug again your laptop and lock onto that Velcrolicious stretch of loop fabric.

My MacBook Pro is just at the upper end of the fit, so I chose the slimmest of the three sizes of bumpers and they plus the elastic and Velcro safety belt do a very good job of securing my baby in place. I’m very pleased with the fit and was able with only a minimum of fuss make a really good sizing on my first try.

Did I mention that it’s attractive? There was a certain amount of esthetic design rolled into the specs here and I really would not feel out of place carrying this into a board room.

The included shoulder strap is a good touch, though I mostly don’t use it by preference. Wide and soft, it’s comfortable.

Overall, based upon my experience with other manufacturers’ related products in the past and seeing how OtterBox has delivered this, I’d give their Laptop Case a clear 90%, if not higher. If you need to carry your lunch and a few books with your laptop as well, this might not be the case for you. I can however, if you’re thinking you want or need something larger, warn you from hard won experience that you’d better start lifting weights right now. The OtterBox Laptop Case manages to weigh in just below that point where I’d notice the weight. Anything much larger would be, in my not particularly humble opinion, just too large to carry around every day. Well done, OtterBox! Keep up the good work!

OtterBox’s Armor 1900 and Armor 3600 PDA cases
(because not everything we own is a Mac or an iPod)


James’ Signature Camel Spider test:

My camel spider test was developed quite accidentally one night in a tent just outside of Kabul. I was up late lying on my cot reading Steve Boyett’s ebook “Orphans” on my Tungsten 3 when I saw something moving out of the corner of my eye. Whoa! There about half a meter from my head was a bloody great camel spider as big across as my hand scuttling up the tent wall.

Camel spiders are ugly and can get quite big. Much of the mythology about them is grossly exaggerated, but I can attest that they are pretty creepy looking things. If you don’t like big hairy spiders, you most certainly will get the writhing horrors if you happen upon a large camel spider unawares and unannounced.

Fling! went the Palm, smack against the canvas and both camel spider and PDA plummeted to the ground behind my jury-rigged bookcase.

It was some time before I worked up the nerve to reach behind the shelves there to see if the Palm was okay. I’m happy to say that both Tungsten 3 and the camel spider survived. Now, that’s happy on both counts because I do like my electronics and after a little bit of sober thought I realized that a camel spider that big must have eaten, and need to continue eating, a whole lot of scorpions, scorpions that would not as a result wind up sleeping in my boots at night. For the rest of my stay I let the creepy thing be, though not without occasional bouts of the willies.

The camel spider survived because I’ve got a lousy pitching arm, and the Palm survived because it was in an OtterBox Armor 3600 case.

What can I say? I was pretty much covered with dust and sand every day for thirteen months and for all that time, except for the occasional recharge, my PDA stayed in its Armor 3600 case. When I got home, the Palm was in close to the same shape as it was when I left. It aged in fact, far more in the few months after I returned and stopped using the Armor 3600 day to day than it had in the previous year.

Now, the 3600 is quite large, with room for most PDAs as well as your sync cable, GPS, and maybe a light lunch as well. After over a year using it, however, I found the size not so much of an issue when I considered the fact that it still worked and when it did get dirty or dusty I just washed the case off under the tap. I tossed it into my gear bag every morning and never worried about it until I needed it. A number of prolonged stays in bunkers were made somewhat more interesting and endurable by my being able to either read books or play Monopoly or Scrabble while waiting for the eventual but sometimes long delayed ‘All Clear’.

When I returned home, however, I decided to try out the somewhat smaller Armor 1900 case. It lacks the cable, GPS and sandwich room of the 3600, but still has the same heavy duty construction and design. It is, I think, just a little bit too tight for my Tungsten 3’s screen, but all the newer Pocket PCs and Palms seem to fit well.

If you’re in a desert, out camping, on a construction site, or just prone to throwing your PDA at spiders, I can recommend the Armor cases without reserve. And as a neat side benefit, they’re waterproof right? So reading your PDA in the tub is more than possible. Sort of a neat capability.

If you need a rugged case for whatever reason, I give both the Armor 3600 and 1900 a 90%. Maybe even a 95%. They’re that good.