MacBook Air sans case?

[megasad]

Hi, I'll be buying a MacBook Air in the new year and was just wondering if any current owners could give me feedback on how it holds up if carried around with no protective sleeve or case or the like.

Meaning you just throw it in your bag / backpack, with whatever else lives in there.

My thinking being, as there are no exposed ports other than the MagSafe connector, the display has a nice lip all around and the machine itself is textured aluminum... Does it be okay or do bad things happen?

 

[alphaod]

I can still get scratched if you're not careful.

 

[adamjackson]

I find myself scratching / dinging up more than my 17" Macbook Pro. Simply because it's so small, light and barely there...

I've hit doors, poles and rubbed it against all kinds of stuff carrying it around the city with my 20 minute walk to work.

in my bag it's fine but i don't have a "fitted" bag so it moves around a lot.

IDK. I'd suggest a tight sleeve just so you can retain some of your resale value.

 

[Scottsdale]

I talked my best friend into switching to a MacBook Air 2.13/SSD. We set it all up, and he fell hard. So the other day he came over. He gets his backpack out, and pulls his smaller laptop bag out of it that just covers the computer but no extra room for books and etc. So he opens up the laptop bag and I see a sleeve. I am thinking what the hell. Next I see a plastic hard case that about doubles the thickness of the MBA. I asked why in the world he did all that. He laughed and told me that he has an invisible shield under the plastic hard case so his MBA doesn't get scratched. He opens the MBA and has what I originally thought was the foam KB/display cover it comes with. Again I was wrong he paid $25 for it! Under that is a rubber cover that stays on the KB.

This is a true story!

I recommend no plastic as it doubles thickness and ads weight. No invisible shield as the feel and look is off. No rubber KB cover and definitely no microfiber display shield for when you close the MBA. No sleve and definitely not a laptop bag!

I just toss my MBA into a designer tote that looks incredible. I leave a magazine or papers against the top side of the MBA. It has no scratches, and it's super lightweight to carry and the bag looks incredible.

Do not waste your time or kill yourself trying to protect your Mac. The MBA is very durable and doesn't need to be baby'd. Obviously don't throw it into a bag cracked open with keys jammed between it. Just use some common sense. Live without worries. Life is way too short to be insane like my friend!

Good luck.

 

[faxao]

I use the Case logic 13" MacBook Laptop Sleeve...

...with my MBA Rev.B 1,86Ghz and I am very happy with it. IMHO it is just insane not to protect your MBA with an adequate sleeve considering the money we invested in this beauty !

 

[melissarae]

found this on another post...

http://www.speckproducts.com/products/seethru/macbook-air/132

they are on sale for $14.95 right now... i'd be afraid to go naked if i were you.

 

[ayeying]

found this on another post...

http://www.speckproducts.com/products/seethru/macbook-air/132

they are on sale for $14.95 right now... i'd be afraid to go naked if i were you.

Speck don't have a good hard case for the MBA. Its heavy and causes the hinges to fail prematurely because of the added weight.

Furthermore, the clips that holds the bottom enclosure is kinda subtle.

For the price, its great, but if you want real protection, never take it out of the house.

 

[financeguy]

definitely no microfiber display shield for when you close the MBA.

Why not? Some people were reporting that the camera eventually scratches the bottom of the touchpad:
http://blog.scoopz.com/2008/03/02/macbook-air-faulty-screen-damages-trackpad/

 

[megasad]

Thanks for the thoughts everyone.

I currently have a sleeve for my MacBook, had one for my iBook back long ago, and had seen the Speck shell for the Air, considered that or a sleeve.

(The sleeves are kind of important to stop things getting in the ports and because neither of those old machines feels completely "solid" when closed; the screen seems like it might shear off the base if put under too much pressure.)

But as scratches don't bother me (they add character!) and I don't think of computers as "investments" in the resale sense (I've never actually sold an old Mac, just passed them on to family members)...

So long as the thing feels solid when closed, I think I'll try it without any kind of protection at all