6 October Week in Review: Protective Cases and Functional Bags

by Catherine Baecker-Khoury | Carryology Editor, October 7, 2012

Week in Review

Want to look very stylish whilst roughing it up a mountain? Don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on an iPhone 5 only to have it get scratched within minutes of being out its box? Perhaps you want a bag that can carry your tablet or laptop and is versatile enough to adapt to grocery carry, work carry or leisure carry. Alternatively you might be in the market for a backpack that is lightweight but with solid protection for your expensive tech gadgets or you want a wallet that will get everyone’s attention. Well find out more in this Week In Review…

Making a case for protection

If you’re considering getting yourself an iPhone 5 you have probably heard that they require a fair amount of TLC (perhaps the name says it all – you are the proud owner of the phone for five minutes before the downward spiral of scratches begins). So it’s a good idea to armor up your phone and High Snobiety have put together a buyer’s guide of 10 new iPhone 5 cases that are up to the task.

From blank canvas to versatile bag

When Matt Geiger made a bag as a gift for his wife, he probably never thought it would result in Blank Brand bags and accessories. Now Geiger is keen to get the current bag design and accessories into production and has created a Kickstarter project to do just that. The bag uses a range of materials, including white vinyl which is water-resistant and easy to clean. There are inner pockets and a variety of interchangeable sleeves that can accommodate laptops and tablets up to 15 inches. Check out the project in more detail here.

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Wild Style

As rucksacks go, Tanner Goods’ Wilderness Rucksack must be up there in terms of looks. Constructed using waxed filter twill canvas, wool felt, Horween Chromexcel leather and brass hardware, the rucksack incorporates a laptop sleeve, a variety of interior and exterior pockets and padded straps. The question is whether you would want to go traipsing up muddy mountains and across rivers with this rucksack on or reserve it for the urban jungle instead.

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Sport backpacks get hardcore

Pelican are known for their durable hard cases that can withstand pretty much whatever you can throw at them. Of course, such cases are not always practical for your daily carry needs, where you want protection for your tech items but flexibility and light weight for easy transport. So can you have it all? With Pelican, you can. Their line of Sport backpacks offers impact protection for tablets and laptops with rigid front plates and enough space to accommodate other everyday carry items but you won’t feel like you’re lugging a small elephant on your back. Plus there’s a choice of three colors – the ever versatile black, as well as orange and green.

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Carry goes fun

Are items such as wooden wallets practical? No. However, you’re not going to want such items for their practicality. You’re going to want them because they’re different and look good and they’re fun. We recently heard about Haydanhuya which is a brand based in Istanbul, Turkey producing a range of wooden carry items such as wallets and bags and there’s definitely some fun stuff worth checking out.