Harber London, a brand well-known around here for creating gorgeous leather carriers and bags, unleashed its new All-Rounder MacBook Sleeve a couple months back, and now it’s time to weigh in after giving it a good test run. I have been and continue to be a huge fan of the brand’s bags – its Overnighter was just showcased in a recent 9to5Toys Travel Kit feature – but this time it is trading out some of the full-grain leather for a recycled fabric and we are ready to serve up our hands-on impressions.
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Hands-on with the Harber London All-Rounder MacBook Sleeve
The Harber London All-Rounder MacBook Sleeve retails for $159 shipped and comes in four colorways: Mocha, Black, Olive, and Navy Blue.
Features at a glance
- Relaxed fit, Roomy Interior That’s Just the Right Size.
- Front Pocket with dedicated slots for chargers, cords, a mouse and more.
- Built-in AirTag pocket.
- Made with a compact cushioning for protection that avoids bulkyness.
- Durable Water-Resistant Outer Shell Fabric Made of Recycled Plastic Bottles.
- Soft Lining Made of Recycled Plastic Bottles.
- Robust & Luxurious Feel.
- Fits Most Popular Laptop Brands out there.
- Sizes available for all current MacBooks.
- Made with Rich Full Grain leather.
- Handmade by expert craftsmen in Spain.
9to5Toys’ Take
Like most of the Harber London gear, it’s really all about the build quality and the material usage. This very much rings true for the latest All-Rounder Laptop Sleeve from the brand. This time, it is trading out an entirely full-grain leather build for a design made mostly of its 100% recycled plastic bottle fabric with hits of leather strapping for a touch of elegance.
This fabric presents and feels a lot like a softer canvas – it feels rugged but not overly tough and maintains a better water-resistance than most of your typical fabric accessories and carriers. Dropping a sort of half-full glass of water on it will not penetrate through to the inside in my testing, but it seems as though prolonged exposure or submersion will to some degree.
I like this fabric-treatment, but it’s really the brand’s leather goods that get me excited and that’s why the sort of top strapping with subtle belt-like fold-over detail is really where this case shines in the design department. The leather treatment also features on the zipper pulls on both the main MacBook compartment and the front pocket.
The recycled fabric treatment carriers through to the inside, including both the main compartment and the front pocket, but with a much lighter tan colorway that helps to make items stowed within a bit easier to spot. The front pocket features enough space for plenty of accessories – chargers, cables, headphones, and more – with three organization pockets and a mini leather pocket just large enough to slide an AirTag into. I like the extra organization options here, and the leather AirTag pouch is a nice addition, but I can’t help to feel that some extra zippers to keep things securely stowed in these inner pockets would be a nice touch.
The main compartment is just that, a simple padded slot with a zippered top to stow your MacBook or laptop. The padding here is extremely compact, which helps to keep the carry experience as thin as possible, but you’re likely not going to want to be throwing your machine around on hard surfaces. It is certainly protective and will definitely soften the blow of accidental drops, but it might be less padding than you want if your machine happens to take a particularly rough tumble on concrete or something like that.
The front pouch on the other hand doesn’t have this compressed padding, but somehow is a bit less streamlined in appearance. It’s not got that super tight look to it, potentially due to the way the material folds over along the top of the pocket. This is both a negative and a positive for me; it slightly ruins the super sleek look of the sleeve, but it also provides more space for accessories. Just something to keep in mind here – it’s not as sleek and high-end looking as the brand’s pure leather models, but if you’re going to stuff the front with chargers, cables, and whatever else from time-to-time, you’ll likely be happy there’s as much as there is.
And this sentiment more or less wraps up my overall thoughts of this MacBook sleeve. It looks good, I appreciate the recycled approach, and it definitely gets the job done, but it’s not nearly as impressive and sumptuous as the brand’s all-leather models and it’s actually more pricey than some of them. For my money, I’m going straight for the Slim Leather Folio Laptop Case No. 7 at $140 or the Slim Leather MacBook Sleeve Case at $114, but I’m also not the type to need any extra pockets or storage when it comes to laptop sleeves.
That said, the Harber London All-Rounder Laptop Sleeve is a high-quality, well-made piece of carry kit, one that features a more eco-conscious design, and yet still remains to rise above budget fabric models with the gorgeous leather strapping details.
Buy the Harber London All-Rounder MacBook Sleeve
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