with free shipping and volume discounts should you need more than two.
A typical soft-sided laptop case is not ideal for keeping your 13-inch MacBook free from dings and scratches in the great outdoors. The tough ABS plastic RhinoSkin used for the case’s body is, though. Plus, there’s cushy neoprene padding inside to prevent scratches and keep the notebook from shifting inside while you’re transporting it.
That extra bin on top (also lined with neoprene) has just enough room to store Apple’s power adapter and maybe a travel mouse and is easily removable should you not need to use it. It is, though, the only storage space you get, which makes the case more suited for use around the home or office or for short trips where you don’t need to carry a lot of other accessories.
If you’re prone to throwing your laptop into the backseat of your car, slamming it down on or into the occasional park bench or picnic table or just aren’t as gentle as you should be with your MacBook, the RhinoSkin is for you. That is, if you can get past a couple minor details.
The heavy plastic clips used to keep the case closed are strong and secure. However, they’re on the bottom piece of the case, so the clips just kind of flap around when the case is open. Had RhinoSkin put them on the top piece, the clips would have been out of the way. Certainly not a huge problem, just a minor annoyance. It’s more important that the clips are strong, which again, these are.
Each side of the case has a door that flips down for access to the optical drive on the right and ports on the left. It’s a small, thoughtful touch keeping you from having to lift your MacBook from the case to access those things.
Unfortunately, the doors are a thinner, less-sturdy plastic than the rest of the case and are held in place on the body by two little plastic nubbins that are nothing like the stronger hinges on the rest of the case. I accidentally popped one off during normal use. It’s a head-scratcher only because the rest of the case is so solid.
There are no handles on the case. Instead, RhinoSkin includes two straps that can be quickly attached letting you wear the case like a backpack. While I do occasionally enjoy dressing up like a Storm Trooper from Star Wars, I usually save it for the privacy of my home. Seriously though, I want to beat myself up and take my lunch money for wearing the case.
Still, like I said earlier, it’s solid, strong protection for your MacBook when you hit the park this spring/summer to get a little work done out of the cubicle and under the trees.