Review: Vanguard Hardcase

Hi everyone! I just wanted to review the Vanguard Hard case I bought a few weeks ago.

First off they have different lengths and depths of the case. They have one up to 17"

Their Website

These cases are made in the USA!

I have the 17" with a 4" depth, at approx 4.5lbs in weight. It's the discovery series. The case is made out of aluminum and looks like a briefcase. The handle is completely made out of plastic and is chrome with a little bit of black on the grip. The black part is made out of a soft plastic so it doesn't hurt your hand when carrying a lot of weight inside. It has two lockable latches that seem to be quality built. They are very smooth latching and are made out of steel with a chrome finish for looks.





The hinges on the back are made out plastic. IMO, I would prefer metal for extra strength.



There is a shoulder strap for easier carry. It just snaps on quickly by pulling that tab up and then push it down once over the peg. I personally throw mine inside until I need it.



Now for the inside, we have well made Velcro strap to restrain the laptop while inside. The bottom has some bumps which I believe secure the laptop tighter and absorb shock, but I'm not for sure. They feel cool and squishy!



Also Included are two dividers that Velcro to the inside to dived the compartment. They are made out of a soft felt which are nice to the touch. This is useful if you have a smaller laptop but personally I put mine on the sides to give the laptop more protection. With my G50, the dividers make the laptop fit snug without any sliding around.



Inside on the top of the case, we have storage for all kinds of stuff. There are some pouches of different size which I use for some cables/adapters. In the back is a pouch that can be used to hold documents or other items, I use mine to hold the AC adapter.



Finally we have the inside hinges. These hinges are typically found in all hard cases and can break/bend if not used properly. You can lock open the lid if there is something weighing it down by pushing on the hinge. You must pull the hinge slightly to unlock it, then continue to pull the lid down.




Overall if you have the money to spend, this is one very nice investment for your laptop. Although I don't expect it to keep out someone that steals the whole case, it will keep out unwanted guest in an office situation, etc. It will take a beating if you travel a lot and find that a soft bag just isn't protective enough. It's very spacious on the inside but I wouldn't recommend going any lower in depth if you have lots of accessories/stuff like me. With my case loaded up with all my gear, it will just barely close, but it does without any pressure on my laptop.

 

Looks interesting - although I've kind of moved away from that sort of case: I was all-Halliburton in the 90's. I do like the look though.

How is the case made? (in terms of process / materials) Do they say? Also - Weight?

 

What is the price of that case?

 

Wow, that's a pretty serious case. Has to be $100+

 

I'm not sure how it's made but I do know they are made in the USA and I listed the material types in the review. The weight on this case is about 4.5lbs. I also added a link to their website at the beginning of the post.

I paid about $68, I saw them on amazon for about the same price.

 

Missed the weight in your review if it was there before, sorry.

I have a Halliburton case (collecting dust) with almost exactly the same dimensions and it weighs ~8lbs.

(The current equivalent is this one)

I was wondering if cold-rolling for strength actually worth buying an aluminium case for had filtered down to lower prices. Given the weight of your case and the very similar interior layout, probably not.

 

Hmm, my guess is that this is a reasonably cheaply made product - I wouldn't be surprised if the hinges wear out after abotu 1 year - I had a briefcase once in the same price segment... - that's what happened - apart from the fact that I overstressed the woode frame too much... moved to a different case (on which I wore out the handle) and used a Messenger bag since then (2 years and all is well so far)

An expensive company to look at for durable cases is Rimowa - I was considering having a look at those (about 300€+ from the briefcases onwards) but then found other expenditures (Röde Videomic, Spyder3 Pro - planning on a HomeServer) - so no Rimowa case for me anytime soon.

Edit:
With hinges I don't mean the plastic part - but the metal pieces that keep the case from falling shut.

 

Still though, this case does look very nice, and the weight doesn't add too much to the overall portage. Although if the weight is actually correct, this isn't made - and neither is the aluminium treated - in a way that results in a durable case such as e.g. Zero or for that matter, a Rimowa.

 

No, I made an edit with the weight to included it in the main post. Well I can not vouch for their quality because I've never owned any of their products. Retail on this case was supposed to be $199.99 from where I got it from. It was on a closeout price for $68 from $119, but this is a wholesale place. I use the case everyday so I'll post any problems I have in the future here.

DetlevCM might be right about the hinges wearing out but I'm not sure how long it will take. There is another case with identical hinges at my work place that took about 8-10 years for them to wear out I believe.

 

Do keep us posted on what it looks like after a while. My Zero's have kept their shape despite being tossed around, but the penalty of the considerably more lightweight case in your instance would be lower durability. Would be interesting to see how it reacts to drops and the odd accidental smash.