VAIO Z Sleeves, bags and cases thread

I have used Zeroshock case before, and I would highly recommended it to you. Once I dropped my Asus notebook from holding it, and amazingly nothing was broken. it's cushiony yet somehow kind of rigid.

 

yah already ordered it should be coming soon

 

i love timbuk2 bags... have a larger messenger-style one. overkill for my z, but i can fit a lot of other crap in it too (like books, powerbrick, knife, etc.).

the coder looks like a good fit, but a little bulky no?

 

In person, it actually looks much smaller and less bulky. A lot of the extra thickness comes from the padding of the case as well, which is important to me, as I'll usually have several text books in my bag as well. I noticed, if anyone is interested, that it is on sale right now at backcountry.

I suppose a sleeve would have been much thinner, but I was looking for something a little bit more substantial, with handles, messenger strap, and more padding. For my last laptop, I had a really thin, semi-hard sleeve by booq ( http://www.booqbags.com/s.nl/it.A/id.65/.f ), but I never really liked it very much. Although it was semi-hard, there was almost no padding on it, so I couldn't just throw it in my bag. With this Timbuk2 bag, it is so much easier to just throw it in my backpack, worry free. Also, I can carry it around campus and between classes, without having to bring my backpack everywhere.

 

Yeah, Timbuk2 messenger bags are great, I had one too, awhile back, which is why I know their quality is very good. If only their price was a little lower

For those who are looking for a larger bag, you can actually customize a messenger bag to your liking on their website.

 

yah, not the cheapest stuff... i paid $100 at rei for mine! but i figure that's the last messenger bag i have to get.

i also have a couple manhattan portage bags, which i like. one of them is a standard messenger bag, one is meant for laptops. they're both good, more subdued styling than the timbuk2, and not as functional (less useful pockets and a bit more basic).. but good nonetheless. the advantage of the MH laptop bag is that you'd look at it and never think there's a laptop in it, especially with a low-volume notebook like the z.

 

WaterField is the only brand of sleeve and cases that I would buy. Been using them everyday for years now and the sleeve still looks new. The outer shell is made of ballistic nylon and the inside a shock resistant neoprene. I highly recommend them to any looking for a sleeve or bag. Can't find your size? They will make a custom one for you so it is guarantee to be perfect every time. They also have the best customer service by a long shot.

 

My wrappers.typepad sleeve arrived in Red Alcantara. Fits like a glove, seems to be well made, and smells like a new car which is a bonus.

For anybody that wants a basic sleeve thats also pretty stylish this isn't a bad choice at all.No extra pockets, handles etc, but that was what I was after as it was a secondary sleeve to be put inside my existing crumpler sleeve.
(to reduce movement when in my bag and provide a bit of extra protection.)

 

I felt the same as you until I got to the airport a few times with a Waterfield Sleevecase. Since it is a very tight fit, it was not simple to slide the Thinkpad I had in and out of the sleeve. Eventually, the top part of the Sleevecase started getting quite a bit wrinkled. I decided that it was more trouble than it was worth and sold it as used. I also bought some other Waterfield cases, one for an iPod nano, and found them, honestly to be quite ugly. I ended up throwing the nano case away.

I had the sleevecase, flap, piggypack and suspension strap. Once you put it all together, it is a somewhat cumbersome setup for what is supposed to be a "minimalist" setup, IMHO.

The people at Waterfield are truly the best, I will say that.

These are very nicely sown together sleeves from Waterfield, but the fact that they make them fit like a glove to the notebook make them eventually a pain to get the notebook in and out of it. The neoprene and the ballistic nylon starts to buckle after a short while. If you are getting one, don't get one that is spec'd down to the last 1/8" to be the size for your notebook. Get it at least 1/4" larger than the minimum size.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Since I did not get any definite answers from another thread. I wonder if the Z will fit in a Pelican 1080? Any of you folks tried putting your Z into one of these?

http://www.casesbypelican.com/app-1080.htm

 

I have a waterfield laptop bag but I'm getting the zeroshock laptop sleeve

 

Does anyone have any pictures of the Z in the bag from:

http://wrappers.typepad.com/ipod/11_inch_sony_vaio_tz_sleeves/

Also, how's the zeroshock going for people? I saw that someone posted a few pictures of the zeroshock on here before.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Official-Sony-V...0282801QQcmdZViewItem?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

I use that for my TZ during the last year. It was nice, and I liked it, but I want to get something that looks more sleek and attractive than the purplish lines.

I'm considering either the case from wrappers (either alcantara or the waterproof one, not sure which), zeroshock, or the tuscano second sleeve:

any recommendations or input? i also had a cooskin keyboard cover for my TZ, does anyone know if they make anything like that for the Z yet?

 

I wouldn't discount the Sony vgp-ckz1 from your shortlist. It looks very smart, fits nicely and provides a little more protection than a simple sleeve IMHO.

 

I wouldn't recommend purchasing it to use as your only sleeve though. I use it purely as a sleeve to fit inside a secondary memory foam sleeve as the protection it offers isn't sufficient enough to be used on its own to be honest.



Looks nice though.

 

I also just bought My VGP-CKZ1 (aka 'VAIO Smart Protection slip case').

Not cheap at all, thats Sony for you.

Could have been nice if they included it with the laptop.

 

I use the VGP-MBL10/B, which looks a little girly, but it protects my vaio, and I can carry my AC adapter and SQL book in it

I don't use the little purse though. Too girly.

 

O yeah, forgot to list the VGP-CKZ1. It seems really nice, but overpriced. Is it worth the $$$ it costs? The leather seems nice, but does it seem like it'll do a good job of protecting the laptop from pressure/force (I'm sure it'd be sturdier than the second sleeve or the wrapper though).

ringmasta, what second memory foam case do you use? I'm most likely going to just carry this around in my backpack as well. I don't carry too many books around and the VGP-CP22's equivalent for the TZ was all I needed in protection for my TZ.

I want to keep thickness to a minimum and protection to a maximum if possible

 

The VGP-CKZ1 seems to provide good protection. It has some kind of rigid material on the front and back sides to give a little bit more protection from pressure from other objects in a briefcase or whatever... but that said, it's not a hardcase in that you wouldn't want to press particularly hard on it like you could with e.g. a Peli hard case...

I'm happy with my VGP-CKZ1, but I still use a protective cloth between the keyboard and screen, and I try to be careful with the Z whether it's in the case or not.

As for whether it's worth the $$$, that's a personal opinion. I reckon without the Sony badge, nobody would buy the CKZ1 for that kind of money. It's not that it's bad - it's just that it's expensive for what it is, IMHO.

 

I too use a protective cloth between the sceen and keyboard. The laptop squeezes in quiet tightly in the VGP-CKZ1.

When i returned my Dell Xps, i kept the cloths and thats folded in half covers the whole keyboard and doesnt overlap anything.

 

I agree with the protective cloth. You can NEVER be too safe with these laptops haha. Especially with the investment you put into them. The TZ had an issue with the keyboard making imprints on the screen as well as the webcam getting scratched so I ordered a custom shaggy mac cloth. I have one on the way for my Z too :]

The VGP-CKZ1 does look the nicest out of every other case though. It matches the Z really well. Do you find that it's really thick? Or does it make the laptop bulkier than it should be when placed in a messenger bag or backpack?

I stopped by my school bookstore today to check out the cases they had, and the second sleeve doesn't seem too great, so I'm thinking about either the Zeroshock or VGP-CKZ1 now. Or maybe the one from wrappers with another case.

I'm so picky when it comes to my laptops haha :]

 

The VGP-CKZ1 does add quite a bit of thickness, but it's quite well padded too. There are no gaps like with standard 13" cases, because it's custom made for the Z.

 

Do you have any pictures by any chance? Or does anybody have any pictures of the Z with the VGP-CKZ1?

 

I use the removable internal sleeve that came with my crumpler 'Sheep Scarer' bag. It doesn't fit the Z particularly well as i bought it for my SZ a while back, that was the reason for my wrappers.typepad sleeve purchase.

I can also vouch for the utility of the screen protector cloth. Bought a shaggymac microfibre cloth when i realised my Z was suffering keyboard imprints while in my bag. Since then my screen has been crystal clear.

 

I'll try and take some pics of mine this weekend.

 

I have a separate case logic laptop bag for simply transporting my laptop in long car rides or flights from socal norcal, but in regards to a case or sleeve for transporting it around in my backpack around school from class to class, should i go for the zeroshock, vgp-ckz1, or wrapper?

 

See here: http://www.ecat.sony.co.jp/vaio/acc/acc.cfm?PD=31690

and look about halfway down the page here: http://kunkoku.blog.so-net.ne.jp/2008-10-13

I just got the VGP-CKZ1 by mail 2 days ago but am awaiting delivery of my laptop. I had the similar case for my former SZ670 and found it to be good protection, if not a little bit bulky, in my backpack.

 

I'm still in between. I need some really protective sleeve/bag
to put in my handbag, which is all soft...it means that everytime I put my handbag somewhere, it directly hits the notebook now.

For now I like the WaterField bag the most, but I'm asking if someone can compare, which one is the most protective? WaterField, ZeroShock (personally I don't like the way it's opening) or the VGP-CKZ1 one?

 

Metsn - I also have a soft handbag (a Jost leather messenger bag) and the VGP-CKZ1 provides good protection. It's also pretty easy to open the (magnetic) flap and remove/replace the laptop without taking the Sony slip case out of the messenger bag, which I like.

This may also be the case for the Waterfield and Zeroshock cases, though... I haven't seen or tried those personally.

 

It's a pity I can't give you rep right now..thanks for the answer ,) Hope for answer from someone with WaterField one as well,,,

 

i have a waterfield what do you want do you want to know about?

 

How solid is it against being hit from all sides, mainly from down..?..as my bag doesn't have hard down side. Which one do you think will give to laptop better protection...original Sony one or VF? (as I already heard about one Z smashed in the Smart protection). Plus one more question, how noisy is to open the VF bag (in that case is Sony one with magnet probably better). I'm searching for the best protection for Z, don't care about how bulky it'll be, just want it to be possible to take out the laptop itself without taking the sleeve out from the messenger bag....

Thanks

 

Bump...Anyone?

 

My sleeves from wrappers.typepad.com for the Z finally arrived.

Very lightweight, perfect fit and neat workmanship. Love them!

 

Wahey, you bought two? How come?

That last pic made me realise what that little flap is for.

 

couldn't decide which color to buy

little flap: haha, same here. i wondered what it was good for and then accidentally read at wrappers' site: "All sleeves feature a low profile internal pocket that secures your notebook inside the sleeve without using velcro or hard closures like zips."

ahhhh!

 

They're pretty well made aren't they.
Out of interest are you using it as your primary sleeve?

 

I'll primarily use them as scratch protection inside a messenger-bag since most of the time I also need to carry accessories.

 

those look REALLY good, but costs a lot...

 

Does anyone have any suggestion on stylish and thin sleeves for the Z series?

Preferably thin leather or suede jackets custom fit for the Z series?

No ugly bags please

 

I use the Sony Vaio Z Slip Case (VGP-CKZ1). I really like it. It's well padded so not the thinnest of sleeves, but seems sturdy enough to provide decent protection inside a messenger bag or whatever. There's more opinions on this and some pics of the custom Z sleeves made by Wrappers in the thread regarding sleeves and cases for the Z (use the search).

 

I got the black manila ripstop for the Z from Wrappers!
Its really nice =)

But you need some patience mine took like 21 days from day of ordering to the delivery. But that seems to be normal cause its not a big business...

 

Does anyone have the VGP-CVZ1
VAIO® Z Series Leather Notebook Cover?

or

VGP-CKZ2?

Does anyone have pictures of these two with the Z?

 

There is a small picture a few pages back:

forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3894218&postcount=62

 

I personally went with a Zeroshock III case. They look nice to me, and the durability is a huge factor for me. Objects in backpacks/bags and me... just don't mix. EVER.

 

Anyone have this cover? I like the look of it a lot, but I searched around a little and it says the cover has some adhesive that attaches to the case of the vaio z. How is this done? And does this mean the cover is to be on at all time?

I wanted the cover for when I place it in the bag. When I take it out, I wanna take it off =/

Also, anyone know where to buy that "remote" thingy in that pic?

 

Here's one opinion of the leather cover.

Keep in mind this is a cover, not a case, and it is meant to be kept on. If you want stylish protection, I'd go for VGP-CKZ2.

 

Google is your friend on the first page for vgp-cvz1:

conics.net/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=274

 

mm i actually saw that page prior to posting. oh well. it would have been perfect had it been a removable case instead of an attached cover.

Now.. anyone has pictures of their Z inside the VGP-CKZ2? I looked around a lil and can only find pictures of the case alone, which doesn't show how it'd look with the laptop inside lol

thanks in advance

 

I have the CKZ1: it has velcro patches on the bottom that the stick to the underside of the notebook. The lid portion attaches via some infinitely re-stickable gel pads (as long as they are clean - similar to Glad-wrap).

Generally, it is designed such that you won't want to put it on/ pull it off every day. You can easily un velcro the bottom only if you want to use a docking station, but it will be a little awkward.

I like this case a lot because it is a very light solution considering I subsequently throw my notebook on the car seat or in a satchel/briefcase/travel bag (so no full cover case necessary).

I also like it because I can carry around the notebook with other books/folders stacked on top and under my arm without scratching the lid. Essentially, once you put the leather case on you can treat your notebook a bit rougher, it's a very light solution, and it's great because you can open up the screen without having to remove the notebook.

Anyway, this solution will only suit some people depending on their usage habits. But for those people it offers a great functionality.

Hope it helps.

 

I had VGP-CKZ2 for my Z.It fit with Z like a glove. I loved it.