Well, after reading a lot of the posts here, and doing some research on my own, I decided to purchase a bag that no one here has really talked about. I was pleased with what a lot of folks suggested about looking into DVD player cases, because many of them were about the perfect size, so that’s where I started, and I do believe I have found just about _the_ perfect case for my TR, the Body Glove DVD Player Case.
Note: Honest Abe graciously agreed to stand in for the below photos to give the proper sense of scale.
Check it out, a front view:
The case is made of woven nylon and rubbery pleather-type stuff, with plastic zippers. As you can see, the case is on the small side, which is what I was looking for. I didn’t buy a sub-notebook just so I could carry it around in a full-size case. I really like the PCGA-CK5T semi-hard case from Sony, but it has two real problems for my use: No handles, and no room for the AC adapter (or anything else for that matter). Now, I realize it was only designed as a sleeve, but then we’re back to carrying the small laptop in a big bag again (incidentally, during my research, I ran across the Case Logic PDVN-1, which for $15-$17, CANNOT be beaten as an excellent sleeve for the TR, it perfectly fits inside the stretchy neoprene case, which also has small handles on top, but it’s only a sleeve). However, from time to time, I have need to take my laptop places, and being able to take the AC adapter, a network cable, my mini-mouse, and a couple other things is VERY nice, and I’m not a big fan of the Waterfield ‘piggyback’ solution. It’s fine for other folks, it’s just not my bag (heh).
So, before I rattle on too much more, the advantage I found in the Body Glove case was that it had a more typical laptop case arrangement, as can be seen from the top:
The bag has a nice large rear pocket, which comes with a padded velcro’d-in divider (which I rapidly discarded, because it was only going to get in my way). The pocket is basically a full-length compartment that’s, well, wait a minute, let me try something… yep sure enough, it’s just large enough to fit the TR fully inside the rear compartment. That gives you a good sense of what size it is. Here’s a picture with my AC adapter inside:
Back to the front side, though. In the first image above, the entire smaller area that you can see outlined in gray striping is a front pocket that unzips and folds down to reveal:
Spaces on the flap for 6 disks, plus a small web pocket (I guess you /could/ put a 7th disk in that web pocket, but I wouldn’t), and on the opposing side, a full-length web pocket with a velcro strip in the middle to hold it closed. This is a handy area up here, I can put my mini-mouse in this area, and eventually, I’m guessing some various discs.
The actual area designated for the dvd player fits the TR beautifully:
This area came with a chunk of velcro-in-place padding that my girlfriend wisely placed at the bottom of the case, so as to provide extra cushioning when the case is set down. I don’t yet have an extended-life battery for my TR (still hard to swallow the price, but I’ll get there), but I’m pretty sure it would fit in there, too. It might get a little extra snug, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Now, you ready for the part that really sold me on this bag?
Check out the side (picture unfortunately a little out of focus):
See that zipper in the middle that I’ve pulled down a little ways? It goes all the way around, so that you can do this:
Isn’t that cool? Well, okay, maybe I’m the only one that thinks that’s the coolest design for this application ever, but wow, it’s really neat. Now, you’re losing the rear compartment, so you can’t be taking your AC adapter or other miscellany with you any more, but it changes your footprint to this:
Essentially, a sleeve, with a handle on top, D-rings on the sides, the small pocket up front, and this slip pocket on the back (this slip pocket would normally be somewhat-tricky to get to when the two halves are together):
I hadn’t though of it before, but I did just try, and you /can/ put the AC adapter in that slip pocket, but it bulges quite a bit. There’s a strip of velcro in the middle to keep it closed, but it might not always stay that way with the AC adapter in there. Not my first choice, if I needed the AC adapter, I’d just use the full rear compartment.
It also comes with a shoulder strap (nothing to write home about, but hey, it’s a shoulder strap):
All-in-all, I think this is about the best solution, bar-none that I’ve seen for the tricky TR case issue. It’s comfortable, it’s easy-to-find (well, in the US, anyway, I don’t know how many Best Buy locations there are overseas, sorry folks), it seems extremely durable, and y’know a really great bonus?
$35. Yep. The equivalent from Waterfield will run you $92 before shipping, and it just has a flap over the top. This thing, since it all closes with zippers, I wouldn’t have any worries about in the rain. I wouldn’t want to go swimming with it or anything, but that’s not in the plans anyway.
No review would be complete without negatives… so let me see what I can come up with… The shoulder strap is blatantly average. The case is average-flat-black (but with gray highlights, so it could be worse). Since it is a case meant for a DVD player, it doesn’t have any of the nice little things that an actual laptop bag would have, like slots for pens or pencils (but I can and will fix that). I honestly can’t think of much else. This is exactly what I was looking for in a bag for my TR.
I purchased the Fellowes/Body Glove DVD Player Case at Best Buy (URL: http://snipurl.com/58co ), from the item page you can either purchase it or you can find it at the store nearest you.
