Customer Reviews

Brenthaven 2330101 15.4-Inch ProLite II Shoulder Case for Notebooks

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been racking my brains over which computer bag would be the best for me. I travel, make presentations, have an expensive new computer as well as the associated gadgetry. Among the bags I seriously considered are Booq- one of the most pricey but definitely the MOST stylish & well built, Brenthaven, of which all the reviews I've read are excellent, BBP- a smaller company with some compelling products, as well as many others. In the end I chose Brenthaven.

Pros: It's well designed, well crafted- though I would have made all the zippers the same, as 2 are not the tough type. It's VERY well padded, and professional in appearance. Has a pocket dedicated to separated documents- a nice touch. There's a pass through for rolling bags so it can sit on top of the bag, leaving the other hand free. It has a padded iPod pocket built in. One of the most important things is that it comes with a lifetime guarantee. To me, this means that the company males a lifelong commitment to every buyer and that's priceless.

Cons: Looks like a computer briefcase. VERY average looking, though some might find that a plus...The vast majority of their products are black bullestic nylon. No pass through grommet for iPod headphones, so you can't listen to your music as you carry it around. It is comfortable to either carry by hand or wear on the shoulder.

I believe in the product; not from reviews and/or testimonials, but from owning many bags, and seeing where this bag improves performance, where others simply didn't.

Prologue: Suffice it to say that each of our needs are individual, personal. This is a solid bag for my needs.

Specifically designed to accommodate a laptop up to 15 inches, Brenthaven's ProLite II is a solidly constructed, mostly well designed carrier bag. It comes with a shoulder strap, and is backed by Brenthaven's lifetime guarantee. There are no detailed photos of the various compartments in this bag at Brenthaven's website, so a brief overview may be helpful.

Brenthaven's approach is to internalize the storage areas, resulting in a sleek exterior. Construction is of ballistic nylon. The padding for the computer does add bulk, and the bag is solid, and hefty. With no computer inside, the bag is free standing, however with a computer and other gear loaded inside, the bag may have a tendency to tip over. Zippers are heavy duty, with large rubber pull tags. There are no provisions for locking any of the compartments, although for at least the computer compartment, it might be a good idea.

Running full length, at the bottom of the front face, is a three inch high compartment designed for computer power cords, mouse, and accessories. Above this is an eight inch high flip down compartment with mesh pockets and provisions for holding pens and other small objects. There is a protected pocket for a cell phone, and another for business cards. Finally, above the fold down compartment, is a five inch deep zippered internal compartment, designed for easy access to frequently used items. This is a good place for your phone, sunglasses, or a MP3 player and headphones

Next is the laptop compartment. There is padding at the bottom, and at all four sides of the compartment. There is no hold down strap inside, so a smaller computer could slide around inside. There is no padding at the top, so as unlikely as it may seem, if the top of the bag happens to impact something, there won't be much protection. Brenthaven could have done a better job here.

The next compartment has two rows of pockets on one side, for small items. There are two full length lateral dividers that create three separate compartments suitable for papers, books, magazines, files or other printed materials. It is a good design, but if you have larger bulky items in the pockets, they could wrinkle or damage your papers. Unfortunately, the case doesn't really have a space that is well suited for carrying larger items.

On the back side, is snap on band that detaches so the bag can be attached to a luggage carrier. Above the band is a zippered compartment that is suited for magazines, papers or other flat items.

Overall the bag is nicely designed and should meet the basic needs of most users. The protection and padding in the computer compartment could be improved, but other than that, there isn't too much to find fault with. It's just a matter of how well the bag accommodates your items.

I previously had a Brenthaven Professional 12 case, which was well-made, had plenty of room, and fit the 12" PowerBook like a glove. (It wrapped the laptop in a thickly padded sleeve that was Velcro'd to the side of the bag. The sleeve was so tightly fitted that even a 12" iBook wouldn't quite go in.) It did a great job of protecting its contents.

I was hoping for the same level of swaddling for my 15" MacBook Pro when I ordered this Brenthaven bag. The ProLite II is the closest match to the old Professional line. On the outside, it's the same, with a tough nylon exterior, thick zippers and solid handles. There are the same compartments for accessories, though there's less room since this obviously has to devote more space to holding the bigger laptop.

The actual laptop compartment is a bit of a disappointment. Instead of the tight-fitting sleeve, there are three flaps of padding sewn to the walls of the computer compartment. It should be adequate protection for most anything, but it leaves more room for movement than I'd like. Make sure you zip up the outer zipper all the way; that's the only thing that keeps the bag tight enough so that the laptop won't flop around. (My old Professional 12 could hold the laptop immobilized even if the zipper was all the way open.)

On the balance, the price for the newer case is quite a bit lower than I paid for the old one. It's not that this is a bad case; just that my old one was better.

I have been a lover of Brenthaven bags for a long time. They are expensive compared to the competition, but their stitch, zipper, and materials quality makes that worthwhile.

I have carried my last 3 laptops in Brenthaven bags and love them. I gave my first bag to my dad who has been useing it for 4 laptops now and it still looks new. My newest bag was purchased because I did not need the big bag from my Thinkpad for my new MacBook Pro... otherwise the old bag would still be in service.

This bag is awesome and serves my MacBook Pro very well. Great storage and enough extra storage fo the stuff you "need" to carry with a laptop. You won't be disappointed.

This is a great case with nice big zippers, as well as a lot of pockets for your stuff. Dedicated pockets for your charger as well as one that a 2.5" HDD fits into for a Time Machine backup drive. :) The place where the laptop goes has extra padding just for the computer. Keeps it nice and safe. If you are willing to spend 3 grand on a notebook, don't be cheep and buy a good case for it.

I purchased this after using a smaller Brenthaven case on a T400. While it is heavier than the previous Brenthaven, it snugly fits my W520 laptop even though the specs indicate it will not support a 15.6" laptop. YMMV with other 15.6 laptops. Good utilitarian functionality while being better and different than those other cases of similar cost.

This bag does a great job, it is well made and sturdy. I read other reviews and found a couple of them to be unfavorable. I feel the these reviews are unfounded. If you want a chic/stylish looking bag then by just looking at the picture you should know that this is not chic. This bag has all of the functionality that anyone could possibly want at the price it's being sold for. If you want more then go spend $300.00 for a laptop bag just to get extra bells and whistles. For me, this is great and the manufacture appears to be solid and concerned with pleasing its customers. I highly recommend it.

I have been using this bag for 7 months now and I absolutely love it! The construction is more solid than any other laptop bag I have handled. The pockets are easy to access and the zippers have never hung. I use this bag on a daily basis and have had it on numerous business trips yet the bag looks brand new. I have used it with a 15.4" dell and a 13" Macbook with equal success. I highly recommended this bag for anyone who wants a quality bag that is built to last.

I bought this to use with a 15.4" MacBook Pro about a year ago and use it 2-3 times a week on average. It has enough room to hold many accessories that I like to have along with me most of the time. I have been extremely pleased with it and hope that my future laptops will be the same size so I can keep using the same case. It looks very professional and is very well made. The shoulder strap is also nicely padded and quite comfortable. I don't have any complaints about it and highly recommend it for the 15.4" MBP or any other laptop that fits it.

I've had this bag only a week, and I'm already loving it. It is very well made and sturdy. The exterior material is ballistic nylon throughout, and it is thick and well padded, and helps the bag hold its shape whether empty or full. I've used other bags more flimsy that sag and flop when not full - it's really the contents that hold the bag in shape rather than the other way around.

The shoulder strap is padded well and has a non-slip surface so it doesn't slide on you. It is very comfortable to wear. The hooks are all metal, not plastic that tends to break after a year of use.

I am using it mainly to carry an IBM 15" Thinkpad with extended battery. There is some extra room on the sides, but the computer stays snug in its place. Even if it moves, or if I decide later to change to a smaller computer, the side padding is very thick and should protect the computer well. If you are paranoid about that, you can get a Duo II model which supposedly provides even more protection, but it is slightly heavier. For me, the Prolite II is more than sufficient.

What impresses me is that how much it holds despite its size and relatively light weight (3.6 lbs). I put a lot into it, including several large paper folders in the rear compartment, and a cell phone, a decent size computer mouse, a compact camera and a GPS in the front pocket. Add to that the laptop itself in the middle compartment, and a charger in the bottom pocket. Despite that, the bag still looks slim. Every compartment stays nice and straight as it should, and there is no bulging like I've seen in other bags.

I should mention two things that are OK with me, but I suppose could be changed for the better.

There are two compartments that open at the top, one for paperwork, magazines and folders, and another for the laptop. The first compartment has two zippers that open from left or right, but the laptop one has only one zipper that opens from right to left. It would be nicer to have two zippers for that too.

The second thing is that every compartment in this computer bag is zippered. There are bags made by other companies that close with a Velcro strip or a snap - which makes for faster access but is less secure. I don't have a strong preference either way.

Overall, I'd consider this an excellent computer bag, great-looking, extremely well made and very versatile. The lifetime warranty is a bonus but I doubt that I will need it.