Skooba Skin 1415 Laptop Bag Review

Aug 29 2007, 12:00am CDT | by Shane McGlaun

If you work on the road you are very familiar with the need to protect your laptop from accidental damage. I also know from experience that sometimes all you want is a simple sleeve to protect your notebook, no frills or extras. Today we are going to take a look at a product from Skooba Design called the Skooba Skin that now comes in a blank canvas color allowing you to decorate the bag yourself.

Gallery

6 images

Benchmarks

Features & Specifications
If you have never heard of Skooba Design, you may have heard of RoadWired, which was the same company until a recent name change. The same bag designs are available from Skooba Designs that RoadWired carried. The Skooba Skin we are taking a look at here is the 1415 medium sized version designed to fit most 15” laptops. If you have smaller ultra-portable you can get a Skooba Micro sized for 10” to 12” notebooks. There is also small size for larger framed 10” to 12” notebooks, and a large size for 16” to 17” notebooks.

Unlike some of the other laptop bags I have looked at in the last few months, the Skooba Skin 1415 is a minimalist design that has not one single pocket for anything other than your notebook. There is no room for extra batteries, wires, AC adapters or anything. The bag has foam padding on the bottom and sides to protect your notebook. The Skooba Skin 1415 measures 14.25” L x 10.5” H x 1.75” W.

There are several color options available for the Skooba Skin 1415 including silver with orange lining, black ballistic with blue lining, blue ultra suede with blue lining, red/black rip stop with gray lining, olive ballistic with red lining, brown corduroy with teal lining, pink vinyl with black lining, and the unfinished canvas with red lining I am reviewing here.

Skooba Design recommends markers, paints, airbrush, glues, anything intended for fabric for customizing the canvas bag. You can’t use heat because it might melt the foam lining of the bag, so no iron on transfers.

Using the Skooba Skin
The Skooba Skin 1415 is well built from heavy-duty materials that should last a long time. The interior of my review bag has good visibility thanks to the red color. Some of the other bag colors may have less visibility inside because of the dark colors used.

The Skooba Skin 1415 has two methods of use, a pair of built-in handles can be used to carry the sleeve, or one of the handles can be folded inside the bag and the other Velcro’s to the outside of the bag making a simple sleeve to slip inside another bag or backpack for laptop protection. To my eyes the curve and design of the bag is a bit feminine when the handles are used, so if you are a manly man you might want to consider that before you buy.

The Skooba Skin 1415 was slightly too small for my Acer TravelMate 4404 WLMi 15.4” notebook. I could get it inside the bag, but the outer flap wouldn’t close correctly. Like I said before this is the minimalist laptop bag, once the computer is inside there is no room for anything else. This bag is ideal for those only wanting to travel with their notebook or for someone using a larger backpack that wants extra protection for their notebook.

Verdict

Conclusion

Pros

Customizable design
Well built

Cons

No room for accessories
Make a mistake decorating and you are stuck with it

Verdict
If all you want is protection for you notebook and you don’t need no stinking accessories, the Skooba Skin 1415 is for you. It is also a great way to add protection for your notebook inside a suitcase or larger backpack. If you need to take a few other items with you and you only want one bag, you will want to buy something larger than the Skooba Skin 1415

7.5

where to buy

Buy from Amazon

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Shane McGlaun
Leading our review center, Shane knows technology inside out. His extensive experience in testing computer hardware and consumer electronics enable him to effectively qualify new products and trends. If you want us review your product, please contact Shane.
Shane can be contacted directly at shane@i4u.com.