These days, laptops are much more affordable than they used to be.
There are also lots of vendors who are producing and selling them.
Hence the reason why so many people have them. However, do laptop sleeves protect your laptop?
The simple is a resounding YES! It does.
Some people want to have an extra layer of protection inside their bags. Rather than relying on the laptop padding section, you may need to put your laptop into a sleeve first before carrying it inside the laptop bag.
Making sure that they are protected is essential, and this is where laptop sleeves are handy.
What Is a Laptop Sleeve?
In the most basic terms, a laptop sleeve fits over your laptop to protect from dust, debris, and general handling.
Of course, laptops come in different sizes, and so do laptop sleeves.
They also come in different materials, so choosing one is going to be an entirely personal choice based on several factors, including:
- How big is your laptop?
- What color and style do you want?
- How protective do you need it to be?
There are even smaller sleeves to protect tablets and notebooks, so there’s a vast range of choice out there, and to consider some of the requirements before plunking down the money to buy one.
Different Materials of Laptop Sleeves
If you’re in the market for a laptop sleeve, the first thing you’ll notice is how many different materials are used in their construction.
So, how should you make a choice? Does it make any difference?
Here are some of the most common materials used in laptop sleeves and some of their main properties:
Plastic
Many of the less expensive laptop sleeves are made from various grades of plastic. It’s common, inexpensive to manufacture, and used just about everywhere.
It’s also useful for keeping out any fluids that might be spilled accidentally.
If you’re carrying your laptop sleeve on rainy days, you have some immediate outer protection against the damage to the laptop itself.
Bear in mind that there is a hard and soft plastic casing, so it depends on your requirements.
Polyester
This material is used extensively in clothing manufacture but sees plenty of use in laptop sleeves.
Nylon
The tight mesh of nylon is excellent at keeping out dust and debris, and it can also help to protect against light rainfall.
Microfiber
A relatively new material, microfiber, is much like nylon in that it is composed of a tight mesh.
Neoprene is a kind of microfiber that has elastic properties, making it ideal for stretching snugly over laptops, notebooks, and tablets.
Microfiber material is excellent at keeping out dust and clean your laptop.
How Do Laptop Sleeves Protect Your Device?
If you’ve invested significant money into your new laptop, you need to protect it.
When you carry your laptop around with you, it’s exposed to dust, debris, fluids, and possible falls.
All of this can damage your investment.
So, do laptop sleeves protect your expensive device? Is buying a laptop sleeve really worth it?
1. No More Scratches
Some people may not worry too much about scratches and dings on their laptops, but it’s always better to protect them.
If you’re riding a bike to work with a bike messenger bag, you should get one because most of the messenger bag doesn’t have a padded laptop compartment.
At the very least, minimizing the scratches will retain some possible sales value, should you ever decide to upgrade later on.
All of the laptop sleeves will protect against minor scratches, whether they are made of plastic, nylon, microfiber, or polyester.
For many people, this is the key reason why they invest in a laptop sleeve, so just about any sleeve will do in these cases.
What most of these soft laptop sleeves will not do is protect from falls. If you’re worried about it falling from a height, it’s probably best to invest a little more into a hard plastic casing.
These durable laptop sleeves are often military in style, and some of them have been rated to protect a laptop from significant damage from specific heights.
These are ideal if safety and security are your number one concern and you operate the device in a rugged environment.
2. Keep the Dust Away
When it comes to sophisticated electronic devices, dust is the enemy.
When dust gets into USB ports and other areas, it can cause issues, including heat build-up.
This is the last thing you want when you’ve spent significant money on your device.
One thing that many people do is use a laptop during the day, switch it off, and then leave it for use the next day.
This means that dust and other debris will simply build up over time.
Whether you’re using your laptop at work, at home, or out and about, a laptop sleeve is the best way to protect it from dust and debris.
3. No More Bumps
We never set out to damage a laptop, but sometimes accidents do happen.
If you use your laptop outdoors or in a rugged environment where accidents are not uncommon; investing in a hard laptop case is probably the best decision.
It’s not uncommon for bumps and bangs to happen. So having a sleeve covering your laptop as you’re carrying it around is some guarantee against too much physical damage.
It will protect against scuffs, scratches, and dings. Just make sure that the laptop sleeve that you buy is fit for your requirements.
Invest in a hard plastic sleeve if you’re in a situation where severe fall damage is more likely to occur.
4. Keep the Water Out
If dust is the enemy of any laptop, water and other fluids are the biggest enemies of all.
Anyone who has spilled coffee over their laptop keyboard can attest to the fact that it’s rarely a good thing.
Though many laptop devices are made to withstand some spillage on the keyboard, you’ll certainly want to minimize any of this.
If you use your laptop out on the road, investing in a plastic sleeve will mean that it will be safe from any sudden rainstorm.
There are even laptop sleeves that have been specifically made to be submerged underwater and keep the contents dry as a bone.
5. Keeping it Clean
You don’t want to have to wipe down your laptop every other day because it’s dusty from being in an industrial environment. You want to ensure that it’s kept as clean as possible.
A laptop sleeve will protect and keep your investment clean. It may even mean that you can resell it in the future when you upgrade.
The Best Way to Protect Your Investment
It doesn’t matter whether you’ve purchased it yourself or if your workplace has given it to you, a laptop is an investment.
You need to be able to use it optimally every single day, so it makes good sense to make sure that it’s protected.
Doing otherwise would mean opening it up to dust, debris, water and other liquids, and damage.
Decide on Your Requirements
There are lots of laptop sleeves on the market today, especially given the fact that laptops, notebooks, and tablets are very popular with people.
Before purchasing a laptop sleeve, you need to ask yourself these questions:
- In what kind of environment do I use my laptop the most?
- Is my laptop susceptible to being damaged due to an accidental fall?
- Am I planning to sell my laptop at a later date?
By answering these questions, you’ll get a good idea of your requirements.
For example, if you frequently go into rugged environments where damage is possible, you’ll want to invest in a hard plastic sleeve.
It is because that hard case plastic sleeve offers waterproofing and extra protection against falling damage.
If you tend to use your laptop at home without taking it anywhere rugged, you might be wiser to get a polyester, nylon, or microfiber case.
The hard cases may offer more protection overall, but they also tend to be much more expensive. Being aware of your requirements and needs is the key to making the right decision.
How Much Should You Spend?
You may be tempted to get the best laptop bag for your laptop but you need to consider your budget. A laptop sleeve is probably the cheapest type of laptop bag you can get.
There’s a pretty wide range of prices when it comes to laptop sleeves, but obviously, the quality is not all equal.
Indeed, if you’re looking for a sleeve with an excellent design and one that will do the basics of keeping out dust, there are plenty of options from which to choose.
Many of them are inexpensive.
If you’re at the other end and you need a hard laptop case that is rated to protect it from falls, you need to expect to pay more. The good news here is that there are lots of online stores.
Laptop sleeves are available at lots of places, so there should be no barrier to finding something suitable for your needs.
Final Thoughts
If you’re not sure whether to do laptop sleeves protect or not, you should always keep your laptop safe. It is not cheap and very sensitive to damage.
Protecting your laptop is always a good idea. It will not only retain its value, but it will also be cleaner and have a longer life.
