Design
The Impact Sleeve is meant to act as body armor for your laptop, and it stays true to that goal in its design, but it just doesn’t look good. The ballistic-nylon exterior is visually unappealing and feels rough. The gray-square pattern only makes the sleeve that much more dull and bulky. It has only one zipper for its one compartment, but it does have four attachment points on each corner, allowing you to turn the Impact Sleeve into a small backpack. It also has a handle on the back, near the zipper. While the sleeve is only meant to fit a laptop, I was able to shove my Galaxy S7 Edge, Attack on Titan wallet, Jackery portable charger and small bonded-leather notebook inside the Impact Sleeve and zip it up.
Durability & Comfort
The Medium Impact Sleeve measures 9 x 13.5 x 0.75 inches. While there are no 17-inch options available, Velomacchi offers a smaller, 10-inch tablet sleeve ($59) and a larger, 15-inch sleeve ($69). The exterior consists of 1680D ballistic nylon, which is stronger than your average neoprene sleeve, and soft microfiber stretch panels line the interior. The gray-square panels are quilted over a reinforced ballistic shell, and each surface is padded with polyethylene impact foam. Even the zipper, which is pretty sturdy, has impact plates stitched inside of it. What all those fancy words translate to is that this sleeve is pretty durable. We ran drop tests outside starting at 2 feet, which is representative of the average height the sleeve rests with the strap, and the laptop survived that drop without a dent. We pushed the height up to 4 feet, seeing as that would be the highest the sleeve and laptop could likely fall, and the laptop survived a flat, long and corner drop at that height. At 6 feet, the laptop pulled through on the flat and long drops but suffered some damage on the corner drop. While the chassis did take damage, the laptop still ran. Overall, this sleeve is incredibly durable for everyday use – just don’t go flinging it around. We did test the watertight reverse-bail YKK zipper against our powerful kitchen sink, and the water didn’t touch the papers inside the sleeve. It’s tight enough to withstand heavy rain, but the company states that “watertight” doesn’t mean the sleeve is submersible. We also stabbed it with a box cutter for fun and found no visible damage, but slicing it shredded the ballistic nylon. However, the blade did not break through the interior plating, so the laptop remained untouched. MORE: Laptops with the Best Overall Performance The Impact Sleeve is relatively comfortable. It’s just light enough that it won’t swing around while it’s at your side, though the strap can easily slide across your body. My favorite thing about the strap is the adjustable cam; the way it glides up and down is simple and convenient for travel. The handle, however, is in an awkward position and irritates my knuckles when I attempt to carry the sleeve that way.
Bottom Line
The Velomacchi Impact Sleeve is strong, comfortable and handy for travel. It’s a great laptop sleeve that’s pretty affordable; the only downsides are its rugged-looking exterior, the weird handle and the unfortunate exclusion of 17-inch laptop users. If you simply need a safe container to throw your laptop in, not to mention other small electronic devices, the Impact Sleeve is a great deal for $64. Credit: Laptop Mag
