They’re billed as “alternative fashion,” but Idea Vault’s new $40 Huzzk MacBook and MacBook Pro cases – sometimes called Huzzk Sleevies or Huzzk Skins – are far more mainstream than that tagline would suggest. The first thing you’ll notice on opening the package is the strong rubber smell, attributable to a thick layer of water-resistant rubber on each design. Then you’ll see the patterns and textures: the so-called GT Series looks like a tire (recalling the Solio Treads), while Hana has Asian-styled, silhouetted plants, Spots looks a bit like an oversized Lego, and Wave has wavy lines.
Colors aside, all of the rubber surfaces have actual depth, save for the mildly etched Hana, and the cases have black 4mm neoprene interiors, with elastic that attaches to the corners of the top and bottom halves of each MacBook.
Once the rubber smell had worn off, our resident case reviewer Christina weighed in with an unusually positive comment: she really liked how these cases looked, relative to the many others she’s checked out recently for MacBooks. The orange Spots version is on her MacBook right now, and like the others, it’s black-edged with a double zipper.
These zippers come together with a central hole you can padlock, assuming you buy one. And a simple little nylon multi-purpose pouch comes with each of the Huzzk cases, large enough to toss an iPod or cell phone inside, with a drawstring to keep the pouch mostly closed, and a keychain-sized rear loop that doesn’t attach to anything in particular on the case.
The Huzzk cases are floating around on eBay now, and apparently in search of U.S.
