Product: Shoreline Greensmart Laptop Jacket 15.4”
MSRP: $39
Supplier: Kolobags
Author: Cameron (aliencam)
Date: 11/25/08

Kolobags (based in LA, California) produces and sells many different styles of designer laptop bags. While many of the upper end bags they sell may be expensive, they do have bags for every price range, and all of them are very unique. The bag I got to review was the Shoreline Greensmart Laptop Jacket 15.4”, in black and green. The cost of the bag is $39, which is about $10 more than a laptop sleeve, but this bag has a few pockets, and there are not many comparable products, so I this price is reasonable. I love the colours on this bag, the black and neon green scheme is my favorite, and the sleeve green accents are not overpowering as the inside (which is all green) is going to be covered by a laptop most of the time.

This bag is good for keeping a  laptop and a few accessories together. The bag has four pockets, one for the laptop, one zippered pocket on the side sufficient for holding a few papers, and two more beneath the handles that can hold a few small things each. These two side pockets have very small openings, but they do work great for holding things like the power cord and cds and similar, and if using the included detachable shoulder strap, the handles can be tucked into these pockets and hidden. The zippered pocket cannot hold very many papers, but probably enough to get through a day.

The main pocket for the laptop is very interesting. The pocket opens up flat, and in the four corners it has thin elastic bands. These will hold your laptop at the corners like a photo album holds pictures. The bag is meant to open up and keep your laptop inside, and it fit the 15.4” Compaq laptop tested in there very well. This function is great for light use, but I would not recommend it for long-term use or under high CPU loads, as it does cover up the fan vents and will heat up a laptop somewhat. Because you can’t open the bag very far without the elastic bands pulling on the screen, this bag works best for laptops that use a magnetic type latch, as most Apple laptops do, and many new laptops of other brands. However, it is simply an inconvenience, not a problem if the laptop in the bag is a regular latch type.

Another feature of the bag is a small zippered opening on the back of the bag. This allows for access to ports, if the laptop has it’s ports on the back, without removing the laptop from the jacket. It could be useful, but the laptop that the bag was tested with did not have any ports in the back.

Finally, the main advertised aspect of this bag is that it is made completely from recycled materials. This line of laptop bags is made from recycled PET bottles, and this particular 15.4” bag’s label says that 17 16oz bottles were used to make the bag. It is great to see that bags like this can be made of recycled materials without sacrificing build quality, or charging more than bags made of other materials.

Overall this is a great bag for people who don’t want to carry around a large laptop bag, but need more than a tight sleeve on their computer. The entire bag weighs less than 1 lb, and goes not take up too much space, I was able to fit the laptop and bag inside my regular backpack comfortably. The inside has a very soft texture, which is important for laptops with the now popular mirrored or gloss finishes on the case.

Pros:

• recycled material

• don’t have to remove the laptop from the bag to use it

• great colours

• strong-looking stitching and nice heavy zipper pulls

Cons:

• laptop might get hot during use

• Side pockets are useless for most non-laptop use

Links:

http://kolobags.com/product.php?productid=848 Product page

http://kolobags.com/ Kolobags homepage

http://www.act2greensmart.com/ For more information about the recycled product use

Tags: act2, Greensmart, Kolobags, Laptop, Laptop Bags, Laptop Jacket, Maximum CPU, Review, Shoreline