I have to admit that it seems a little silly to review a laptop sleeve, given the ridiculous amount of gear I’ll be taking with me. But the truth is that I love this thing — it’s easily the best laptop protection I’ve ever owned. I intend to review or comment on the usefulness of all the gear I’ll be using at some point, so why not start with the little stuff?

I had a neoprene skin originally, but it didn’t seem to offer much protection — it felt like I was protecting my laptop with a cheap beer coozie. I considered going without a sleeve, but the MacBook’s aluminum case was so damn slippery that I found myself nearly dropping it while pulling it out of my bag. A little searching online led me to a 20% off discount code and I decided to take the plunge.

The Booq Vyper
wraps my MacBook in a stiff ballistic nylon case with 1/4″ of soft padding top and bottom. I recently spilled a cup of coffee on the table I was using and the Viper held my laptop safely above the mess. The cover also has 3 raised ridges top and bottom which increase the stiffness of the case. When doing heavy Photoshop work, I’ve noticed that as my laptop  started to warm up, the fans would gradually begin to scream. I now just place my Mac on top of the case and the ridges allow sufficient airflow to silence the fans within minutes.

The zippers don’t come in contact with the case (and scratch it), even though the case fits snugly — no shifting or sliding around. The Viper does increase the thickness of your laptop, but unless you’re trying to squeeze it into a really tight spot you won’t even notice it. I think I’ll add a bumper sticker to the top, so I can finally stop opening the damn thing upside down.

If you’re in the market for a new MacBook sleeve, I’d highly recommend giving the Viper a look.
Cost: $49.95 (you can find it cheaper) Link: Booq Vyper

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Rollover photos for details — weight, cost, etc.

Gear update here: link

There are still a few things I need to add to this, a rainjacket, clothing and small stuff — but this is the bulk of it. I hope to manage to keep it all under 45 pounds, which is still a lot to carry. On my previous trip to India, I was carrying about 65 pounds, so I am making some progress…

I’m taking a very basic camping setup — tent, sleeping bag and pad. In some countries, I won’t even bother with it but I think it will give me some flexibility and hopefully save me a few dollars here and there. I won’t bother with a cooking setup as I don’t plan to camp extensively. I can survive a night or two on cold food.

Not shown:  lightweight rain jacket, windproof fleece, Vasque boots, journal, backup hard drive, un-mentionables, and marching tuba.

Final List:

Arc’teryx Bora 95 Internal Pack
Waterproof pack cover
Timbuk2 Swig medium backpack
Marmot Hydrogen 30 sleeping bag
Thermarest Prolite 4 pad
Big Agnes SL1 tent, groundsheet
13” MacBook Pro w/ nylon case
Cables, chargers, extra laptop battery
500GB backup drive, wireless mouse
Canon EOS XSi w/ battery grip
Canon 55-250mm lens
Slik Sprint tripod
Canon PowerShot SD870 Elph
waterproof case for PowerShot
iPhone + backup battery
Flip MinoHD video recorder
Yamaha POCKETRAK 2G recorder
Nikon Monarch 8×42 binoculars
Vasque leather hiking boots
Nalgene bottle
Fleece jacket, rain jacket
Small medical kit
3 shirts, 2 pants, socks, shorts
Crushable wool hat, Keen sandals (sandals not included in pack weight)
Silk sleep sheet
Lonely Planet Thailand guide
Toiletry bag and beard trimmer
Leatherman Juice multi-tool
Stuff sacks and compression sack
Minimag flashlight
AA/AAA USB recharger, USB mini-hub
Duffel bag for checking bag