OtterBox Medium Laptop Case product reviews

I was lucky enough to win a trip to a Club Med through work recently, and knowing how I hate to be disconnected, even in the midst of such a hedonistic pleasure spot as a semi-tropical island with a luxury resort, I had to take my laptop along. Because of the new stricter baggage rules I had to forgo the pleasure of working on my articles in-flight and had to fit the laptop into my main check-in luggage.
This wasn't so bad, but it did mean my carry-on bag was a little overstuffed, but I was allowed to get away with being 760g over the baggage weight restriction without penalty. But having seen some baggage coming out the other end of a flight looking like a stray elephant wander across it, I was seriously worried about my new laptop, without which I would be utterly lost at work.
The trips and travels from Palmerston North to Lindeman Island were all quite uneventful, and I was very happy to see that despite a dirty bootprint on the bottom of the suitcase, the laptop itself was unharmed, safe and sound in it's sturdy Otterbox case.
Once I was on the sunny island shores, I was able to relax, soak up some sun, enjoy some of the many exciting activites (quite a few of which were included in the package deal, thankfully!) and just generally forget about work for the day, relegating my obligation to evenings in the luxurious room.
However, I did feel that leaving the laptop inside all day was cheating when it cam to the review, but so saying I didn't really want to risk losing or damaging it, so after a rather entertaining conversation with some of the staff (well, it was entertaining for me... they looked quite confused by my questions and eventual request) I ended up the proud owner of a laptop-sized lump of dry wood! This is what replaced my darling in the case when I took it outside to give it a whirl in the water.
Firmly tightening the straps so it stayed secure and snug against my back, I went for a blat on a jetski, went snorkelling, swimming in the pool, and even got buried in the sand! This last one was a bit uncomfortable with a laptop case strapped to my back, but thankfully it didn't last long. The kids got bored, and I dug myself free and bolted for the waves to wash the sand out of my bikini.
Upon arriving back at my room that afternoon, I investigated the case quite carefully. No dent or scrapes, no water or sand inside, and no sign of any damage to the rubber seals, though the big plug in the back did look a little salt-encrusted, but that was easily taken care of in the handbasin.
So, after a clean and dry, I removed the trusty testdummy, reinserted my laptop, and attempted to write up this review. Naturally, the battery was running low so I popped open the rear plug and attempted to insert the power cord and the USB keyboard plug. Alas, the location of the plug didn't allow for the keyboard cable to pass through and still reach the USB sockets on the side of the laptop, while keeping the keyboard in a usable location on the desk. So in the end I had to abandon that route and simply plug the keyboard in over the lip of the case. The power cable was plenty long enough, but with the keyboard plugged in, the laptop sat so close to the edge of the case I couldn't insert the power plug. I had to lift the laptop partly clear, slide the plug in and gently lower the laptop back into the case. This totally negated the point of the plug in the back as far as I could see, which is why the case gets a slightly lower "Functionality" score than I would like to give it.
Sadly, even though I stayed an extra 4 days in this slice of heaven, as with all good things, my vacation had to come to an end, and it was all too soon time to climb back aboard the various flights home. This time I was allowed to have the laptop as carry-on luggage on my flight from the island back to the 'mainland', and also from there to Sydney by domestic flight, where I had an extra 2 days stopover to visit family, then it was back into the checked luggage for the laptop for the return flight to Auckland. Deciding to stretch my luck a little, I decided to hire a car and drive back to Palmerston North so I could make a few stops and visit friends in the Central Plateau area. While expounding the virtues of this case to one of them, he generously (and a little drunkenly) tested the strength of the case by plonking his ample butt on it, ramming it into the couch with his 100+kgs of mindless yobboness. Luckily (for him) the case easily withstood the abuse and protected my darling dell from his attentions, so it passed another (unanticipated) test there too.
My experience with this case has impressed me greatly, and it is with great joy that I received the news from the website team that I can keep it, as ongoing protection for my lapwarmer. My sincerest thanks to Otterbox and the team at KIWIreviews for this wonderful protective device. It was a pleasure to use, looks very stylish, does it's job to the utmost levels of excellence, and with the exception of one design issue, is an extremely welcome addition to my travelling attire.

I was asked to test this case since I have a laptop that is in desperate need of protection at times. With winter in full swing down here in NZ this is a great time to look at waterproofing your gear and giving it the best chances of staying alive. Now it says on the website that this case is designed to fit a laptop with a maximum of 15" screen, yet it took my 17" quite nicely. Since I couldn't fit the powerpack in as well, I am assuming this is why they say 15" maximum. I wasnt too worried though because I had also been given the Otterbox 3500 unit to review and the power pack and cables fit into that nicely. Since the laptop case is waterproof down to 1m but wont float very well (as tested with an old defunct laptop I had on had and the loan of the neighbour's swimming pool) I made a small device for use on my tourboat. I took a standard fishing float with enough buoyancy to hold up the full case, and attached a 30cm piece of high-grade salt-resistant rope to it, and spliced a stainless-steel climbing clip to the other end. That way, when I am on the boat I simply clip the float to the case and if it falls overboard I know it won't sink to Davey Jones. Of course the smaller Otterbox 3500 floats fine as is, but I made another smaller rope with a clip at each end so that I can keep them together. This also adds a little extra float-power to the laptop case too. Again a quick test in the pool next door and sure enough it saves the laptop 10 out of 10 times (so far). Easy to carry and the straps are really confortable. This is something I have found quite rare in laptop carrybags. The hardshell case wont save the laptop from a reasonable drop but if you happen to sit on it or stand on it the laptop remains safe and sound inside. The rubberised bung on the back wasnt positioned well for my laptop's power socket (on the side on the unit) but it was placed nicely for some of the extra connections I use, like my S-Video output, which means I can use it on-shore for attaching to the TV monitors when I am doing a presentation to the punters. All things considered I thought this was a seriously nifty case and plan to go to the local agent and get me one since this one has to be returned to the website for further testing later in the year.