Slappa Laptop Case and Slappa Stealth 17” Sleeve
The first thing I would like to point out before I start this review is that the word Slappa in the UK is a slang term for a “loose woman”. Now I am no marketing genius but if “Slappa” play their cards right, their brand and name (which I love by the way) could be as successful as the “FCUK” French connection brand!
I opened my emails the other day and there was an email from “Slappa HQ”. I had a bit of a school boy chuckle, that was until my girlfriend (who sits at the next desk to me) looked over and saw it and raised her eye brows in a sort of “oh yeah, and who is that from” kinda look, and then I had to explain that they were manufactures of quality laptop bags … anyway, on with the review…
I am a serious attention to detail type person and initially quite visual so when I ripped open the plastic outer and was confronted with the “Slappa Ballistic Aura” laptop case – shoulder bag it is safe to say I was hugely impressed. The first thing that struck me was that the whole bag absolutely stank of quality, from the buckles and alloy clasps to the super robust nylon material. The buckles and straps were such high quality it led me to wonder if a small child could use the bag as a swing from a tree, and if so, could the bag, buckles and straps survive? So we tested it and the answer is ……Yes!
The straps took the weight of a small boy and the buckles, straps and case came out completely unscathed. I would think it fairly safe to say that the last thing to give way on this bag would be the strap, unless of course you are giving it some serious industrial use.
Slappa Laptop Case Size
The label of this case boasts “1500 cubic inches of space”. Now I have no idea how much capacity that is in “layman’s terms” so I thought I would open it up and have a real good look inside…
So as you can see by the images above, the 1500 cubic inches of space is quite a lot, this isn’t just a laptop case, it’s a laptop suitcase! There are oodles of space, not only for a laptop of up to 17” (within a laptop sleeve) but also for files, books, camera, a ream of paper and then some! If space is high on your agenda then this certainly scores five stars!
But again just by images alone I thought it would be quite hard for the normal lay person to work out what exactly 1500 cubic inches represents, so going by the international standard of a normal size bit of fruit, I proceeded to fill the bag with oranges.
This laptop bag very comfortably held 101 standard size oranges with room left over for more (I ran out of oranges).
I carried the bag around for a while with the weight of these oranges in it and I have to say it was very comfortable.
Ballistic Tear Resistant Nylon
“A ballistic body is a body which is free to move, behave, and be modified in appearance, contour, or texture by ambient conditions”
Thanks for clearing that up Wiki 
  The material that has been used for this case is no doubt very strong , tear resistant to a human hand and of very high quality, ( I did want to do a knife slash test on the bag , but it looks so nice I couldn’t bring myself to do it ) so if you were to ever get snagged on a tractor and pulled across a field and through a thorny hedge row of bushes , you are safe in the knowledge that your bag and laptop will be unscathed , how ever you might be a bit worse for wear. So five stars for the tear resistant nylon 5 stars
Quilted Cushion Padding
The quilted cushion padding is well made soft and looks great as part of the overall design , but what I wanted to know is does it protect your laptop when the bag gets bashed around a little ? So we tested it … Courtesy of a local disused quarry.
So we loaded the case with :
•   15” Dell Inspiron 1000 laptop, in a 15” Slappa laptop sleeve
•   One small hamster, ( ok that’s a lie , but someone did suggest it, but as we do not condone animal violence what so ever we point blankly refused )
And then we threw it off the 90ft cliff, I can confirm that it landed flat side down rather than on an end..
Upon opening the bag it was very obvious that the laptop was not in good shape.
The screen had suffered a lot of damage and it was obvious that the padding was not enough for the laptop to survive a fall of this magnitude.
When I turned the laptop on initially it sounded like it was going to fire up ok , but then it made a kinda ticking noise that got louder and louder before letting out as what can only be described as a sigh of relief before it passed away..
To be fair though , there are not going to be many occasions when you are going to need to hurl your laptop bag from a 90ft cliff so for overall laptop protection we give the bag 3 ½ stars
Water Resistant !
Next we tested the claims that the bag was water resistant, we placed it under a shower for a full 30 seconds to see if the water leaked through to the inside.
After 30 seconds their was no sign of any water coming through the bag, so I would say it passed that test with flying colours. Water resistant rating. 5 Stars
Summary
The Slappa Ballistic Aura is a great looking case – bag with a funky orange and sliver design, the case offers a lot of storage space and is made with a strong tear resistant nylon , although very hard to tell from images the bag is finished to a very high standard. Should I be looking to purchase a Laptop bag , then this bag would certainly make it on to my short list.
Where to purchase
The Slappa Ballistic P – TAC Laptop Case – Shoulder bag
My first impressions of the T-Tac Laptop case were very similar to that of the Aura , the main obvious thing that first hit me was that the wow factor was simply not their , and this was obviously down to my colour preference , however it still oozes the same quality materials and huge storage space, in fact if anything it felt slightly bigger if that’s possible ? I think this is due to the case having 3 large pockets on the front of the bag instead of two …. I don’t know this for a fact maybe it was just an illusion ? On the lable it quite clearly states the same storage capacity of 1500 cubic inches !
Overall quality XXXXX
Price to quality ratio XXXX
Storage XXXXX
Design XXXXX
Laptop Protection XXX
Water Resistant XXXXX
Where to purchase
Ballistix Stealth Laptop Sleeve and the Aura Black Laptop Sleeve
These two laptop sleeves are made to a very high standard using the same very durable nylon materials with cushion quilted interiors.
The laptop sleeves would offer the same kind of protection as most quality laptop sleeves if dropped or bashed about
The Aura 17” Laptop Sleeve
Where To Purchase
The Ballistic Stealth Laptop Sleeve 15”
Where To purchase
We have a competition !
Please write into the comment box at the bottom of the page in as many words as you like, the funniest thing you have ever had to use your laptop for, or the strangest laptop/computer experience you have ever had, and we shall choose the funniest. It really is that simple.
The competition will run for 30 days from the date of this post, we will then choose a winner and ship the laptop bag and sleeve below by FedEx to wherever you are in the world..
- Ladies Laptop Bags | September 16, 2008
- Laptop Sleeves - Animal From The Muppet Show Might Not Go Down Too Well ! | September 15, 2008
- Laptop Hard Cases Offer Huge Protection ! | November 12, 2008
- Laptop Bags And Laptop Back Packs | September 16, 2008
- Adobe Flash Player Goes High-Def | August 21, 2007
I was going on the phone with a client, trying to help her fix her computer. She warned me she didn’t know very much about computers, but I dismissed it, having been told that a hundred times before. I start by telling her to click the start button on her monitor and to my horror she responds “This box on the desk it the monitor, right?”
I wish I was kidding…
(Didn’t put my mailing address in there for obvious reasons, but if you email me I’ll be happy to email it back.}
Hi David , thanks for your comment dont worry we have your email address from the contact form
At school I do a program called TechConnections. What we do is check a ton of old computers that the district would normally just throw away. We find some pretty weird stuff in those computers…some are missing hard drives, others power supplies, one was missing the motherboard…not quite sure why they sent that to us…but we do what we can to fix them and then every month we have families come in and we give them free computers, and show them how to use them. Some people know what they’re doing and we just give them to them. Others honestly don’t have a clue. I was teaching one family, there was a mom and a son, the kid was about 5, and the mom was like 30. So I showed her the ropes, you know, word, powerpoint, files, the basics. Then at the end she goes “OH I almost forgot, can you show me how to set parental controls for my son?” The kid quickly says “Mommy I can show you how when we get home.” I gave him a high-5 and a bag of licorice I had left over from lunch.
My Grandma once over heard us talking about buying a new “mouse” , she came round later that day and asked if she could she the new “mouse” when I showed it to her she at me if I was the stupid one
you have gotta love em !
The funniest thing that I have ever used my computer for is to meet my wife! We met on the internet. Well…… it seemed funny at the time, now I’m paying for it dearly…. ooooops, here she comes, gotta go.
I don’t really have any funny stories to tell, sorry.
But I must say, the little boy in the photo testing the bag is simply adorable.
Thanks for your comment guys ! Thanks for that Andrea thats my son Leon
The funniest story I’ve got to tell about laptops is when I saw a guy in the supermarket trying to reach the top shelf and you wouldn’t believe it, he used his laptop case, upright I might add, to stand on. He fell off and landed on the floor amid a mountain of products he managed to pull down with him. It was hysterical. He was unhurt though and managed to see the funny side even if he was purple with embarrassment.
When I was teaching my friend how to use computer, something interested happened. I said, when you click on this icon, window will open. She clicked, looked to the room window and said: “Window is still closed!”
She thought that computer is electronically connected with room windows so she don’t need stand up and open window to get fresh air.
I knew a technician who used to sit on their laptop case in order to see over the steering wheel. No lie. He was that short. He did NOT always take the laptop out of the case first.
Keep em coming guys , @greg lol
Back in the day I used to sell dial-up service from a cart in a mall. Some of my customers had very little experience and our help desk guys used to call us with some pretty weird stories. One of the funniest was about an older man with his first computer and he didn’t really know how to operate it. While talking to the help desk trying to get his new Internet access working the tech asked him if his mouse was on the screen… he said yes but now he couldn’t see the screen very well any more.
I taught my dad how to use the Internet the other day. After spending an entire day dedicated to how-to-turn-the-computer-on-and-then-shut-it-down, I introduced my dad to the joys of social networking such as Facebook and MySpace.
My dad now calls it “BookSpace” and “SpaceBook”.
I have a client who has a dial-up connection with MSN (which she uses to check her email) and a Cable connection with our local ISP, she refuses to get rid of her dial-up, her only excuse being “I like the butterfly!” (The MSN logo). No matter what I do she wont just make the switch, I even made Firefox emulate the old MSN browser as best I could, including changing the icon.
This comes from the same customer who to this day calls her router the “links-keys”(linksys) and her camera’s flash cards wafers among other things.
@David ,lol ah these just get better and better
Beautiful bags!
A number of years ago I was living in Australia. I was on my way home from work late one evening, and sitting on the subway platform with my laptop in my bag next to me. The only other person on the platform was an apparently homeless man, dirty, mumbling and casting many glances my way. “He wants my laptop” I told myself, and I held it tightly against me. Time passed and passed, the train took so long in coming.
About 20 min later I was on the train, a few stops further, when suddenly I panicked. I had forgotton my laptop on the bench at the subway stop! A kind man on the train noticed my horror and got off at the next stop with me and showed me how to call the central train office from the platform. When I called, they told me they had my laptop waiting there for me at the platform guard’s office. Wow!
I went all the way back to the original station, and the security guard said, ‘That man told us you left it’ and pointed to… the homeless man, still sitting there! I was so ashamed for my earlier thoughts, and went to thank him with great gratitude. In the meantime the guard told me that I should go over to the next platform - the train there was waiting for me so I wouldn’t have to wait 30 minutes for the next one.
Such fantastic service and a great memory to add to my many positive ones of Australia and Australians!
I bought my iMac in USA, and on travel back to Serbia, policman on London airport started to look strange at me. I was wearing hand laguage, an iMac. Holding carefuly with two hands, swearing of heavyness of mac, yealling on officers to be careful with my handlaguage. At one moment police asked me. Excuse me guy does you Serbs now that laptop exist.
Just wanna insert my interpretation of Rade’s comment… hope I got it right.
I bought an iMac while in the USA, and on the way back to Serbia, the London Airport police started to give me strange looks. I had an iMac as a carry-on. I was yelling at the officers to be careful of my iMac as they made a comment about it’s weight. A policeman then asked me “Excuse me, don’t you Serbs know that laptops exist?”
I’m by no means picking on you Rade, I know what it’s like to learn a second language, just trying to help!
“to be careful of my iMac”
Oops, meant be careful with XD
Oooh man this one just happened…
I went over to a client (the one I mentioned above, who calls her linksys a links-keys) on a complaint that the computer’s sound was broken.
This one took me a little longer to diagnose than usual. Checking the OS and drivers and speaker connection I just couldn’t see anything wrong. Just before I was going to give up I noticed a little box with an antenna sitting beside the router.
“WTF?” I thought as I picked up the box and began to search for a model number or maker. It turns out she had an FM BROADCASTER hooked into the front port of her computer! Everything she thought was mute was actually being broadcasted on a frequency very close to a local radio station. I really hope she never watched anything inappropriate or a lot of parents will have some explaining to do!
Turns out this thing has been installed and on-air since Christmas of ‘07!
First of all I want to know how many drinks or orange juice you can get from all the oranges that you put in the bag?
I used to sell toilet rolls or for this site “bog rolls” I had to carry my samples all over Europe and the far east. How many bog rolls would go into this bag with my laptop? Would customs stop me if I tried to take this bag on the plane full of bog rolls and my lap top?
Does throwing the bag off a 90 foot cliff equate in any way as to how the bagage handlers at British Airways handle my other luggage? Are there any baggage handlers on line on this site?
LOL I used to work as a baggage handler at an airport before they furloughed a bunch of us.
The humorous side of me wants to say that yes, it does equate. Seriously though, no, no handler should come close to exerting that kind of force on any baggage.
A word of advice though, never let them put your laptop in the belly of the plane… I’d estimate there’s a 50% chance you’ll never get it running again.
Dave does your Dad know it was his laptop in the bag you threw over the cliff?
No ! But thanks mum , he does now !
Hello David,
thank you for editing my comment, writing in english sometimes know to be dificult, especialy writing in past time. Now i know some new frazes like “started to give me strange looks”
all the best!
@Rade
Hey no problem, I know what it’s like
I have a question tyo ask. You will probably think that I am away with the fairies but I need to know.
What is the difference between a “geek” and a “nerd”? I have money riding on this so please help!!!!!
Lol I’m not really sure that question belongs here but why not…
In my opinion a geek is the guy you see at the circus biting the heads off of chickens. I think ren-faire fanatics also fall into this category, though far less weird
A nerd is someone who is usually socially inept but a whiz with technology.
My personal take on the whole geek - nerd subject , from an English point of view is that they are one in the same thing.. although this may not be the case if you either Canadian or American…
@David Earl : David would you please drop me an email via the contact form , I have a little request for you
that you might be interested in..
That’s a good point.
Thought I’d offer up definitions from dictionary.com. I don’t know where they get their sources but I’ve never seen their definitions to be off from the commonly-accepted ones.
Nerd:
2. an intelligent but single-minded person obsessed with a nonsocial hobby or pursuit: a computer nerd.
Geek:
2. a computer expert or enthusiast (a term of pride as self-reference, but often considered offensive when used by outsiders.)
3. a carnival performer who performs sensationally morbid or disgusting acts, as biting off the head of a live chicken.
I removed two of the definitions because they sounded more offensive than definitive
@Dave, sent my email.
Ack! Looks I am just a bit too late for this by one day! Anyway, no matter. Funny story
Not very long ago, I was fiddling with my laptop in the living room. Someone rings the doorbell, I put my laptop down on the floor. Heard a bark, came back to the living room to see my dog, sniffing and growling at my laptop screen, which happened to have a photo of her as desktop image!!! Told her to lay down, grabbed my camera, and took the shot you can find here:
http://flickr.com/photos/vavroom/2970275745/in/set-72157607837727010
Cheers
So, who won??
And the winner is ………. Brenda !! It just goes to show , never judge a book by its cover !!
Thank you to all of you who contributed some of your stories gave me a real laugh !
Thanks so much!
It’ll definitely get put to great use. 
Hi guys!
I am a technical support rep for an ISP…. My very first day of work, my very first techs support call ever, I get this….
“Hello Danny speaking how can I help you?”
“ya umm, my screen is not straight and I dont know what to do!”
“What do you mean its not ’straight’?”
“well, its sideways, everything is sideways, its as if my whole screen flippped 90 degrees!”
“Hmmm……Well i’m here to answer your internet problems, but lets see what I can do…… well, sounds like its a setting with you graphics card…maybe you should consult with a tech or see if you can call the place where you got your computer from?”
Well…we hang up and about an hour later I get a call back from her…
“Hi its the girl with the sideways screen”
“ah yes…did you have any luck?”
“Yes, it was sooooo easy, I just flipped my whole monitor so its laying on its side!! I fixed it all by myself!!”
……..that was a call I will never forget..especially since it was my very first day!
Thanks!