ALPAKA Elements Laptop Sleeve Review

A laptop is easily one of the most expensive pieces of gear you can travel with. Thus, it just makes sense to give it as much protection as you can, especially if you use it for work and not just for watching movies during a flight. That said, many options are available, from cases to sleeves and even bags designed around laptops.

In this review, we’re looking at ALPAKA’s solution: the Elements Laptop Sleeve. Made of eye-catching and undeniably tough X-Pac fabric, it’s one of the more hardcore-looking laptop sleeves out there, distinguishing itself from a sea of neoprene, nylon, and polyester.

The Rundown

Let’s start with a brief rundown of what X-Pac fabric is. No matter which kind of X-Pac a brand uses, it’s made of different layers to form one fabric. In the case of the ALPAKA Elements Laptop Sleeve, X-Pac VX42 consists of a 420-denier nylon face, a recycled polyester X-PLY backing, a thin polyester film, and a 50-denier polyester taffeta backing. On top of that is a DWR coating to make the material waterproof. ALPAKA also doubles up by equipping this laptop sleeve with YKK AquaGuard zippers. However, while the fabric itself is waterproof, and AquaGuard zippers are very water resistant, this laptop sleeve isn’t submersible, so don’t think you can toss it in the hotel pool as a conversation starter (you weren’t going to do that, right?).

As you can imagine, a multi-layered fabric like X-Pac is comparatively thick and rigid compared to simpler nylon or polyester. Consequently, the Elements Laptop Sleeve feels reassuringly robust and authoritative when you first pick it up, though there is still a hint of softness since there’s cushioning inside. We were initially afraid that the water-resistant AquaGuard zippers would feel unnecessarily restrictive. Fortunately, that’s not the case, as even the sleeves’ narrow corners don’t stop them from zipping smoothly.

It’s worth noting that, at the time of writing, only the 16-inch version is still available, though we’re testing the 14-inch version. Our tester’s 13-inch MacBook fits with plenty of leftover space, and we’ve even heard of users fitting up to 15-inch devices as well. However, you’ll want to pick the correct version/size for your device to ensure it fits snuggly to the corner tabs.

The interior is lined with a microfleece that’s very gentle on laptops with metal chassis, like MacBooks. It’s not immediately apparent since the interior is a very dark black. But trust us when we say there’s a significant amount of padding along the edges and the sides; it’s not just an infinite void down there.

Unfortunately, that’s pretty much it in terms of features. There are no pockets on the outside or the inside for storing your laptop’s accessories. That’s not a problem for us since we typically travel with a tech pouch, but if you plan to use this as your all-in-one tech storage bag, you’ll find it lacking.

Packability

Packability is a concern for us since, during our testing of the 16-inch ALPAKA Slim Sleeve, it barely fit inside the ALPAKA Elements Travel Backpack’s own laptop sleeve. Needless to say, the slightly larger 16-inch Elements Laptop Sleeve won’t fit, so you’ll either have to carry it separately or pack it within the main compartment’s open space.

That said, if you can get your hands on the 14-inch version, you’ll have no trouble fitting it into a backpack with a 16-inch laptop compartment/sleeve.

Quick Comparison

Going from the previous ALPAKA Slim Sleeve to the Elements Laptop Sleeve genuinely feels like an upgrade. In terms of protection, the Slim Sleeve is much softer and more neoprene-like inside and outside. By comparison, the Elements Laptop Sleeve’s combination of X-Pac and fleece feels more solid and thoughtfully built, albeit larger overall.

For those who want more bells and whistles, something like the Solgaard Carry-All Laptop Sleeve is much more feature-rich. It has a handle, a pocket, and even a detachable strap in case you want to carry it like a messenger. The build quality may not be on par with the Elements Laptop Sleeve’s and its X-Pac fabric, but it’s not exactly lacking protection either.