PowerBook Mystique Review - Waterfield Cozmo Mambo Combo Laptop Case
by Charles W. Moore
The Waterfield large Cozmo laptop case from San Francisco designs is a trimmer-sized slightly more lightweight and sporty-styled laptop bag than the Waterfield Cargo bag we reviewed here several weeks ago.
Waterfield computer bags by San Francisco Design are positioned at the high end of the market. As the company forthrightly affirms, "Waterfield bags are designed and made in San Francisco, where the rent is high, Labor expensive, and competition is intense. We wouldn't go anywhere else."
Those willing to pay just a bit more will be rewarded by the Waterfield combination of thoughtful design, tasteful styling, fine workmanship, and top-grade materials, and by spending a bit of time on the Waterfield Website you can choose the perfect bag for your needs and tastes from among the extensive range of models and sizes offered. Waterfield bags are customizable with many variations of color, hardware options, and accessories, and the purchase experience might be compared to that of ordering a tailored suit, or perhaps selecting from the option list for a fine automobile.
The Waterfield Cozmo series bags are available in three sizes, of which our test unit is the biggest, and came in a color called Indium blue, which is a delightful shade of Royal Blue. Other available Indium colors or leather shades and textures for the bag flap can be previewed on the Waterfield Website. The Cozmo's clever design even allows it to stand up on it's own, empty or full.
Starting from the outside, apart from its smart and classy styling, one of the first things you notice about the Waterfield Cozmo bag is the innovative configuration of the shoulder-strap attachment, With the two d-rings connecting the strap to the bag off-set on opposite sides of the case (or more accurately on the front and back) and inboard about one-fifth distance from the ends. This facilitates the Cozmo a hanging from your shoulder close to your body at a more comfortable and natural angle, in "auto-balance and "weightless" suspension as San Francisco Designs puts it.
The detachable shoulder strap itself is made of two-inch wide nylon webbing, and a Velcro-- fastened shoulder pad with a "traction" panel on its contact service to make sure it stays put when you're carrying it.
The Cozmo's front panel has an open pocket of about one-half the bag's width, with a second, zipper-closure and considerably shallower pocket inside the opening. The back panel has another deep, open pocket, but no internal zipper pocket.
The Cozmo's carrying handles are made of stout nylon webbing with stitched leather handgrip contact areas.
The bag's internal compartment opens wide with a full-width zipper, and is lined with Waterfield's "Gold Diamond", honeycomb-color nylon fabric, that is not only bright and attractive, but which also makes it easier to see what's inside, especially small items, than a black lining would.
At the front of the compartment is a hanging pocket panel, which is black, and contains four pockets for carrying smaller peripherals, cables, with one sized to hold business cards.
An almost full-width pocket is at the back of the compartment, and has a Velcro strap closure. There is plenty of room in that pocket to carry a laptop inside a Waterfield SleeveCase (see below), at least up to Pismo size, with ample room for another SleeveCase in the main center compartment of the Cozmo accommodating any size laptop computer, including the 17-inch PowerBook. Both of my computers in their SleeveCases fit nicely inside with plenty of extra room for other stuff you want to carry.
The Cozmo is available in three sizes:
Large Cozmo $149 / 16" x 12" x 5" / 2.7 lb.
Medium Cozmo $144 / 15" x 11" x 4.5" / 2.4 lb.
Small Cozmo $139 / 14" x 10" x 4" / 1.9 lb.
Cozmo Mambo Combos
The Cozmo Mambo Combo is a bundle including a Cozmo, a SleeveCase and a Gear Pouch that sells for $169 - $179
Waterfield SleeveCase
The Waterfield SleeveCase, the second core element of the Mambo Combo package, like the Waterfield computer bags, it is configurable in a variety of configurations and accessory options.
I checked out two -- a Size 14, with Velcro web strap strap closure that fit my Pismo PowerBook like a proverbial glove, and a Size 8 with optional flap ($15.00), also with Velcro closure, that accommodates my 12-inch iBook snugly. Indeed, snugly enough that in both instances that I was grateful for the nylon web loops at the bottom of both Sleeve Cases that make it so much easier to extract the computers. A thoughtful touch.
The SleeveCases are made of ballistic nylon just like the bigger Waterfield bags, with Indium accents across the bottom for a smart and attractive look. Waterfield has already released a MacBook Pro SleeveCase (designated Size #25) designed specifically to protect your MacBook Pro. SleeveCases also come in 30 other sizes for the rest of us, in horizontal or vertical orientations.
The SleeveCase with flap also came with an adjustable suspension shoulder strap of 1 1/2-inch nylon webbing with a fixed shoulder pad (complete with "traction" panel) and very high quality quick-release carabiner hooks on stout swivels that snap onto beefy metal D-rings fastened to the Sleeve Case with stitched web loops. An $18.00 add-on. A regular strap is $12.00. As a nice service to their customers, San Francisco Designs will retro-fit SleeveCases returned for upgrading with the shoulder strap options for the standard option price.
The SleeveCase computer compartments are padded with what looks and feels like 1/4-inch or 3/16-inch neoprene "wet suit" type foam backed material. They also have full width pockets and on their back panels, my only criticism of which is that there is no closure Velcro or zipper closure to secure contents.
That said, the Waterfield SleeveCase on its own makes a very satisfactory lightweight computer bag for day tripping, especially with the optional flap and shoulder strap.
Where to put the power adapter, external mouse, necessary dongles and cables, plus an Apple USB modem if you have a MacBook Pro? No problem. Just order an auxiliary "piggyback case, which is a small pouch that attaches onto the Sleeve Case.
Made from ballistic nylon with reinforced zippers the Piggyback has soft divider pockets inside to protect your power adapter, even a small external drive or what-have-you. The internal pockets aren't quite large enough to accommodate the Pismo's "flying saucer" power adapter, but the 45 watt adapter of my iBook fits neatly, and there's plenty of room in the main body of the bag for the awkward saucer (not one of Apple's better ideas). The Piggyback is a $22.00 option.
Waterfield Gear Pouch
The third Mambo Combo element is the Gear Pouch, which is smaller than the PiggyBack.
It's available in small, medium, and large sizes. The Gear Pouch's main compartment has a self-locking zipper opening that extends across the top and 3/4 of the way down the right side of the case/ There is also a smaller front pocket with a full-width zipper.
Both compartments are lined with the "Golden Diamond" fabric. The left side of the Gear Pouch has a convenient nylon finger loop for carrying, and the pouch can accommodate a power adapter, mouse, small external hard drive or flash drive, cables, and other small items that you probably don;t want floating around free inside the Cargo bag.
For more information, visit:
http://www.sfbags.com/products/gearpouch/gearpouch.htm
What size SleeveCase will fit in each size Cozmo:
Small Cozmo - $169 : Fits SleeveCase sizes
2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,12,18,20,24
Medium Cozmo - $174 : Fits SleeveCase sizes
2,3,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12, 13,14,15,18,20,24,25,27,31,33,38,42
Large Cozmo $179 Fits all SleeveCase sizes
The Waterfield Cozmo is a superb piece of computer luggage, and with the Mambo Combo package, you have a versatile, multi-configurable, laptop carriage system that will probably outlast several computers and look great doing it.
For more information, visit:
http://www.sfbags.com/products/mambocombos/cozmosuite.htm
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