page-3 | Umates Protector 15B – Another home run from Umates | Accessories

Umates Protector 15B – Another home run from Umates - Construction & Design continued

Saturday, 02 January 2010 10:28 Laptopfreak

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/administrator/components/com_sh404sef/sh404sef.class.php on line 2914

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/administrator/components/com_sh404sef/sh404sef.class.php on line 2915

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/administrator/components/com_sh404sef/sh404sef.class.php on line 2914

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/administrator/components/com_sh404sef/sh404sef.class.php on line 2915

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/administrator/components/com_sh404sef/sh404sef.class.php on line 2914

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/administrator/components/com_sh404sef/sh404sef.class.php on line 2915

Deprecated: Function eregi() is deprecated in /home/laptop-review.eu/public_html/components/com_sh404sef/sef_ext/com_content.php on line 39

Article Index
Umates Protector 15B – Another home run from Umates
Construction & Design
Construction & Design continued
Conclusion
All Pages

Page 3 of 4

The laptop pocket

A really well thought-out feature is Umates’ patented TopProtector system that the laptop pocket is equipped with. The system works as follows: a long, elastic piece of nylon fabric is permanently attached to the inside of the front of the laptop pocket, while the other end can be attached to the front with Velcro. This effectively suspends the laptop a couple of cm above the bottom of the bag, which according to Umates protects the laptop against shocks and bumps.
To see if it actually worked, I closed the nylon pouch without putting in a laptop. That way you can just reach in and pull the fabric towards the bottom. Though the fabric is elastic, a surprising amount of force was required to pull the fabric anywhere close to the bottom. At the same time, the pouch means you can easily take the laptop out of the bag; as soon as you loosen the fabric from the Velcro, you can simply pull out the pouch with the laptop inside – very handy! The system works completely as intended, and is one of those things that makes one as a consumer feel that the manufacturer actually put a lot of thought into providing the all the solutions to optimize the experience and use of the product – fantastic!

Shoulder strap

The shoulder strap is made of nylon with a shoulder pad in the middle that once again features the crocodile-finish design and glossy black. The strap is fastened to the bag via a clicking system in which you fasten two plastic clamps down over a piece of metal on each side of the bag.

The fastening system is a fine features that allows you to easily and swiftly remove the shoulder strap. One might be concerned that the strap would cut into your shoulder when you carry around all those kilos, but the shoulder pad is filled with foam that makes it really comfortable to carry. At the same time it is just wide enough to give the perfect balance against the weight of the bag. So, the craftsmanship seems very sturdy and managed to handle a small run on the shoulder of yours truly with a spaceship of a 17 inch laptop in the bag.

Lock

Here Umates has gone all American and equipped the bag with a lock that could easily have been something out of an H2 Hummer. The lock is cast in a heavy metal and I can assure that it will not open and close randomly. Once closed, well, it will stay that way.

Zipper

On their website, Umates claim that the zipper at front of the bag is ”self-repairing”. The expression is unknown to me, but I was unable to break the zipper and gave up after several attempts. So, whether it really is self-repairing or not, I cannot say, but the quality is very high and it can easily handle day to day use.