For customers trying to transport their Imaginative and prescient Professional items and varied equipment, Apple gives the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional Journey Case as an optionally available $199 accent. However in the event you’re searching for a third-party different, WaterField Designs gives a Protect Case beginning at $159 that is perhaps value contemplating, and I’ve spent the previous few months utilizing one for infrequent journey to see the way it fares.
First issues first although, and that is the query of why you may need to contemplate one thing aside from Apple’s first-party case. Apple’s case is a hardshell polycarbonate lined with a white ripstop outer shell to supply safety for the comparatively fragile headset, with a microfiber interior lining defending the Imaginative and prescient Professional from scratches or different superficial harm.
Whereas that each one sounds good and the Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional Journey Case appears to do a fairly good job of defending the costly headset, it has been broadly mocked for its total dimension, the loose-fitting outer cowl, and the white shade that means it might turn into a mud and stain magnet. Some have likened the general look of Apple’s case to an astronaut go well with or another merchandise of area gear, and that is not wholly inaccurate.
Put merely, Apple’s case is huge, with copious quantities of empty area inside as Apple has prioritized permitting customers to maintain their Imaginative and prescient Professional’s head strap connected to the physique of the machine. The result’s an rectangular case measuring almost a foot lengthy by virtually 9 inches extensive and 6.5 inches thick. It is unwieldy by itself regardless of a carry deal with, and there is little probability of it becoming nicely in a backpack, and even a modest carry-on suitcase will see a substantial quantity of its inside area taken up by the case.
And that is the place WaterField’s Protect Case for Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional actually shines. At beneath 8 inches sq. and a bit over 5 inches thick, the Protect Case takes up lower than half the amount of Apple’s case, making it a way more smart journey companion.
So how does WaterField handle to suit a Imaginative and prescient Professional and all of its elements right into a considerably smaller area than Apple’s case? It begins with requiring the person to take away the top strap, whether or not it’s the Solo Knit Band or the Twin Loop Band. This reduces the required quantity from one thing that would wish to suit round a whole head to a way more compact package deal.
The primary physique of the Imaginative and prescient Professional and the built-in Audio Straps stay multi functional piece, however the head bands fold up into pretty small and versatile items, making it straightforward to tuck them into the Protect Case. And given it is trivial to take away and reattach the top bands, that is a straightforward sacrifice to make.
WaterField’s Protect Case has a luxurious interior lining with a great quantity of closed-cell foam padding within the outer masking, so it protects the Imaginative and prescient Professional very nicely in my expertise. You must in fact maintain the entrance cowl that comes with Imaginative and prescient Professional in place always whereas transporting the machine, because it offers extra safety from impacts and scratches.
Apart from the principle compartment of the Protect Case that holds the Imaginative and prescient Professional physique, WaterField has included an adjunct pouch that matches throughout the void created by the Imaginative and prescient Professional, the Gentle Seal and the Audio Straps.
All your varied equipment can match neatly inside that pouch, together with each head straps, the cleansing material, the ability adapter, and the USB-C charging cable. There are even two slots sewn into the lid of the pouch for storing Zeiss lens inserts in the event you use these with the Imaginative and prescient Professional, though you may as well simply maintain them put in within the Imaginative and prescient Professional itself throughout transport since they’re held firmly in place with magnets.
Contained in the lid of the Protect Case is a luxurious slot the place you’ll be able to retailer the Imaginative and prescient Professional battery with its cable wound round it throughout transport. The case then closes up tight with waterproof zippers to maintain every thing safe, and there is even an extra zippered slot pocket on the skin of the Protect Case in the event you want to maintain the charging adapter and cable or different small objects there. In one other good contact, there’s a small slot deep within the outdoors pocket the place an AirTag will be tucked away that can assist you maintain tabs in your Imaginative and prescient Professional.
An built-in nylon seize deal with makes it straightforward to hold the Protect Case, although the case can be simply gripped in a single hand by most customers. Two small D rings on the highest rear fringe of the Protect Case allow you to connect an optionally available $20 Easy Strap that makes use of small carabiner-style clips and an adjustable slide buckle to permit for simpler carrying over a shoulder.
The Protect Case for Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional is out there in a number of completely different materials combos, with the most affordable being constructed fully of ballistic nylon on the outside in both black or blue for $159. For $179, you will get the Protect Case in that very same black ballistic nylon however with the entrance panel serving as an accent in both white, black, or chocolate leather-based. And eventually, there is a configuration with the physique of the case manufactured from waxed canvas with a chocolate leather-based entrance panel, additionally priced at $179.
It is unattainable to overstate how a lot of a distinction the scale of the Protect Case makes in comparison with Apple’s Imaginative and prescient Professional Journey Case. With the Journey Case as my solely possibility, I by no means actually thought of taking my Imaginative and prescient Professional on any journeys, merely resulting from its overwhelming dimension.
When touring by airplane, I am definitely not going to place my Imaginative and prescient Professional into checked baggage, regardless of how nicely it is protected in a case, and there merely is not room to fairly pack that outsized case in a backpack or carry-on. However with WaterField’s Protect Case, I nonetheless really feel like I’ve ample safety for my costly and fragile Imaginative and prescient Professional, but I can slide it into the underside of my journey backpack and nonetheless have loads of room for different objects.
Word: WaterField Designs offered MacRumors with the Imaginative and prescient Professional Protect Case for the needs of this overview. No different compensation was obtained.