Most ThinkComputers readers are likely unfamiliar with Be.ez. Before CES, I’d never heard of the French company myself. I sat down with Be.ez CEO Nicolas Cottard to review Be.ez’s line of laptop sleeves, bags, and other device containers.
Be.ez’s flagship product is a laptop sleeve which uses memory foam instead of neoprene. The pricing is similar in the $25-$40 range, but the memory foam is times more protective than a simple neoprene sleeve. Neoprene offers scratch protection and moderate moisture protection, but virtually no collision protection. The memory foam offers all of these. All of the stitching is inside to prevent it from catching on zippers and such.
The sleeves are offered in a variety of colors and sizes. They’re mostly for MacBooks, but other laptops may fit, as well. There are solid colors, stripes, and artistic designs. The Volute Black circular design is particularly attractive to me.
There are also sleeves and protectors for 2.5″ and 3.5″ hard drives, Nintendo DS, and PSP.
Be.ez recently released the LAgarde Robe 13, a $34 sling bag for the 13″ version of the laptop sleeve. The bag has only a few pockets, and is primarily meant to answer Be.ez customers’ desires for a strap on the sleeve. The 13″ version is available now, but the 15″ will be available in April and the 17″ will be available later this year. Be.ez plans to bundle the sleeve and bag together for $60, with promos falling as low as $49.99.
Cottard stressed that Be.ez desires to keep its memory foam sleeves lightweight and simple, while guiding users who want a strap toward the LA garde series of bags.
In addition to the memory foam sleeves and corresponding bags, Be.ez also sells Nylon bags in three colors. The bags have a bubble pocket: a pocket designed to bulge normally.
I hope to see Be.ez more this year, as I really like the memory foam sleeve. It’s better than a hard, shell case or a soft, neoprene or nylon case. Even better is a combination: my MacBook Pro 13″ with a hard shell case from Speck fits inside Be.ez’s 13″ sleeve tightly. Synergy? We can only hope.
