I first discovered Joli and their handmade leather sleeves a little over a year ago. Back then, I reviewed the company’s sleeves for the iPhone, iPad Pro, and 12-inch MacBook. Now, I’ve moved on from the 12-inch MacBook to the new MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.
Wanting to protect my pricey investment, I immediately set out to get a Joli leather sleeve for the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar and have been using it for about a week now…
I had never been a fan of sleeves for my Apple products, instead usually opting for cases. I felt that cases were something I could keep on 24/7, as opposed to taking a device in and out of a sleeve before and after every case. While I still use a case with my iPhone 7 Plus (the Mujjo leather wallet case to be exact), I’ve fully embraced the sleeve solution for my laptop.
The biggest reason for this is that a sleeve preserves the design of the MacBook Pro when in use and doesn’t add any weight to the laptop itself. Using a sleeve allows for protection during things like travel, which is arguably the only time you really need to protect your laptop.
That’s where the Joli handmade leather sleeve for MacBook Pro comes in.
Based in Holland, Joli Originals is an independent company that imports leather from Italy and performs the rest of the sleeve production process themselves, by hand. Because the company’s products are handmade, there’s an added layer of attention to detail.
While last time I used the gray + red lined sleeves, this time I chose the slightly more subtle gray + black lined combination. The outside leather itself is a dark gray color, darker than space gray but not black, while the inside felt lining is black.
On the outside of the sleeve, you can see the stitching of the leather along the sides and bottom on either side. There’s also subtle black trim on the outside of the sleeve and a small Joli logo in the bottom corner.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar fits perfectly inside the sleeve. Because Joli doesn’t pre-stretch the leather, the fit is a little tight at first but gradually loosens up over time. I don’t have any issues taking my laptop out and putting it back in multiple times per day and the felt lining keeps my device nice and clean.
The Joli sleeve is one of, if not the most, well-designed MacBook Pro sleeves I’ve seen. The dark gray color goes perfectly with my space gray MacBook Pro, being dark enough to create a slight contrast between the two. There’s an attention to detail that you get with Joli’s sleeve that you don’t get with others because of the handmade production process.
The personal touches don’t stop there, however. With every purchase, Joli includes a hand-written note made out specifically to you and thanking you for your purchase, which is a nice gesture.
In terms of durability, I’ve found Joli’s sleeves to hold up incredibly well. I’ve been using the MacBook Pro sleeve for about a week now and it’s still in pristine condition. Perhaps most notably, however, I used the 12-inch MacBook sleeve for a year and it looked just as good on its final day as it did on its first.
If there’s one complaint I have, it’s that the Joli sleeve is a little pricey, but you’re paying for quality. The 13-inch MacBook Pro sleeve comes in at €109.00 or $116, while the 15-inch comes in at €128.10 or $136. Joli’s founder explained to me, however, that the company has really low margins because of the high-quality material they use.
Overall, I’m incredibly happy with the Joli Original leather sleeve for the 13-inch MacBook Pro. If you’re a student or someone who travels regularly and is always putting your MacBook Pro in a backpack, you can’t go wrong using Joli’s sleeve to protect it.
There’s also a Joli Original Textured Collection that offers a different look. For this review, I took a look at the company’s Smooth Collection, though.
Joli’s MacBook Pro sleeve is available in brown with aqua blue or brown lining, dark brown with orange or pink lining, and gray leather with black or red lining.
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