The need for disc storage today’s digital household is enormous, and doesn’t appear to be diminishing anytime soon. I’ve seen some people who have extensive CD collections and have transformed every single square inch of wall space into shelves for their music collection. I used to show off my DVD collection like trophies, putting them in cherry-wood bookcases, but as my collection has grown I have been forced to consolidate the media from bulky jewel cases to CD binders.
I have a binder for each type of media in the house. I have eliminated all CDs in favour of MP3s, but I have separate binders for PC software, DVD movies, TV shows, Divx movies, Xbox games, PS3 games, Wii… and our needs keep on growing. Our collection of DVD binders easily takes up several shelves on their own.
Many CD binders feel very cheap and flimsy, despite their relatively large pricetag. A typical 400-disc binder costs upwards of $50, and is little more than $3 in fabric and plastic. Because of this, your media isn’t very well protected, which may be catastrophic if you need to transport your media from place to place.
Gimme a Slappa and I’ll Slappa you backa!
Slappa is a new company that has a large catalogue of gear, from laptop luggage to media cases. Their Black Wave Pro Hardbody CD Case wants to tackle the durability and portability problem with features that seem new to media cases.
If you didn’t know this was a CD case then you might mistake this case for overnight luggage. The case has rugged-looking black fabric and PVC accents stitched on the corners. The bottom of the case has rubberized PVC runners to allow it to sit upright and take scrapes. The bottom also features the same type of wheels used on inline skates, so they are very durable and provide a smooth ride. The top of the case has a 5-stage telescopic handle, so you can easily drag your media behind you instead of having to schlep its weight around.
The case has a decently hard body and made of PVC plastic. It is rugged and has a little bounce, but is not as hard as metal, so I wouldn’t throw it under a car. A plastic zipper surrounds three sizes of the case, and has two zipper pulls. The zipper pulls look like they could (and eventually will) come unfastened through the open look, so I would attach cloth pulls through the closed part of the zipper as soon as possible.
Pages are permanently attached to the binder. While they won’t rip, it can be difficult to organize and find your media
The pages are permanently attached to the hard binder, and each page can hold 16 discs (8 per side). Instead of the typical square page, these are oblong in a 4×2 configuration. There are 125 pages in five groups of 25, and the back of the case has a cushioned backing held in place with Velcro to protect the discs from pressing against the metal telescoping handle.
Discs fit in as well as any other average media binder, and the discs do not scratch under normal use. Because the pages cannot be removed, organizing your media can be a severe pain. The case also requires a lot of available tabletop space before you can begin flipping through the pages.
The features of this case from a media housing perspective are rather average. Finding your media can take a while as you flip through pages, and you must be careful when turning pages to prevent discs from breaking. Larger media cases can benefit from a hanging file cabinet type of organization.
Slightly larger than an inexpensive 400-disc media binder
If you just need a place to put your crap, then you can find cheaper solutions that work better as stationary devices, like a hanging file-folder-type case.
The Slappa Black Wave Pro 600 hardbody case is not stackable and will not fit in a bookcase. The main reasons this case should interest you are its portability features and toughness. If you are constantly lugging a bunch of media with you, then you will love the portability features of this case (until you run out of room that is).
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||