Should I use a sleeve or a hard case on my 13" Macbook Air?

forget about the hard cases, they have several disadvantages and basically no advantages.

they trap dust and garbage, are hard to remove, and get nasty looking quick.

Get a nice soft padded case, a mere sleve is just a dust sleeve, and no protection at all from any knocks or bumps.

https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6342

Carry cases aren't just for traveling with your notebook. Its a good idea to keep your Macbook in a case around your own house also

Why your Macbook deserves a carry case everywhere

While we all understand if you are traveling anywhere that having a good padded carry case is very important for transporting your Macbook, it is also important to have one as a general rule all the time for storing your notebook in your house, and also carrying around the house and very short distances. As is the fact that most personal accidents happen where we feel the most safe, inside our own homes, the same can be said of your Macbook and its safety. Since your Macbook has no carry handle, in casually transporting your notebook around the house, having your carry bag for your Macbook is very handy to prevent accidental drops. Also constantly keeping your notebook in such a case when not in use prevents greatly against changes in temperature and humidity inside your own house; additionally protection from both pests, dust and possible smoke. Typically it is the situation that bad accidental drops, spills, and debris occurs to a someone's Macbook inside the house, and keeping your notebook in such a case when not in use is a good idea.

Dont 'backpack' your Macbook Air without having special consideration

Many college students or people in general are fond of using non-idealized backpacks (without a padded laptop compartment) along with their books. Sandwiching books around your notebook etc. is an extremely bad idea and can lead to your LCD screen being destroyed when heavy textbooks are pressing against same, or when dropping your backpack, these books slam into your Macbook causing great potential for damage.

Why your MacBook Air needs a warm coat too

While you should never store your notebook in a cold car for any significant time (couple hours or more), in cases where a notebook is being carried thru cold weather in a case, having a padded and zippered (not just a sleeve!) case is very important not just to protect your Macbook from a shock from being bumped or accidentally dropped, but for thermal protection. In coming in from a cold walk or environment, an unprotected and cold notebook is subject to condensation forming not only on the alloy casing but more importantly on internal parts and the logic board which is to be avoided at all costs. Namely when turned on and the fan kicks on and blows warm air around the cold logic board condensation can form and in worst cases either eventually produce a fault or lead to compounded problems where corrosion forms inside your Macbook.

For transporting in the cold, your notebook needs more than a sleeve, rather a padded / insulated carry case to prevent temperature fluctuation from causing condensation.

Extreme climate conditions that call for more than a simple notebook carry bag

For exotic travel, college campuses where distances between buildings in very rainy climates must be made, or in which one may have to travel any distances thru harsh snow, ice, or heavy rains, most all conventional carry bags designed for laptops are very inadequate. Such zippered or snapped bags both do not keep out very high humidity and do not protect much from a deep soaking in what is most often a cloth notebook bag.

Skyward facing zippers on most notebook bags are poor protection from water. Consider one of several options, that being a waterproof hard-plastic case designed for notebooks, or a waterproof rugged bag or case specifically designed to keep out harsh humidity and water. In the case of very thin watertight weather bags, these can often be used inside your existing notebook carry bag.

Watertight pouches, sealing weather bags, and plastic hard-cases to keep out extreme elements, rain, and humidity from reaching your notebook

I am a frequent business traveler and carry my MBA almost everywhere. I have one of those clear plastic shells that Apple stores sell. I use a messenger (I think it's called) shoulder bag that I also bought from Apple. My MBA is not quite a year old and is in pristine condtion. Of more importance is I have a MBP also with the same set up and carried it for 2 years and removed the shell when I gave the MBP to my wife. The outercase of the MBP is also in pristine condition. Despite what you use don't forget your commons sense. Computers are sensative to a variety of insults like shock, liquids and extremes in temperatures to mention but 3. I've been a road warrior for 30 years and never lost a computer to ill treatment.

Treat your machine like the expensive tool and beauty it is and remember it took real money that took someone a long time to make to buy it.

I have a 2012 MBPR, and I had the good sense to buy a Speck hard shell case shortly after my purchase.

Fast forward into roughly four years later, in 2016, I pried open the case for the first time since I've attached it. The Speck case is mighty worn now. And it did take some difficulty to pry loose the case off top, but when it came free, I saw that the surface was pristine as ever. Not much of any gunk either. TBH, I don't think It would have had the same smoothness had I not used a hard shell case.

Prior to the MBPR, I've used an older aluminum-finish Macbook, which was bare and didn't have a hard case at all. Only a few weeks into using it casually, the top and bottom finish had degraded noticeably with scratches here and there. You'd hope they'd be stuff you could just wipe off, but no, they're actually scratches on the metal. Having to look the scratched surface would make any owner wince.

If it weren't too prone to scratches and dings, I'd let my MBPR go bare, since a case hides so much of the beauty. But really, a hard case offers the needed protection for when you want to resell, or for when you don't want to cringe at the sight of scratched aluminum.

Hi Yaksh,

I don't think it is the transporting that would make the difference. Both types of cases would protect the shell of the Mac if cared for. It's more the taking it out and putting it on various surfaces, moving it about on them, etc. If you want your Mac casing to stay pristine, you should use a hard case.

Just an FYI, I have a hard case on my Macbook Air, but when I'm traveling with it, I put it in a sleeve. The hard case that I have is very low profile, so the overall size of the Mac is not much bigger than it is without the case. I use an iPearl case that I purchased through the Apple Store. The sleeve I have is probably a little larger than what is needed for an Air, but that allows me to also carry papers, etc. along with the Mac in the sleeve. So, from where I sit, both are what you need! 🙂

Cheers,

GB

I personally use a softcase and simply put it inside my briefcase,

You can get MacBook shells as well, here is a list 5 things for Mac protection and customisation