FastMac’s Impact Sleeve Protects MacBooks From Hammer Blows
FastMac's Michael Lowdermilk holds up the Impact Sleeve.
SAN FRANCISCO, MACWORLD 2010 — You’ve probably seen the late pitchman Billy Mays on late-night TV smashing his hand with hammer while it’s wrapped in Impact Gel — a super cushioning material used for insoles.
In fact, Impact Gel was featured in the first episode of PitchMen, the Discovery Channel show featuring Mays and his partner Anthony Sullivan.
Now, Impact Gel is being used to make a laptop sleeve that can be hit with a hammer and dropped without damaging the contents.
Made by Fastmac, a Mac accessories maker, the prototype Impact Sleeve will go on sale in April for 13- and 15-inch MacBooks ($49); 17-inch MacBooks ($59) and the iPad ($39 – the same price as Apple’s iPad case).
At Macworld, a FastMac staffer wrapped a handful of M&Ms in the material and tried to smash them with a hammer. They emerged without a scratch. Then he wrapped the candies in the same foam used in other laptop bags. Two quick whacks and the M$Ms were flattened.
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Leander Kahney is the editor and publisher of Cult of Mac, and author of three books about technology culture: 
