These MacBook covers provide rock-solid protection

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Giving your MacBook a stone-cold look.
Giving your MacBook a stone-cold look.
Photo: Bambooti

What you are looking at is not a paper decal. This is the kind of delayed wow factor the Belgian company Bambooti can expect with its latest collection of MacBook Pro covers and iPhone cases.

They’re made with stone.

Bambooti has made a name for itself with customizable MacBook skins made from wood derived exclusively from sustainably managed forests. This time, Bambooti sources stone from different quarries around the world.

I asked Bambooti co-founder Pieter Van Moll via email how they are able to get the cover so thin. He wrote back: “We get it this thin by extracting a thin layer of stone from a bigger block by hand.” He ended the sentence with a colon followed by a closed parenthesis, a smiley face and polite way of saying the information is proprietary.

The stone collection launched on Kickstarter today. Earlybird backers can get an iPhone case for $38, about 40 percent off the retail price. A MacBook cover can be pre-ordered for $71, which 30 percent off retail. If Bambooti meets its funding goal and can stay on its production schedule, the stone covers will ship by September.

bamboot stone collection
Bambooti is also making stone veneers for smartphone cases, including for iPhone.
Photo: Bambooti

You’re having the same thoughts I did. A thin layer of stone is going to be brittle and crack. Well, there’s a pretty good video of a stress test on the Kickstarter page of someone hacking at a stone-covered MacBook with a rock hammer. While the sharp end of the hammer made visible marks, there were no cracks and the cover did the job in protecting the computer.

Each cover will have one of a kind marbling and texture and come in a variety of stone colors – silver, black, desert, pink, rustic, fire, and autumn. The cover is a less than 1 mm thick and will add just 70 grams to the weight of your machine.

bambooti stone collection
Each cover will have one-of-a-kind texture and marbling.
Photo: Bambooti

Actually, Bambooti shares some of the secrets to making stone veneers on its Kickstarter page (see video below). A thin layer of cotton is applied to a stone slab with resin. Once the resin cures, the cotton is pulled away, taking with it a thin layer of the stone.

Now that Bamooti has used wood, bamboo, and stone, it will be interesting to see what other natural materials will show up in its products next.

https://youtu.be/3qu9-hkTz0w

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