It's a sleek, minimalist, and protective laptop sleeve with comfortable handles. But such simplicity is not attained with ease: Tom Bihn has spent countless hours over the course of more than a decade refining the design elements that you see today as the Archetype.

The Archetype is made of 0.25" (8mm) thick closed cell foam which entirely encases your laptop, padding it on all sides and protecting your laptop from bumps and scrapes; this unique construction completely protects your laptop from the zipper closure as well.

In order to maintain its sleek profile, the Archetype is designed to carry your only laptop. Some carry Archetype in addition to another bag, such as the Small, Medium, or Large Cafe bags, the LUX, or Imago. Others slip it inside one of our larger bags, such as the Empire Builder, ID, Super Ego, or Ego.

It closes with a #8 YKK® Uretech® splash-proof zipper - while not "waterproof" (unless the seams of a bag are RF-welded or heat-sealed, it's not completely waterproof), the Archetype is our most weather-resistant case. It unzips completely to allow you to work on your laptop without removing it from the Archetype (Are you wondering about heat build-up? See our F.A.Q.)

You can choose to carry the Archetype by its comfortable soft plastic handles molded over strong webbing, or by attaching a shoulder strap to its triangle shoulder strap attachments. We offer three different shoulder straps for use with the Archetype: the Absolute Shoulder Strap, the TerraGrip Shoulder Strap, or the Simple Shoulder Strap.

The Archetype is lined with a soft brushed tricot knit, cradling your laptop and protecting it from being scratched.

Inside, the Archetype is practical and protective. It's outside that things get interesting: the Archetype is made of real Cork fabric.

If black ballistic nylon is more your style, then you'll have to look elsewhere: this case talks style as much as function.