Verdict

”’CD Case Price: £8 – £31”’

”’DVD Case Price: £18 – £26”’

Editing a publication like TrustedReviews allows me to get my hands on the very latest technology, often before the general public even knows it exists. So, there’s never any shortage of notebooks, MP3 players, graphics cards or digital cameras to play with. But sometimes, something more low-tech lands on my desk, yet still manages to grab my attention – and that’s exactly what happened with a box full of products from Slappa.


Now, before I go any further with this review, let’s get all the chuckling and sniggering about the Slappa brand out of the way. Yes, it’s an amusing brand name if you happen to be British, and yes I could come up with an almost infinite number of “witty” comments that play off the name, but I’m not going to. Well, I’ll try my best not to succumb anyway!

So, putting the name to one side, what Slappa produces is a range of high-end storage and transport solutions for your digital media. OK, so that’s a fancy way of describing CD/DVD cases, but calling the Slappa products CD cases seems to be selling them short – these cases really are a cut above the your average optical disc storage solution and sport a number of very useful features.


First and foremost, these cases look great – they definitely couldn’t be described as ugly old Slappas (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist it). The cases come in a number of different finishes – the Camel collection features brown vinyl and tan suede, the Black Wave collection has black vinyl and black suede, the Graphite collection is made up of two-tone grey vinyl and the Blue collection features a mix of blue and black vinyl. My favourite is the Black Wave finish, which looks great and has a pleasantly tactile feel to it thanks to the suede.

But it’s not just the look and feel of these cases that make them special, Slappa has also put a lot of thought into the design. For a start the cases are rigid, which means that your discs will be well protected while you’re carrying them around. The larger cases also have a solid handle to make it easy to carry around with you. The handle also has a clear window in it so that you can slide in a label, allowing you to tell what type of discs are inside at a glance. The heavy duty zip is also finished with a rubber pull, embossed with the Slappa logo.


Open up a Slappa case and the attention to detail continues. The inner shell of the case is lined with velvet, and there’s a mesh pocket on the inside left of the case which contains a couple of blank labels and a soft cloth to wipe all your discs clean before and after use. But it’s the actual disc sleeves that really set the Slappa cases apart from the competition. Slappa has actually patented its d2 pocket design and it’s easy to see why. Each disc pocket is in fact two pockets – there’s a front pocket with a clear plastic cover and another pocket behind it. The idea is that the disc goes in the rear pocket and the CD or DVD booklet/inlay goes in the front pocket. This works remarkably well since you can instantly see what discs are inside – actually the whole concept feels like using cover art to illustrate your music folders on your PC.

For me, the d2 pockets work best in the DVD cases and not because I like putting my DVDs in cases, because I don’t. I use the DVD cases to store my console games, that way I can stick all the boxes in a cupboard somewhere, but still keep the instruction booklets at hand. It’s also handy when I have to take my game collection with me when I visit my wife’s teenage cousins – let’s face it, that’s probably the only reason they ever want me to come over.


Of course if you don’t want to put the inlays or the booklets in with your discs, you can effectively double the capacity of each case. That means that the largest of the CD cases could hold an impressive 360 discs! That said, even if you still want the inlays and booklets in the case, you could put a second disc behind the booklet – which is probably the way to go for two disc DVDs, games or CDs.


The 90 disc DVD case is perfect for storing all my console games, and if I ever want to take any games round to a friends house, I can simply grab the whole bag, rather than having to search through my collection looking for the titles I want.


As with most things, you get what you pay for when it comes to optical media storage, and a premium product like the Slappa cases carry with them a premium price. That said, with the smallest CD case coming in at under £8 and the 90 disc DVD case priced at just over £25, you’re paying bargain prices for top quality products. Since Slappa is a US company, I’m basing the prices on current exchange rates, so now is definitely the right time to order some of these cases, with the Dollar as weak as it is. You still have to factor in shipping costs, but this is pretty reasonable considering the products are shipped from Hong Kong.

Slappa will soon be offering notebook cases too, and if they’re anywhere near as good as the disc cases, I’ll be first in line for a review sample.

”’Verdict”’

Most disc cases are dull and utilitarian, but the Slappa cases look great, are well made and feature the best disc storage sleeves I’ve seen. If you’re serious about keeping your discs safe, pick up a Slappa.

”’Note”’

Slappa has informed us that any TrustedReviews readers that which to purchase products will receive a 10 per cent discount on their order. Simply type trustedreviews into the discount box on the order form and you’ll receive your extra discount.

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