Ranger Up Product Reviews: Mach 3 Composites

By RU Rob

A couple of years ago retired Marine aviator Kevin Novak was on an overseas business trip.  Upon arrival at his hotel, Kevin pulled out his laptop to find his screen smashed and completely unusable.  Fully knowing that this could happen again in the future, Kevin searched out hard cases for his computer and was appalled at what he found.  According to Kevin, “everything out there that was a hard computer case was large, cumbersome and had an industrial look to it.”  With experience in aviation and the advances that he knew of in the carbon fiber composites area, he quickly hatched an idea, “why not make carbon composite cases for computers?” Presto! Mach 3 Composites was born.

Based in North Carolina, Mach 3 Composites (mIIIc) designs and manufactures cutting edge case technology for our most valuable electronics.  When I was researching Veteran owned companies to review their products, mIIIc stood out as it provides a lightweight, sturdy case which is airport friendly but yet has a kick-ass look to it.  I have since found that these cases have huge potential for our military and public safety readers as they are light and damn near indestructible.  

I am pretty docile when it comes to my electronics and when I was speaking to Mr. Novak, President of mIIIc, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to properly put his products through the rigorous test I wanted to.  But then I remembered that Tommy Batboy is not only tough on electronics but was also heading out to Las Vegas.  Perfect! Tommy with an iPad and iPhone in Vegas with only MIIIC cases to protect them.  This wasn’t going to be so bad after all. 

I gave Tommy two cases; the first was the Carbon Fiber iPad Case .  This case has a sleek and professional look to it and fits the iPad perfectly without the bulky appearance.  Tommy was initially worried that the sleek polyurethane outer coating was going to make it slippery and difficult to handle, but to his surprise it maintained a natural “tackiness” that didn’t allow it to slide all over the place. Like too many of the lesser cases, there is always an issue with accessibility to the charging and headphone ports; not so with the mIIIc case as it was easily connected to the chargers without interference.  Tommy was in awe that something so light could provide so much protection.

The second case I gave Tommy was the Carbon Fiber iPhone 4 Case. Tommy and I immediately compared the real carbon composite case to that of a pseudo carbon fiber someone else had in the warehouse and the differences were immediately seen.  After Tommy took off his old case (a rather large cumbersome beast) and placed the mIIIc case on, he immediately noticed just how small his phone appeared in comparison to the larger one.  We were also able to connect the iPhone with case to a free-standing radio to play music without any problem. I think Tommy secretly had a little chubby he was so excited!

After Tommy returned from Vegas I sat down with him to talk about how the cases had held.  Originally, Tommy had stated that after his trial period with the cases he was going to give them to someone in the warehouse; but after he received so many compliments on them during his trip, he was having a hard time letting them go as the cases performed superbly.  With several drops to the iPhone the hard polyurethane coating still looked brand new with no scratches and there was no damage to the equipment.  Over all, Tommy was very pleased given the environment he was in (we will save the other Vegas stories for another time). Did I mention that mIIIc cases are designed to meet Military Standards of protection?

The mIIIc TAC 1 case

As I was interviewing Kevin from mIIIc, he was telling me some exciting news about one of their products that I feel is perfect for our troops around the world.  The TAC-1 Carbon Fiber case is an all-encompassing protective case designed to provide your laptop or iPad with all over protection.  It has a special zipper that is water resistant to provide maximum protection against dust, grime and moisture.  Basically, you can zip up your computer in this hard case, throw it in your ruck and not have to worry about it getting damaged.  Kevin explained that the moisture resistant zipper and corresponding case is good against everything except submerging your computer.  There are a slew of 13” computers that this fit the Universal TAC-1 case which can be seen here or if you are a Macbook type, there are specific cases designed to fit your computer perfectly.

I realize that, at a first glance, these cases cost a little more than your average case.  But given the level of protection that they provide, especially in the austere conditions we often find ourselves, it is more of an investment to protect our lifeline to the rest of the world.  And, while Kevin insists that he designed these cases specifically for the Army due to our natural “clumsiness” with computers, I am wondering if he truly meant this for the Marines.  They aren’t exactly the sharpest saber in the scabbard. 

Novak has given The Rhino Den following a discount on products at his web site Mach 3 Composites. Simply use the promo code Rhino10 at check out and receive 10% off your order.

Mach III Composites is another example of a kick-ass American company ran by a Veteran.  Their products are a “GO” at this station. Go show your support to our Vetrepaneurs and support Mach3Composites. 

2 Comments

1. 

   Kyle

   July 28, 2012 at 3:28 pm

   I just ordered the all carbon fiber iPhone 4 case, not the carbon fiber inlaid ABS case you guys got. It looks like a nice product, which is why I ordered it, but the shipping was offensively expensive. It was almost $14 for the cheapest option. For something that small, that weighs less than an ounce, that’s ridiculous.

   Reply
   • 

     Kyle

     August 4, 2012 at 11:05 pm

     Got it in the mail today, extremely high quality, much higher quality than my previous CF Griffin case. I can’t imagine the case is much thicker than 1MM. I also opted for the “matte” finish, which is pretty much dry carbon fiber. You can actual feel the texture of the weave on the exterior of the case. I would recommend it to anyone, my only complaint is still the shipping cost. That being said, I would still buy another one if I needed it.

     Reply