Carbon Works Attaché Case

CARBON WORKS ATTACHÉ CASE

Carbon-fiber for the office

CARBON-FIBER IS MUCH IN EVIDENCE these days. It adorns motorcycles for both race and road, and now, it also adorns those who care about those machines.

Carbon-fiber for people? Sure,in the form of high-tech attaché cases. These are offered by several manufacturers, but most are similar in two respects: They're made from unpainted carbonfiber, and fittings and interiors are straight from Samsonite attaché cases.

The Carbon Works attaché (S3~)5 fron~ lockhart-Phillips. I 51 (`aIle Iglcsia, San (`lemente, CA )2673:

OO22l-7291) is typical of current of fi~rings. The exterior carbon-fiber pan els are beautiful, finished with a rock-hard resin that is almost, but not quite, impervious to nicks and scratch es. So far, SO eood.

Carbon-fiber is said to be 10 times lighter than steel, but that lightness was not apparent in our 5.8-pound test case. (A typical leather attaché tips the scales at 5.4 pounds.) Also, the Carbon Works attaché is not particularly plush. The panel lips are plastic and the interior it self is a fairly pedestrian cloth with leather trim. The closures, however, are bullet-proof, and so, up to a point, is the piano-style hinge and combination lock mounted under the case's wide, comfortable handle.

Bottom line? If you're in the mar ket for one of these, don't count on it as being light or plush. Do, however, expect it to be beautiful, resistant to daii~age and very exclusive.