My first test was out of the house busing around town for a day to myself. I'm able to bead comfortably at a bus stop and as it pulls up, get ready to get on by the time the door opens (I kept my change on the mat to have ready before closing the case). I can take my beading comfortably to work on at the park, in a cafe or by the pond in the Kasugai Japanese Garden downtown. Natural light is best, right?
I have two young, curious boys at home. I can put away my projects in seconds without having to worry about the kids making a mess, getting my threads in a knot or spilling beads on the floor. I can relocated anywhere in the house without a hassle. If I'm working at my desk, I can put the lid on it to quickly switch to a new task. I spend less time cleaning up and more time on what's important.
This case comes in two sizes. The Save n Go and the Save n Go Junior. The Junior (the model I purchased) is similar in size and thickness to a net book laptop; it can fit into my purse. It's surface area is 12x9 inches (9.5 inches including the hinge); it's approximately 1 inch thick. I'm thinking about getting a net book decal to personalize mine (not a bad way to go if you plan on keeping a couple to separate your projects). It only comes in white. The top and the bottom separate completely.
The larger sized case is much bigger but still portable; for my purposes the junior works just fine. I wouldn't mind one half the size of the junior for even smaller projects. You can pack a few pliers and sissors in the case but I keep that stuff in a separate pencil bag.
The one thing I wish they had done was use Velcro rather than glue for keeping the mat in place so that it could be removed for cleaning in the future or replacement should it need it.
I paid $20 CAD including taxes for mine at Michaels with a coupon.
The company site is http://www.beadbuddy.net
