When I was a kid, there was one reason, and one reason only, that I looked forward to the end of summer: Back to school shopping. It wasn’t the new clothing that I loved, though; it was the school supplies (perhaps this explains my deep and abiding love for Staples and Office Max). Every year, I looked forward with a somewhat unsettling amount of excitement toward the day on which I would be allowed to pick out a new Trapper Keeper and folders. School supplies got a lot less exciting the older I got, with those Trapper Keepers getting replaced with three-ring binders and regular college-rule notebooks — but guess what? Trapper Keepers are back, and this time, they’re keeping your tablets safe from harm. Needless to say, Trapper Keeper tablet cases are the best. Idea. EVER.
Seriously, you guys. Trapper Keeper-themed tablet covers are so genius I don’t know why it took so long for them to become reality. According to Electronista, accessory manufacturer Kensington has teamed up with good ol’ Mead to resurrect the old Trapper Keeper model as cases for 7- and 10-inch tablets. Available in three designs — the traditional Trapper Keeper, the colorful Pee-Chee, and the old-school composition notebook — they’ll let you recapture your childhood each time you make a note on your iPad (or Samsung Galaxy, or Windows Surface Pro, or whatever). The 7-inch models will retail for $25, while the 10-inch ones will go for $30.
For the curious, here's what they look like on the outside:
And here's what they look like when they're all opened up:
Alissa Walker at Gizmodo, while excited about the idea, noted, “I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t go far enough with the graphics. Who could forget the ‘Designer Series’ launched in 1988 which blasted into our lives with radical computer-generated art that we were proud to carry under our arms?” This may be true — but maybe this is just the beginning. If the initial Trapper Keeper tablet cases do well enough, maybe we can look forward to a whole line of new designs in years to come.
I haven’t been able to find out when these fabulous creations are actually going to be available, but Kensington’s website has a big ol’ “COMING SOON!” button next to all of them, sooooo… my guess is soon.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a Throwback Thursday idea to cook up…
Image: Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
