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vodavoda

macrumors member
Oct 5, 2012
87
0
Added the cf back piece to cart, saw the ridiculous shipping and closed the page. They need to provide other shipping options, shipping cost more than the back piece!
 

archrider

macrumors 6502a
Feb 10, 2008
814
98
I live 30 miles from Element's facility. It costs me $12 to have Fedex tack two days to carry it that distance. i could drive it for less than that.
 

Brother Esau

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2010
277
0
Original post

Writing a quick review of the sector 5 after two and a half months of use and one accidental drop "test".

Design: B+
Design is a tough one because its purely based on opinion. I haven't had anyone tell me they disliked it or thought it was ugly. Asking to look at my phone is a common occurrence so I gave it a B+. I enjoy the look of it- if you purchased the case you probably do to.

Construction: C+
The aluminum siding is well crafted and feels/looks great. The best part of the aluminum sides is the grip it gives you. Using the phone in landscape feels great. It feels like you are holding something designed to be in landscape like a psp or something. The plastic corners are made of very weak plastic. The padding that lines the inside of case gets worn out over time and squishes down. This eventually makes the grip around the phone feel lose. Its not as firm as it use to feel when it was new. The plastic corners and padding are in need of an upgrade. Element has to use better material for these pieces.
JD7g7aS.jpg


Protection: D-
Look, if your phone drops face down on a hard uneven surface its very likely going to shatter the screen. If you aren't using the rear stick on felt they provide, its going to get scuffed up on an uneven surface. If you are not using some sort of sticker/wrap to protect the back of the phone or part of the front.. its going to get scratched on an uneven surface. The bumper is very light and thin. The aluminum its self is very weak because ...its aluminum. I dropped my phone during mardi gras on the sidewalk from pocket height and you can see the results below.
t1Tdlu9.jpg

GuWk4Sw.jpg


Price: D-
This should probably be an F but we can only blame our selves for spending 140$+ on a cell phone case that is less then 10 grams of material lol.


Overall I still really enjoy the case. I don't see my self changing it any time soon. I wish element would improve upon the plastic corners and the padding lining the inside or a significant reduction in price. I feel like the material you receive is not consistent with the price of the case. The case offers very little protection. You end up spending additional monies on wraps and glass screen protectors to get more protection.



I was a wood worker for 18 years so I am familiar with CNC machining.

I am all for quality workmanship but seriously Element your products are way over priced for the amount of material that you are using regardless of your said build process!

Lets get serious here and tell the truth of whats actually involved.

After the Initial Setup and finalized calibration, CNC Machinery is a one time setup with periodic calibration checks and adjustments if and when needed.

That is the whole point of CNC Machinery for a production shop so your argument on the cost of your cases (very nice BTW) due to the machining and bit changes Holds no water with me.

Really guys, It's a Aluminum Bumper for a phone must you charge such outrageous prices seeing how you are setup as a production shop with PRODUCTION CNC equipment?

You would think that for the price, the plastic corners would be made out of a Kevlar Composite. Are they?

Here's what I used to do and this was done the way it was done (By Hand) 250 years ago so I know what I am talking about here Element Cases. Care to respond?


Picture-002.jpg
 
Last edited:

bloodninj4

macrumors member
Apr 6, 2010
91
0
I was a wood worker for 18 years so I am familiar with CNC machining.

I am all for quality workmanship but seriously Element your products are way over priced for the amount of material that you are using regardless of your said build process!

Lets get serious here and tell the truth of whats actually involved.

After the Initial Setup and finalized calibration, CNC Machinery is a one time setup with periodic calibration checks and adjustments if and when needed.

That is the whole point of CNC Machinery for a production shop so your argument on the cost of your cases (very nice BTW) due to the machining and bit changes Holds no water with me.

Really guys, It's a Aluminum Bumper for a phone must you charge such outrageous prices seeing how you are setup as a production shop with PRODUCTION CNC equipment?

You would think that for the price, the plastic corners would be made out of a Kevlar Composite. Are they?

Here's what I used to do and this was done the way it was done (By Hand) 250 years ago so I know what I am talking about here Element Cases. Care to respond?

Good perspective. Seriously the plastic corners are a joke. Not sure if the darker ones for the black cases are any better. But the clear ones for the silver remind me of the plastic you would come across when building some toy from the dollar store.

No amount of Customer Service can really justify the price you pay for the quality of material you receive.

I was considering purchasing a ronin as a gift but after experiencing the sector 5...I will pass. build material quality to cost ratio is wayyyy out of wack.
 

hofnar

macrumors regular
Feb 12, 2006
201
33
Brooklyn, NY
Could someone possibly measure the width the case adds on to the phone? I am curious if ill still be able to use my elevation dock.

Many thanks!
 

Munkypoo7

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2011
449
71
Hanover, MD
Added the cf back piece to cart, saw the ridiculous shipping and closed the page. They need to provide other shipping options, shipping cost more than the back piece!

I live 30 miles from Element's facility. It costs me $12 to have Fedex tack two days to carry it that distance. i could drive it for less than that.

Shipping was free for my backplate with USPS Priority? :confused:

Here she is with my Sector 5 FE :D
ZbJe4EG.jpg

SW4Qb0A.jpg

oubHOOA.jpg


Love how the backplate isn't flat. Gives the case a more rounded feel. :D
 

MatthewStorm

macrumors 6502a
Oct 19, 2003
923
511
Chapel Hill
I called ElementCase last Thursday and someone finally answered. I complained about the looseness of my Sector 5 and they said they would send me a replacement, actually the Ronin since that's what I want. I boxed mine out and shipped it FedEx that day. Also that day I get a notification that they shipped my replacement. Wow, very nice, I thought. They haven't even received mine back.

So, I checked the tracking number and nothing showed. No problem, it just hasn't shown up yet.

Well, today is Tuesday and I called FedEx. There is no such tracking number in their files. Nothing. ElementCase signed for mine on Friday. And they've sent me nothing in return.

Pretty screwed up way to treat people in my book.

Just saying...
 

archrider

macrumors 6502a
Feb 10, 2008
814
98
In my opinion Element Case's customer service is unbelievably good.
After about four hours of submitting my issues I received this response.

Quote:
"I am very sorry about that and will have a replacement sent to you right away. Thank you and have a good day!

Best,

Cristina Rodriguez
Customer Service
Element Case"

Keep up the good work Element. This is what we buy with the big bucks.
 

Munkypoo7

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2011
449
71
Hanover, MD
How did you get free shipping? For me it's $30 :eek:

I was only offered two options for shipping, both were Fedex $12 and $30.

It may be due to the fact I used the coupon code Element Case sent us Sector 5 FE purchasers that paid full retail but never got their CF backplate... not sure though.

Both $12 and $30 seems quite over-the-top for a backplate. They sent mine in a padded envelope...
 

bernardkahuna

macrumors newbie
Mar 11, 2013
2
0
zero support

Dear ELEMENT people,

A have a broken plastic part of the upper connecting part to the aluminum unit broken. It snapped and does not hold together the unit.
I keep asking for replacement for almost 2 weeks, I'm getting back a general mambo-jambo from Cristina Rodriguez
Customer Service, that I cannot get the part from you. You as a manufacturer liable to replace this 50 cents item, and I'm willing to pay for it. Can we get this done? Regards, Bernard

(FYI - 4 times I bought your products in the past 3 years!!!)
 

Munkypoo7

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2011
449
71
Hanover, MD
Dear ELEMENT people,

A have a broken plastic part of the upper connecting part to the aluminum unit broken. It snapped and does not hold together the unit.
I keep asking for replacement for almost 2 weeks, I'm getting back a general mambo-jambo from Cristina Rodriguez
Customer Service, that I cannot get the part from you. You as a manufacturer liable to replace this 50 cents item, and I'm willing to pay for it. Can we get this done? Regards, Bernard

(FYI - 4 times I bought your products in the past 3 years!!!)

One of the polycarbonate pieces snapped? Pictures? How'd that happen? They seem extremely solid :confused:
 

BoomstickMafia

macrumors member
Nov 12, 2012
73
0
Dear ELEMENT people,

A have a broken plastic part of the upper connecting part to the aluminum unit broken. It snapped and does not hold together the unit.
I keep asking for replacement for almost 2 weeks, I'm getting back a general mambo-jambo from Cristina Rodriguez
Customer Service, that I cannot get the part from you. You as a manufacturer liable to replace this 50 cents item, and I'm willing to pay for it. Can we get this done? Regards, Bernard

(FYI - 4 times I bought your products in the past 3 years!!!)

Pawdnah, you need to call their customer service. Not sure why you are getting no where with email, but they will not respond to you here.
 

Brother Esau

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2010
277
0
Sorry but I would not ever entertain the notion of buying a aluminum bumper case with plastic corners for $150.00 and up regardless of how good it looks!:rolleyes:
 
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