It's CS like this that helps me justify the cost of my Sector5 FE as well. That's awesome
I'm with you on that Mr. Poo
It's CS like this that helps me justify the cost of my Sector5 FE as well. That's awesome
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.
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.
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?
My black ops case with the new carbon back plate
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.
How did you get free shipping? For me it's $30
I was only offered two options for shipping, both were Fedex $12 and $30.
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
Plastic
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!!!)