Alcase vs. e13ctron hybrid vs. Vapor Pro?

[Boston Rhett]

I'm in the market for an aluminum bumper-style case and have narrowed my choices down to Alcase, the e13ctron s4v hybrid, or a Vapor Pro. Since I'm new to the forums and haven't had time to scroll through the seemingly thousands of pages about these cases, I was hoping to get some feedback -- pros and cons, manufacturing quality, effect on signal, overall design, which you'd personally prefer, etc. Photos would definitely be welcome!

Much appreciated, guys! Thanks!

 

[YMark]

Cool. YOU don't have the time to find the information YOU need, so ask others to do it for YOU. Liberal mindset I see.

 

[Boston Rhett]

Hey man, come on. There seem to be a ton of differing opinions spread out all over the place, but I'm not asking anyone to pore over them and condense them for me. I'm just curious about other people's thoughts on and experiences with these cases, whether they'd recommend one over the others.

 

[Munkypoo7]

Cool. YOU don't have the time to find the information YOU need, so ask others to do it for YOU. Liberal mindset I see.

Glad YOU helped. Oh wait.. nvm.

Boston, I've had and still have all three cases... yeah I'm crazy.

Over all, my absolute favorite is the Vapor Pro Stealth. Well for you it would be the Vapor Pro in whatever flavor, but yeah. Why? I'm not really sure why I enjoy it the most, but I just do.

The Alcase is extremely nice, but the worst part about it, the aluminum face gets scratched like mad, and since you can only get a polished front, it gets scuffed quote quickly. Otherwise it's literally a perfect case. I'll admit, I'm not sure why, since the e13ctron Hybrid I have also has a polished front, but it doesn't scratch.

The S4V Hybrid by e13ctron is my second favorite, it overs the case excellently but similar to the Alcase, it has that Acetyl back so it has a plastic feel for part of it. Not cheap plastic mind you, but it does detract from the feel imo.

The Vapor Pro is just perfect... period. I can't really explain it, I just couldn't be happier with it, the greatest selling point is that it's full aluminum minus the tiny polycarbonate cap... which doesn't detract from it at all.

Short version, in order of preference:
Vapor Pro
e13ctron S4V Hybrid
Alcase

 

[TestedLion]

Glad YOU helped. Oh wait.. nvm.


The Alcase is extremely nice, but the worst part about it, the aluminum face gets scratched like mad,

really? I've had mine for a few weeks now..and there aren't any scratches on the aluminum front. Do you keep it in your pocket with keys or???

 

[Boston Rhett]

The Alcase is extremely nice, but the worst part about it, the aluminum face gets scratched like mad, and since you can only get a polished front, it gets scuffed quote quickly. Otherwise it's literally a perfect case. I'll admit, I'm not sure why, since the e13ctron Hybrid I have also has a polished front, but it doesn't scratch.

The S4V Hybrid by e13ctron is my second favorite, it overs the case excellently but similar to the Alcase, it has that Acetyl back so it has a plastic feel for part of it. Not cheap plastic mind you, but it does detract from the feel imo.

The Vapor Pro is just perfect... period. I can't really explain it, I just couldn't be happier with it, the greatest selling point is that it's full aluminum minus the tiny polycarbonate cap... which doesn't detract from it at all.

Thanks for your input! I had actually been leaning towards the Alcase until you mentioned how easily it scratches. So I think I'll hold off on that for now.

Now I'm leaning towards the e13ctron. The Vapor does look beautiful (I think the red or silver would look sick on my black iPhone), but the cost is a little prohibitive. With its discount code, the e13ctron is the most inexpensive of the bunch by far.

Just a few more questions before I pull the trigger on either one of these:

- What's the finish like on the Vapor compared to the polished and/or matte finishes on the e13ctron?

- Which impacted signal strength more, or were they comparable?

- Which one adds the least bulk to the phone?

 

[thatappleguytoday]

really? I've had mine for a few weeks now..and there aren't any scratches on the aluminum front. Do you keep it in your pocket with keys or???

yeah mine after a month I have seen no scratches either

I'll take the Alcase over the others for the simple fact the screws are on the back side.

Plus, no reception problems at all

 

[Munkypoo7]

really? I've had mine for a few weeks now..and there aren't any scratches on the aluminum front. Do you keep it in your pocket with keys or???

yeah mine after a month I have seen no scratches either

I'll take the Alcase over the others for the simple fact the screws are on the back side.

Plus, no reception problems at all

Well, rephrase, not scratched, scuffed.. maybe i was just unlucky? idk. I only left it in my pocket alone, no keys or anything

The polycarbonate cap feels just like the rear panels for both Hybrid cases, strong, smooth to the touch, rigid as it should be as well, but just the... idk I like aluminum more, just user preference I suppose.

The matte finish is almost like a soft touch case kinda deal, it's amazingly smooth. For both cases.

Signal degradation went as a pro for the Vapor pro, while the Alcase and Hybrid were almost dead on. Both hybrids netted me an average 3-5dB loss, the Vapor is closer to 2-3dB. Really all quite negligible unless you are teetering right there on the absolute edge on one bar. The only time this would be an issue is if your phone while being naked hits the ~ -125dB range as "normal"...

With any of the three you'll be extremely happy, I just prefer the Vapor..

As for bulk, the e13ctron adds the least, it follows the contours of the phone the best imo, then it's kind of a toss up between the Vapor and Alcase, both are roughly the same, though the Vapor does feel "bulkier" so to speak, as if it were a bigger phone.

quick edit: Seems the Alcase shouldn't scratch as mine did, just bad luck. Really, I'd take the Alcase over the e13ctron, but that's just preference, the Alcase is just smoother to the touch and has machined grooves that make holding the phone just feel right. It's tough to explain really.

 

[Boston Rhett]

quick edit: Seems the Alcase shouldn't scratch as mine did, just bad luck. Really, I'd take the Alcase over the e13ctron, but that's just preference, the Alcase is just smoother to the touch and has machined grooves that make holding the phone just feel right. It's tough to explain really.

Ahhh I just pulled the trigger on the e13ctron and then I read this! I ultimately went with the all-aluminum polished case, with the clear aluminum top and dark gray bottom. But maybe now I'll pick up an Alcase as well, and return whichever one I don't like as much.

Out of curiosity, do you think a white back would look OK on a black iPhone? Or should I streamline it and go with a black back?

 

[Munkypoo7]

Out of curiosity, do you think a white back would look OK on a black iPhone? Or should I streamline it and go with a black back?

No matter what choice you make, it'll look great

I prefer the black backing on a black iPhone, but I've seen white backs and it still looks damn sharp.

 

[joker58103]

Vapor Comp vs E13ctron

My personal experience with both cases is as follows....

I ordered the matte blue aluminum e13ctron case with the hybrid acetyl back. The case was absolutely gorgeous, by far the best looking case I have seen. A few things I didn't like were the small buttons for the volume and power buttons made them very hard to use. The headphone jack was way to small even for the small plug on my bose headphones. The edges on the the case are a bit sharp also. I ultimately had to send the case back because it degraded the signal just enough at work that my phone was unusable. At work I usually only have 2 bars to start with. The customer service could not have been any better!

I ultimately wound up ordering the black and read stealth element case. My first reaction was the case is a bit underwhelming in the looks department for $120. The case does not degrade the signal on my phone one bit and performance at work is the same as without a case on. The built in volume rock and power button make the case functional and easy to use. The edges are a bit more rounded and it feels a lil better in the hand than the e13tron case.

Looks wise, the hands down winner is the e13ctron case IMO. But the element case is the clear winner from a functional standpoint.

 

[WonMan]

I just check the bay and saw that someone has an e13ctron Hybrid case up with three different color tops. If I didn't already have one I would jump on this.
Just search e13ctron. It looks good to me.

 

[guccigucci88]

you guys should look into xtrucase aluminum. no screws, minimum signal affect (for me), and overal just looks great. I also have a vapor pro which is nice, but for the price I'd rather have 2 or 3 more xtrucases.

 

[Xtrucase]

XTRUCASE vs Alcase vs. e13ctron hybrid vs. Vapor'd Pro?

you guys should look into xtrucase aluminum. no screws, minimum signal affect (for me), and overal just looks great. I also have a vapor pro which is nice, but for the price I'd rather have 2 or 3 more xtrucases.

So the Title should be changed and go something like this then??

XTRUCASE vs, Alcase vs. e13ctron hybrid vs. Vapor'd Pro?

 

[Boston Rhett]

Wow I'm surprised this thread is still hanging around. Thanks for everyone's input. I ended up going with a red/white Alcase and a clear/dark gray e13ctron s4v (the all aluminum one). I also picked up a matte blue bottom for my e13ctron on eBay about a month ago. I definitely won't be getting a Vapor Pro from Element, as I just can't bring myself to spend that much money on a single case, but I might get a knockoff at some point. And yes @Xtrucase, I am definitely looking into picking up one of your cases, either the matte graphite or white.