Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Sorry to bump, anyone have experience with the Vapor Comp? As in Wifi, and signal quality.

Also as far as how well the plastic part holds up to scratches over time. I know the metal will be fine :)

Thanks guys ^_^
 
1) Can you briefly go over the different product lines, I'm having trouble differentiating between the Vapor Pro models. Specifically the Spectra and Chroma models.

2) Are these cases lined with anything that will prevent scratches to the iPhone's antenna? That seems to get scratched easily with bumpers and any other cases.

3) Besides very nice eye candy, do these cases actually provide drop protection to the phone. And by drop protection, I mean multiple drops, not just one drop and the case will crack or be unusable.

4) Are front and back screen protectors compatible with this case? I think I noticed that your backing is larger than the actual screen, or is that me seeing it wrong?

Thanks for everyone's time
 
Great Case

1) Can you briefly go over the different product lines, I'm having trouble differentiating between the Vapor Pro models. Specifically the Spectra and Chroma models.

I believe the spectra has more of a brushed aluminium finish whereas the chroma is sand blasted before anodizing, I have just reiceved my silver chroma and the surface texture is like very very fine sandpaper. Will try and post pictures soon.

2) Are these cases lined with anything that will prevent scratches to the iPhone's antenna? That seems to get scratched easily with bumpers and any other cases.

The inside has rubber strips on the corners and if i remember correctly a little strip in the middle. I am currently using a luckylabs wrap to protect the antenna band in case anything does come into contact.

3) Besides very nice eye candy, do these cases actually provide drop protection to the phone. And by drop protection, I mean multiple drops, not just one drop and the case will crack or be unusable.

I guess the drop protection would be just for the sides, however I don't plan on dropping my phone any time soon to find out.

4) Are front and back screen protectors compatible with this case? I think I noticed that your backing is larger than the actual screen, or is that me seeing it wrong?

Yes, front and back screen protectors are fine with this case as the case itself is well clear of the front and back glass part of the phone, meaning the case does not overlap the front or back.

Thanks for everyone's time

Hope that answers some of your questions, all in all its a great case... no regrets spending the money at all. Will try and get some macro shots of the case.
 
Last edited:
Regarding drop protection, it handles itself decently. I was skeptical at first but my phone survived a couple of drops on concrete. Case is also fine apart from a tiny clip. But then and again, if you are looking for solid protection, this probably isn't the case for you.
 
I was just about to buy the black ops but then saw their email signup. Is element sending out any % off emails with a new signup? I can wait if I know there is one coming?
 
Hope that answers some of your questions, all in all its a great case... no regrets spending the money at all. Will try and get some macro shots of the case.

1)So the Chroma has a "rough" feel to it where as the Spectra will feel like I'm touching a unibody macbook?

2)I saw the strips in some pictures, but what about the rest of the sides? If I were to squeeze my phone, the case will flex enough to come into contact with the sides, no? Or is the case already flush with the phone, and not "floating?"

Thanks again.

Regarding drop protection, it handles itself decently. I was skeptical at first but my phone survived a couple of drops on concrete. Case is also fine apart from a tiny clip. But then and again, if you are looking for solid protection, this probably isn't the case for you.

Did the tiny chip result from the first drop? Also, was it out of your pocket or something?

I'm not looking for solid protection, just to protect the actual phone from knicks and chips. But at $100-$150, I'm just hoping the case won't break after one fall.
 
you want protection from knicks and chips? I highly doubt this is going to protect that. I think it will protect it from turning into 100 pieces of glass...to crack lines here and there. It also depends on the angle of your drop and what's on the ground. If you have a piece of rock and the face or back impact on that rock...expect it to crack.

Just picture it...and you should see that it has minimum protection. I had a hard leather case wrapped all around it...a small drop caused a crack line to the front. That case has better protection than this case.

1)

I'm not looking for solid protection, just to protect the actual phone from knicks and chips. But at $100-$150, I'm just hoping the case won't break after one fall.
 
you want protection from knicks and chips? I highly doubt this is going to protect that. I think it will protect it from turning into 100 pieces of glass...to crack lines here and there. It also depends on the angle of your drop and what's on the ground. If you have a piece of rock and the face or back impact on that rock...expect it to crack.

Just picture it...and you should see that it has minimum protection. I had a hard leather case wrapped all around it...a small drop caused a crack line to the front. That case has better protection than this case.

Okay, let me rephrase my question...

For those of you who have an elementcase, for the unfortunate who did drop their phone with the case on - what were your experiences? Thanks.
 
Quick question, any one have experience with the Vapor Comp and Vapor Pro?

I mean both to compare signal strength after putting the case on.. kinda stuck choosing :(
 
Okay, let me rephrase my question...

For those of you who have an elementcase, for the unfortunate who did drop their phone with the case on - what were your experiences? Thanks.

Please understand that the case is absolutely useless when it comes to protecting the front or back of your iPhone (glass). You may get lucky and the phone drops on a corner and the glass doesnt shatter, but that doesnt mean that the glass wont shatter the next time you drop it. There is very minimal "lay on the table" design, so the front screen will not be protected in drop that has the phone landing on it. For that matter neither will the back glass.

I guess if you put on the suede back or another plastic back you may be able to protect the glass back better.......but I dont have experience with that since I think the suede back makes it look really cheap.

Its a good looking case (the Pro). You want protection, look elsewhere.
 
i thought the suede back would look cheap but I actualy like it. It keeps the phone from sliding around on the desk etc and surprisingly the black one doesn't seem to get dirty yet :)


Please understand that the case is absolutely useless when it comes to protecting the front or back of your iPhone (glass). You may get lucky and the phone drops on a corner and the glass doesnt shatter, but that doesnt mean that the glass wont shatter the next time you drop it. There is very minimal "lay on the table" design, so the front screen will not be protected in drop that has the phone landing on it. For that matter neither will the back glass.

I guess if you put on the suede back or another plastic back you may be able to protect the glass back better.......but I dont have experience with that since I think the suede back makes it look really cheap.

Its a good looking case (the Pro). You want protection, look elsewhere.
 
Did the tiny chip result from the first drop? Also, was it out of your pocket or something?

I'm not looking for solid protection, just to protect the actual phone from knicks and chips. But at $100-$150, I'm just hoping the case won't break after one fall.

Second drop. It's very minor and not noticeable unless you are holding the case up to inspect. Slip of the hand. Both drops are near chest hight. I've also dropped it a few times on carpet with no damage to the phone or case. So no, the case is not gonner break or crack under normal use. Also, go for the sand blasted finish. Feels way better on the hand.
 
But clearly it is no grippier since you are on the second drop!!! LOL ;)

Lol more of my own fault trying to juggle multiple bags, car key and the phone really. Like someone said earlier, it's not gonner offer the protection of a ottobox but if you are looking for a well made aluminum case that stands out to enhance the whole iPhone experience, I would certainly recommend the Pro case. Only downside is the ecentric GPS signal. The case is expensive but the cost is offsetted slightly as I am planning to use this phone for the next 2 years
 
+1

Personally, I see these cases are more cosmetic enhancement than protection.

It is like people love to dress up their cars by buying body kits, new rims, etc....just to be different or look nice :)

If someone wants full protection, then buy a full closure case or warranty drop protection plan :)

Keep in mind, any drop with or without protection is never good for this phone...imagine all those tiny little circuit inside....it might stop working after 6 months....

Please understand that the case is absolutely useless when it comes to protecting the front or back of your iPhone (glass). You may get lucky and the phone drops on a corner and the glass doesnt shatter, but that doesnt mean that the glass wont shatter the next time you drop it. There is very minimal "lay on the table" design, so the front screen will not be protected in drop that has the phone landing on it. For that matter neither will the back glass.

I guess if you put on the suede back or another plastic back you may be able to protect the glass back better.......but I dont have experience with that since I think the suede back makes it look really cheap.

Its a good looking case (the Pro). You want protection, look elsewhere.
 
Ended up ordering a Vapor Pro Stealth from GearMoxie with their 15% off coupon.

Mostly since it seems ElementCase takes forever to ship + no coupon = ew.

Pictures when it arrives :D
 
@Maybee Good point. Get a 2 (3?) year squaretrade warranty for less than 100$ (they sometimes have 30% off coupons too) and enjoy your iPhone in peace. Then u can go naked ;) or use whatever case you want even if it is purely cosmetic and does not provide protection.
 
I already bought my squaretrade 2 years warranty for $90. Knowing from my past experience, I'll be dropping my phone several times :) Any glass break, low battery, etc...I'll be getting another one :) with a $50 deductible each time :) I paid a full protection case for $120 at vaja and I still get a crack line in the front of the case.... With the crack, I wasn't able to sell my used phone for much :( Now, if I had put that $120 toward the warranty, then I would have gotten a minty phone back and sold it for much more.

As I see it, I don't stress out and worry about holding the phone everywhere I go. If I drop it, then no problem..get another one :) If I drop again, then get another one again :) Also, the iphone is beautiful as is being naked. I just don't know why so many people buy a 1 inch rubber protector around it...make it look so ugly. It's like buying a BMW and putting rubber around it to protect from door ding LOL....

@Maybee Good point. Get a 2 (3?) year squaretrade warranty for less than 100$ (they sometimes have 30% off coupons too) and enjoy your iPhone in peace. Then u can go naked ;) or use whatever case you want even if it is purely cosmetic and does not provide protection.
 
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Munkypoo7 said:
where did you get the 15% coupon?

When I looked them up I saw that they were running a 10% off with the code "STEALTH"

I plugged it in and it was 15% off. Not complaining, was a happy discovery :)


Edit! Wahahahahaha they just shipped it too. Freaking sweet. :D

Thank you munky
 
I already bought my squaretrade 2 years warranty for $90. Knowing from my past experience, I'll be dropping my phone several times :) Any glass break, low battery, etc...I'll be getting another one :) with a $50 deductible each time :) I paid a full protection case for $120 at vaja and I still get a crack line in the front of the case.... With the crack, I wasn't able to sell my used phone for much :( Now, if I had put that $120 toward the warranty, then I would have gotten a minty phone back and sold it for much more.

As I see it, I don't stress out and worry about holding the phone everywhere I go. If I drop it, then no problem..get another one :) If I drop again, then get another one again :) Also, the iphone is beautiful as is being naked. I just don't know why so many people buy a 1 inch rubber protector around it...make it look so ugly. It's like buying a BMW and putting rubber around it to protect from door ding LOL....


:D Ive had my iPhone naked for the past few days. WOW, just feels and looks so much better. The warranty definitely helps you enjoy it more ;)
 
What warranty do you guys have that's only a $50 deductible?

The Verizon iPhone warranty has a $170 deductible (which is ridiculous!)
 
What warranty do you guys have that's only a $50 deductible?

The Verizon iPhone warranty has a $170 deductible (which is ridiculous!)

applecare plus is $100 i do believe, and covers up to two accidental breakages.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.