Just came back from the Apple Store and saw the Tech 21 Impact Clear case for the 10.5 and have some impressions for those interested. They let me play around with it for quite some time.
Look: It is a very nice case. I had it put on the 10.5 with the Apple black leather cover. It is far superior than I expected it to be. Is it worth $80 CAD? No. But, the Apple products are not worth their price, either. Also, the current selection in Canada is quite poor, especially on Amazon. The fit was absolutely perfect. The case appears to have a lifetime warranty, which should be good. I do not know how good this warranty is for Canadians.
Fit and Feel: The case is a flexible matte plastic that feels better than TPU and doesn't seem to show fingerprints or oils from my hands, easily. It is also quite thin and light. I said, possibly incorrectly, that this material was likely TPU. Having felt it, I feel it that it could have the good properties of TPU without the ones (flimsy and low energy absorption). Most importantly, the case fit well and there were no loose sides or corners and the cutouts were not flimsy. The material was grippy enough to stay in my hands. The volume buttons, while stiff, were not that difficult to press. This is probably a good thing, as they'll last longer. The leather cover fit perfectly and closed perfectly. There was no overhang and the cover rested just over the inside ledge of the Tech 21 case, which is ideal. The lip of the case comes a very small distance (a few millimeters, I would guess) past the metal edge. It looks like it should work with a screen protector. However, I am not sure if I am going to use one with it or not. One thing I didn't notice as an issue, but forgot to really check was to ensure the camera bump was sufficiently inside the case. The material seemed thick enough that it would, but I need to recheck this.
Pencil Holder: The Apple Pencil fit into the holder quite well and I do not think their would be a concern for it to fall out, under normal conditions. However, I have a concern about the Apple Pencil holder as can be moved slightly when putting the Apple Pencil in and out. I do not think this would be enough to detach the holder, but the movement now is concerning. I think one could fix this, easily, by sticking a tiny piece of spongy material in the two vertical slots. This would mean you would have to take off the case and remove the spongy material to take off the pencil holder, but it should remove this slight movement issue.
If anyone has this case, I would love to hear your impressions on it. I was still thinking about the Luvvitt Case, as I have TPU cases for my Nintendo 3DS, PS Vita, and GP2X Caanoo. This material felt far better and I think it will protect the iPad from a small drop, whereas the TPU is more of a bump only solution. I saw
a review video of their Impact Clear cases on the iPhone and how the reviewer was testing the case by just throwing their phone around. It seems like quite a protective material. From Best Buy reviews of the 9.7 version, it seems the only issues people had were volume button problems (seemed like they had misalignments that I didn't see in the 10.5 version) and the Apple Pencil holder coming off easily (which I did notice could be an issue) as it holds the Apple Pencil so tightly (which is not a bad thing).
