iPhone 5 tough case options...

[BRAAP]

As an avid iPhone user since first geniPhone, i3g, i4, now iPhone 5 to be here soon wanting a case for the new phone looking for input and other possible options not yet explored.

First a little background, how I use my phone, and what I prefer in my iPhone case. I keep my phone with me at all times, working out in the pasture, out and about shopping, entertainment, at work as an Electrician. I keep it mostly in my chest pocket. Early on with my pervious iPhones I learned the Silicone cases were better suited for me due to the stiction of the grippy silicone, won't slide out of my pocket when I lean over and the soft silicone adds a measure of shock absorption for those times when I do drop the phone. I bought the Defender case when it was first released for the iPhone 4, LOVED it, wore it out, literally. Wore through on the corners, the flaps were tore surrounding the hinge points and the plastic inner shell was cracked in two places from multiple drops, yet the phone was still in as new condition. Extremely pleased with how the case faired and protected my phone especially considering the environments I subjected it to I didn't hesitate to purchase another Defender case for the new iPhone 5, unboxed it, it looks very nice but the new rubberized skin is much harder and slipperier than the previous silicone version. For some/most this may be a welcome attribute, for me its not. 1) It does not have the grippyness of the previous skin allowing the phone to fall out of my pocket when I lean over, 2) the harder rubber has a chincy feel, to me any how, 3) the flaps now push against the charge connector and headphone plug with considerable side loads due to the harder rubber material. It feels like it may create issues internally over time with the amount of side loading the hard rubber flaps put on those connectors. Granted, the sides of the skin around the face don't peel up like the previous softer version but to me that was a compromise worth dealing with, now the added strain being placed on the connectors and a slipperier skin, compromises I am not willing to make for how I use my phone.

Any how, now looking into alternative cases, heres a few I found that have my attention;

1) LifeProof water proof case
http://www.lifeproof.com/shop/iphone-5-black

2)Ballistic Hardcore
http://www.goballisticcase.com/collections/iphone-5-cases

3) Griffin Survivor
http://store.griffintechnology.com/iphone/iphone-5/survivor-iphone5

4) TakTik, (an exotic case, price is bit higher and adds considerably more to the perimeter dimensions and smooth, not grippy, but darn cool).
https://www.lunatik.com/products/taktik

5) Hard candy Shock Drop
http://www.hardcandycases.com/iphone5-shockdrop-ruggedized-case.html

6) AquaTek, (quite bulky)
http://www.snowlizardproducts.com/pre_orders_avail.html

 

[areyes163]

You might want to consider the case mate tough xtreme. It's not water proof like the life proof case but its slim offers complete protection with its built in screen protector like the defender.

It has textured sides so it won't slide around.

 

[mpossoff]

If you want as similar to the previous Defender versions I think the Survivor would fit your needs the best.

 

[Balibalistic]

seidio convert!!

 

[wrkactjob]

I have the Griffin Survivor was impressed with the YouTube video!...I did take out the plastic screen guard though (it just pops out) as feel it makes the iPhones screen less sensitive. Also took out the foil speaker guard.

I am now totally confident handling my phone, when it was naked I was just nervous.

Some people say it messes with the look/design of the phone, but I bought the iPhone for what it does, not how it looks.

 

[mpossoff]

I have the Griffin Survivor was impressed with the YouTube video!...I did take out the plastic screen guard though (it just pops out) as feel it makes the iPhones screen less sensitive. Also took out the foil speaker guard.

I am now totally confident handling my phone, when it was naked I was just nervous.

Some people say it messes with the look/design of the phone, but I bought the iPhone for what it does, not how it looks.

I have full body protection on my 5, front, back sides. I'm interested in the Survivor and taking the Survivor shield off. The front screen will be facing in so I'm not concerned.

Will an iPhone 5 with front, back and side protectors fit into the Survivor without the Survivor shield?

 

[BRAAP]

You might want to consider the case mate tough xtreme. It's not water proof like the life proof case but its slim offers complete protection with its built in screen protector like the defender.
It has textured sides so it won't slide around.

Missed this one, thank you for sharing.
Simplistic, covered ports, definitely on the list.
http://www.case-mate.com/iPhone-5-Cases/Case-Mate-iPhone-5-Tough-Xtreme-Cases.asp
You mention textured sides, is it a soft grippy silicone or a firm hard slippery rubber shell?

seidio convert!!

Thank you for sharing this one. Definitely fills all my needs, grippy silicone skin, great padded protection from drops and ports covered to keep debris out.
http://www.seidioonline.com/apple-iphone-5-convert-case-holster-black-p/bd4-hkr4iph5-bk.htm
The full meal deal;
http://www.seidioonline.com/apple-iphone-5-convert-value-pack-black-p/bd5-hkr4iph5-bk.htm

I have the Griffin Survivor...
Some people say it messes with the look/design of the phone, but I bought the iPhone for what it does, not how it looks.

Ditto, function over form for me too.
Survivor has a few votes, my only hesitations with the survivor is that it looks very thick in cross section. The Defender case adds a tolerable amount of girth, the survivor looks like it might be a bit cumbersome for handling and removing and inserting into the pocket.

Keep the ideas and input coming, hoping to make the next case purchase the last, hope this helps others with the similar needs as well.

 

[WoodrowCall]

I have the Griffin Survivor was impressed with the YouTube video!...I did take out the plastic screen guard though (it just pops out) as feel it makes the iPhones screen less sensitive. Also took out the foil speaker guard.

I am now totally confident handling my phone, when it was naked I was just nervous.

Some people say it messes with the look/design of the phone, but I bought the iPhone for what it does, not how it looks.

I wince every time I watch that video...

 

[BRAAP]

Another case, HitCase. Water proof, not overly bulky, though is a smooth plastic outer shell vs grippy silicone, and reading throughout he FAQ page, the phone speaker may be a bit muffled/reduced volume when taking calls, penalty of being water proof.
http://www.hitcase.com/products

 

[BRAAP]

Narrowed down my options to the Lifeproof, Griffin Survivor, and the Ballistic Hard core.

Lifeproof; Pros, thin compared to the others, water proof, good reputation.
Cons, not sure if the case is grippy or slippery, the thinness of the case leaves me skeptical if it can survive drops of the ladder occasionally, (my i4 has survived many 10'+ drops form ladders tin eh defender case, to bad I'm not happy with the new i5 defender...)...

Griffen Survivor; Pros, incredible protection even under the harshest of environments, great reputation.
Cons, bulkiness, have read that some have had trouble getting the edges of the screen to register inputs due to its bulkiness.

Ballistic HardCore; Pros, Grippy outer skin, advertised port protection and water "resistant".
Cons, not much detail regarding the design, or functionality such as whether or not the hone speaker is muffled, port access, etc.

 

[Jungle Jack]

Hello,
I picked up a Ballistic Hard Core for my iP5 today and absolutely love it. I have been using Otterbox Defenders for my past 5 phones, but the HC really seems to offer better build quality. Especially the protection offered by the Inner Case which is fantastic.

I also like the quality of the optional Rubber Surround Layer. All in all, I really do think it is better made than the Defender. Granted it does cost $10 more than the non Camo Defenders.
Cheers,
JJ

 

[BRAAP]

Update;
In not finding much personal review info on i5 tough cases I decided to get the ones top on my list and try them head to head. Over the past few weeks I've been living with the following 4 cases; 1) OtterBox Defender, 2) Lifeproof Fre, 3) Ballistic Hardcore, 4) Griffin Survivor. Will post my informal review having used them all in similar situations in a typical electricians day in the rainy Pacific Northwest. Will have side by pics of all 4 cases as well, stay tuned.

 

[BRAAP]

Real quick, saw mention of another wanting Lifeproof... Short bersion, DON'T order one, at least just yet.

Longer version, my first Lifeproof iPhone 5 case was ordered within 2 days of it being released, 3 huge issues from get go.Called Lifeproof, all are know issues that the engineers are working, offered to send a revised case, I accepted, arrived 2 days ago, they got it 50% right, still a long ways to go.

1st case; Sound from speaker was horrendous, sometimes inaudible, Voicemail was difficult to understand as a big portion of the sound spectrum is muted. This is due to the speaker ports really aren't ports, they are water tight so Life proof designs the case so the back of the case itself is the speaker, transmitting the sound pressure waves from the phone speaker and reproducing those vibrations across the back, wa-la, sound. Ingenious concept, almost worked. 2nd issue is head phone jack would not go into when the phone was in the case. It would go in the case sans phone, it would go in the phone sans case, but with phone in the case, it would not go in at all. Third issue is the padding under the front screen at top makes the plastic stand off the screen so you have to push, and push hard to get to the screen for input which when trying to quick scroll to top of web page regularly induced entry to the IP bar and vice versa. This stand off also affected the face sensor so when on a call and needing to access keypad for touch tone inputs, forget it, phone still thinks its against your face, wont show the screen. Push on the top of case to compress the foam and sometimes could get the screen back.

Revised case, sound is better, but only slightly, can mostly make out what the voice mail is, they got that 1/2 way there, still no where mear as clear as good as the other cases. Headphone adapter now goes into the phone, but.... the buttons on the headphones don't activate phone! Can't start or pause or skip or turn up or down the sound through the headphone buttons. It works with their adapter sans case, phone in the case, no go. Guess is the adapter isn't seating all the way? Fiddled with it, no joy, again 1/2 way there on this issue. Screen cover standoff from screen on phone, they didn't address this one, its the same and a major pain on the arse to use the top half of screen or acces the keypad during a call.

The other cases are MUCH better as they are actually usable, especially being cheaper than Life proof.

Until I write up the formal review, Griffin Survivor and Otterbox are hands down winners, nod to Griffin bieng water resistant.

 

[BRAAP]

Castello Davarg, not really a "tough case" per this thread...

Solar,
Thanks for the input but that's more of wallet style case, not really a "tough case" per the topic of this thread. Thanks though for sharing.

 

[keekl]

I've used a Griffin on my iPod touch now for about 6 months~I've never had to test its water resistance but drop test works fine (oops). I have big hands and it gives me something to hold onto. I have nearly 4 hours of commute a day and listen to a lot of podcasts and since I know where the controls are on the screen I can easily hold in one hand and make changes with my thumb (particularly FF through commercials) without have to take eyes off screen. I have a screen protector on and the clear cover on, and occasionally there are some sensitivity issues but not all the time so probably it is mostly me, probably would help to remove that other cover.

I can see where this wouldn't work for some folks. My iPod stays in the glove compartment when I'm at work, and sits on my desk when I'm at home. Maybe a couple times a month I'll put the clip on and wear it around while doing something, so mostly it is clipless while I use it. The rubber tends to be grabby, and there's some extra heft and bulk to it, so I'm not sure if it is the right kind of case for the sleek athlete types or the "keep in purse" or wants a case that slides easily into a pocket. I've not tried to take case apart again so not sure how practical it would be to on/off the case.

For my use though I can't think of what more I need, YMMV

 

[Donmegga14]

Lunatik taktik extreme and ballistic cases are the way to go I have them both for sell on eBay real ones not the knock off ones www.facebook.com/10hottrendz scroll down to the links or you can reach me by text any time 208-380-3680

 

[Donmegga14]

My eBay link for the lunatik taktik http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lunatik-Taktik-Extreme-Authentic-iPhone-5-/200937591471

 

[Zmanbaseball2]

I recommend this:
Urban Armor Gear IPH5-RST/BLK-VP Composite Case with Impact Resistant Bumpers and Screen Kit for iPhone 5 - Rust/Black
http://amzn.com/B0099I81K0
Choose a color...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[AE14]

I have the casemate tough extreme. Great case, except the screen is awful. I did remove the screen and liked it better, but another lint magnet.

 

[BRAAP]

Griffin Survivor

Been using the Griffin Survivor for the past 6 months, LOVE the case. Water "resistant" it is, not water proof. Speaker is unimpeded and sounds great, screen functionality is good, shock and drop protection is probably the best available with its THICK silicone outer and hard inner. Dropped my iPhone5 from heights over 2 stories on more than one occasion, many a rainy day tucked in my Carhart overall upper pocket getting wet through the day with no water getting in the case, (not submerged, just in the pocket of completely soaked clothing for hours).

My only gripes;
1) camera lens cover. After a few months its little tab that retains it to the case broke as many others have experienced. Not a big issue till I lost the little cover a couple months back. At that, it only reduces the water resistance of the case in that region. If Griffen would use the same plastic/cover as used over the phone face, yet for the camera lens so you don't have to remove a cover, that would be IDEAL!

2) Overall size/bulk of the case. Honestly though I don't think the case could be reduced in size and still retain the protection level it provides. It is without doubt one of if not the more robust and protective cases available. If you are hard on phones, drop it regularly, gets damp or sometimes dropped in a puddle and retrieved promptly, this case is spectacular. I bought the Olive green case and a Black case, mixing the olive green plastic with the black silicone, makes for a nice looking combination.


TakTik spammer, sorry but your post comes across overly enthusiastic, i.e. to good to be true. As much as I would like to have a TakTik, I would not purchase from you because of how you you spammed your ad, i.e. I do not trust you.

Hope this helps others.