I was originally skeptical of the "this year Apple leather is crap" but literally the instant I took the case out of the box the difference was overwhelming. The phone is sitting on the chair next to me as I type this, and the smell of the leather is obvious. I thought "these forum bozos are idiots, the Apple case doesn't smell like chemicals, it smells like leather." Turns out I'd just forgotten what leather smells like.
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The grain is neither smooth like the Apple cases, nor pebbly like the Woolnut, but nice and wrinkly. It's like the back of your hand, if you've made it past 40 and only-sorta moisturize. It's like a cow.
The Bullstrap logo feels like it's coated with something hard and shiny, it really pops in the right light and it's a nicely sharp cutout. I've seen several variations in the Apple logo in various folks's forum posts, and mine is really poorly-defined and cheap-looking.
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The camera cutout is bare leather. I'd previously observed that the plastic edging on the Apple case won't change color as the leather ages, but I've also gotten a few big dings & scrapes in mine—so now it's not ripped-and-scuffed leather, which looks good, but stupid chewed-up plastic.
The nail in the cutout's coffin, though, is that the Apple case makes a "click" when you set it down, because the plastic rim is ever-so-slightly higher than the surface of the leather (the 12pm must be even worse, how can you stand it?!). I reckon that's going to keep the leather from fully contacting the surface you've set it on, and so even further prevent the patina. The Bullstrap case has that nice soft "thump" when I set it down on a wood tabletop—and it slides like pure leather, not like something with a plastic standoff.
It looks in this picture like the cutout isn't tight to the back of the phone, but that's just the curve of the glass. The fit is firm.
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Well, it's mostly firm. The mute cutout does have maybe a half-millimeter gap between the wall of the case and the phone, which you can barely see in this photo. It will trap lint and stuff, but that doesn't bother me at all. YMMV. The cutout is nice and wide and my (small) fingers have no problem operating the switch.
The buttons are metal, which I love, and I personally prefer the black to Apple's brown. I think the subtle way the leather bulges around them looks cool.
The only real issue I have with this case is that the buttons are SLIGHTLY too easy to press. Too-easy is way better than too-hard, but still. I'm not worried about accidental presses, they just feel slightly less-perfect than Apple's. These buttons are more rounded, and I prefer the sharp edges of Apple's, but there's definitely no problem finding them by touch.
This case feels premium, Apple's doesn't—that's because of the leather, not despite the buttons.
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Here is a bunch of **** all over my screen. Whoops.
The screen rim is nice and raised, maybe even more than Apple's. It really feels like it's slightly curled over so that it grips the phone, and this could be a turn-off if you really want to see your phone's bezels. The lip on the Apple case is much more flush with the side of the phone and will show off your silver/red/whatever much better.
This case is SLIGHTLY harder to take off than the Apple case; I suspect the MagSafe is doing some of the work of keeping Apple's case on the phone, whereas the Bullstrap stays on because the lip curls slightly over the phone. That's even considering that the open bottom makes it flex more—so while I don't think either case is seriously likely to pop off the phone if (er, when) I drop it, the Bullstrap feels just slightly more secure.
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More crap on the screen, now with 100% more greasy smudges!
Am pigslob.
Yes, Virginia—the bottom is open. Call me a genius unappreciated in my time, it's better than the closed bottom.
Do wrongly-symmetrical cutouts on a case bother you? No cutouts here!
Do cutouts irritate your pinky? No cutouts here! That leather lip is smoothly rolled and doesn't have any edges. The Apple cutouts are sharper-edged, not rolled—and no, I'm not weeping for mommy because poor fingie got booboo. I'm just aggravated that I paid $60 for Apple's fit-and-finish, and it's uncomfortable.
Are you irked that there's a thing in your way when swiping up? Swipe from that sexy steel edge, no lip to get tripped up on!
This picture makes it look like there's a gap between the lip and the phone, but that's just a reflection. The case sits tight all around.
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It's really hard to see, but the Bullstrap (bottom) has a bigger lip than the Apple 11p (above) has.
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The Apple 11p case (right) is scooped out, the Bullstrap (left) is not.
This means that the open bottom has more protection from drops, and when resting on a charging dock. The steel frame floats a millimeter above the charging dock, resting instead on the leather lip.
No, it's not going to help if I drop it JUST RIGHT on a rock, but I'm personally not concerned about that—if I wanted lifeproof I'd get one of those Batman cases. Similarly I don't really care about increased scratches on the bottom—in fact, it might be kinda cool to have an exposed section to compare with the rest that's kept (more or less) pristine.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING STILL READING MY NONSENSE GO DO SOMETHING WORTHWHILE
So yeah. The Apple case is going back, it is definitely not worth the price. I was scuffin-n-buffin it the other day, trying to work some of my hand oil in to get the patina flowin', and the Apple leather suddenly felt papery and thin, like it was a thin veneer over the plastic. This case feels like a thick ole baseball glove. It smells great. It's wonderfully textured. It doesn't have any stupid plastic details or sharp cutouts. The bottom is open for business in pinkytown.
It's a great case.
