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Leather Cases - Patina Proud Photos

My Luckycoin is finally out for delivery today. I'm putting all my eggs in its basket. This is my last hope at a decent leather case that can age beautifully and last more than a few months. I've tried too many of them so far.

Mujjo - utter garbage - worse than Apples 12-14 series
Decoded - okay, but nothing special. Leather quality is average and doesn't age well
Bullstrap - Nice leather but horrid customer service experience with my iphone 11 swore me off them for life
Keyway - Fantastic leather but after dropping it in a puddle it became ruined by the water seeping in around the cutout for the logo and stained the leather. The logo also interfered with the magsafe wallet.
Nomad - The English tan was a beauty out of the box but didn't age well. It got very dull and rough feeling as it aged.
They didn't have the English tan in the Horween so it was basically the same leather Decoded use.
Bellroy - Found the case quite bulky and didn't feel like real leather
Haven't tried Andar or Ryan London due to cost. I'm in Canada so shipping and duty really drive the pricing up on these.

Fingers are crossed. I'll let you know my impressions when it gets here.
 
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DR3MCLAREN said:
My Luckycoin is finally out for delivery today. I'm putting all my eggs in its basket. This is my last hope at a decent leather case that can age beautifully and last more than a few months. I've tried too many of them so far.

Mujjo - utter garbage - worse than Apples 12-14 series
Decoded - okay, but nothing special. Leather quality is average and doesn't age well
Bullstrap - Nice leather but horrid customer service experience with my iphone 11 swore me off them for life
Keyway - Fantastic leather but after dropping it in a puddle it became ruined by the water seeping in around the cutout for the logo and stained the leather. The logo also interfered with the magsafe wallet.
Nomad - The English tan was a beauty out of the box but didn't age well. It go very dull and rough feeling as it aged.
Bellroy - Found the case quite bulky and didn't feel like real leather
They didn't have the English tan in the Horween so it was basically the same leather Decoded use.
Haven't tried Andar or Ryan London due to cost. I'm in Canada so shipping and duty really drive the pricing up on these.

Fingers are crossed. I'll let you know my impressions when it gets here.
Click to expand...
One of the biggest reasons I never upgraded to the 15 pros. I tried so many cases from what you listed, and like you all of them fell short. Haven't tried the Luckycoin as I don't have the 15 pro and I dont think I could do enough testing with my wife's 15 PM. Very discouraged with options. Here's to Apple offering something better than FW this time around.
 
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TheBMacAttack said:
One of the biggest reasons I never upgraded to the 15 pros. I tried so many cases from what you listed, and like you all of them fell short. Haven't tried the Luckycoin as I don't have the 15 pro and I dont think I could do enough testing with my wife's 15 PM. Very discouraged with options. Here's to Apple offering something better than FW this time around.
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There's just something about Apple OEM cases and their fit. I've rocked the FineWoven case the longest out of all my other cases simply based on how great the fit is.
 
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DR3MCLAREN said:
My Luckycoin is finally out for delivery today. I'm putting all my eggs in its basket. This is my last hope at a decent leather case that can age beautifully and last more than a few months. I've tried too many of them so far.

Mujjo - utter garbage - worse than Apples 12-14 series
Decoded - okay, but nothing special. Leather quality is average and doesn't age well
Bullstrap - Nice leather but horrid customer service experience with my iphone 11 swore me off them for life
Keyway - Fantastic leather but after dropping it in a puddle it became ruined by the water seeping in around the cutout for the logo and stained the leather. The logo also interfered with the magsafe wallet.
Nomad - The English tan was a beauty out of the box but didn't age well. It go very dull and rough feeling as it aged.
Bellroy - Found the case quite bulky and didn't feel like real leather
They didn't have the English tan in the Horween so it was basically the same leather Decoded use.
Haven't tried Andar or Ryan London due to cost. I'm in Canada so shipping and duty really drive the pricing up on these.

Fingers are crossed. I'll let you know my impressions when it gets here.
Click to expand...
The Andar and Ryan London are basically like the Keyway case just without the metal X on the back... They might not be cheap, but they are very nice cases.
 
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mikext said:
There's just something about Apple OEM cases and their fit. I've rocked the FineWoven case the longest out of all my other cases simply based on how great the fit is.
Click to expand...
Right? I think I would have to rock that or the silicone case if I had the 15PM. I had a 15PM on preorder, and ordered the FW. Once I got the FW in and felt it, I cancelled the pre order. Maybe I would have gotten use to it, just did not like the feel of the back.

I know the 12-14 Apple leather cases didn't have great aging leather, but like you said the fit and thinness is something that can't be matched. It's clear how much could be fixed by 3rd party if they would just wait on the phone to be released and make the case from the actual phone. Instead it's how fast can they get to market, and it leads to this list of never just right.
 
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The Luckycoin just arrived and so far so good. It fits perfect, all the buttons and cut outs are aligned spot on. Excellent magsafe strength, buttons are tactile and clicky, and it smells good too. The leather is a tad bit dry, like others had commented, but it will soften up quickly I suspect through use. So far very pleased... but the leather cases always start out perfect don't they. The real test is how well it ages. I can see why people compare these to the Bullstraps.
 
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DR3MCLAREN said:
The Luckycoin just arrived and so far so good. It fits perfect, all the buttons and cut outs are aligned spot on. Excellent magsafe strength, buttons are tactile and clicky, and it smells good too. The leather is a tad bit dry, like others had commented, but it will soften up quickly I suspect through use. So far very pleased... but the leather cases always start out perfect don't they. The real test is how well it ages. I can see why people compare these to the Bullstraps.
Click to expand...
I am so glad you like it so far. I love mine. A tiny bit of conditioner works great but it will just use you hands for oil. Mine is ageing like my iPhone X case did which is amazing. Did you get the leather sample in your package? It is so fun to compare from new. It is the hidden gem.
 
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JerryIII said:
I am so glad you like it so far. I love mine. A tiny bit of conditioner works great but it will just use you hands for oil. Mine is ageing like my iPhone X case did which is amazing. Did you get the leather sample in your package? It is so fun to compare from new. It is the hidden gem.
Click to expand...
Mine did not have the little sample. To be fair the box slid open quite easily so I suspect if there was a sample in there it’s probably slid out and wound up on the floor of the Amazon depot. Not a concern for me. I’m very happy with the case and not going to complain about a missing scrap.
 
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JerryIII said:
I am so glad you like it so far. I love mine. A tiny bit of conditioner works great but it will just use you hands for oil. Mine is ageing like my iPhone X case did which is amazing. Did you get the leather sample in your package? It is so fun to compare from new. It is the hidden gem.
Click to expand...

My luckycoin arrived this past Sunday and also didn’t have the sample and the box slid open easy and the case was loose in the box. I’m loving the case so far still
 
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DR3MCLAREN said:
I paid $43 Canadian for mine. Which is still a steal since a Bullstrap is about $90 plus shipping and duty brings it close to $160 Canadian.
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Are the black ones same quality? nothing good here have tried them all like you.
Just sent back a nomad English tan folio lol
 
DR3MCLAREN said:
Having now used the Luckycoin for the past 8 hours I can’t understand why anyone would pay Bullstrap prices. There is not a single flaw on this case. This is better than the last Bullstrap I had and was a way better price, faster shipping, and no extra duty charges.
Click to expand...
Better yet, free returns!
 
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So I have the Bullstrap Contemporary case coming on Saturday for my 14PM. Thought I would give it a try at $35 since I can't get the LC for the 14PM. Interested to see how it is being thicker and heavier than the Apple leather case.
 
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More patina pics. Some on this forum said that these wouldn’t patina. It wasn’t the right kind of leather, bla bla bla. Hmmm. This is showing a very similar patina to my iPhone X case. I checked my Amazon history and this case has been my daily since February 1.
 

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JerryIII said:
More patina pics. Some on this forum said that these wouldn’t patina. It wasn’t the right kind of leather, bla bla bla. Hmmm. This is showing a very similar patina to my iPhone X case. I checked my Amazon history and this case has been my daily since February 1.
Click to expand...
Very nice patina. Looking very solid.

How are the buttons? They look like they stick out pretty far. I am so picky about my cases especially leather ones.
 
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DR3MCLAREN said:
I don’t notice the buttons sticking out any farther than other cases. They have a good tactile click when you use them.
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Awesome! There is just this standard with the Apple leather case that is hard to match. Buttons tactile and clicky while still not sticking out very far at all. I am crazy I know this lol.

Are they rounded off to be smooth on the edges?
 
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