New Thanotech K11 bumper

kingston73 · Jan 25, 2017

I finally got the new thanotech k11 bumper today so this is just initial impressions. Like the first one, it's slick so in the pictures you'll see some skateboard/grip tape strips, makes the phone much easier to hold. Unlike the first version I haven't noticed any reduction in signal, zero change with the bumper on or off.

It looks great, it's hard to tell theres anything on the phone at all when looking from the front. The back protector film looks pretty ugly but I'm hoping the air bubbles work themselves out and it looks better tomorrow. If not, Thanotech included 2 in the box so I have a backup if I need it.

I also bought their e2e front protector but haven't installed it yet. I currently have a D&P e2e on and that's the only negative I have with the bumper, there's no lip on the front so if I lay it face down the glass contacts the surface. Maybe a thinner protector would be better with this case but I don't want to take this one off because it looks and feels perfect right now.

Aaron the Ho reviewed this on his mobileReviewsEh channel and it survived a face down drop from shoulder height, so hopefully this protects well. I'm still split over whether I use this or my leather case, I'm sure this will protect better and it looks good. Also, no problem operating the mute switch.

The final thing to say is that I did have to modify it a little. When I installed it the buttons were almost flush with the bumper. I cut two strips of tape the size of the buttons and put them inside the case, and now the buttons stick out. They are nice and clickable, not sure if the flush buttons are a design feature or if my phone is odd.

blaine07 · Jan 25, 2017

Looks good. Thanks for review. If you get bored with it... lol

kingston73 · Jan 25, 2017

Sure thing, haha. Quick update, it helps to read before doing things. Thanotech put a matte and a glossy back protector in, the picture above is the glossy and it didn't look good so I pulled it off. I put the second on and realized it was a matte finish and you can barely tell it's there now on my matte black phone.

Kjung7 · Jan 25, 2017

kingston73 said:
Sure thing, haha. Quick update, it helps to read before doing things. Thanotech put a matte and a glossy back protector in, the picture above is the glossy and it didn't look good so I pulled it off. I put the second on and realized it was a matte finish and you can barely tell it's there now on my matte black phone.

I was going to say the back of your phone looked really dirty

willmtaylor · Jan 27, 2017

If anyone is interested in ordering and wants to save $10, PM me.

willmtaylor · Feb 3, 2017

I got my ThanoTech K11 in today. I'm really liking for form, fit & finish. It's also much easier to remove than the RhinoShield.

I'm not sure it'll have the protection and durability of the RhinoShield, but this is a top notch bumper.

Eric5273 · Feb 4, 2017

This bumper looks very nice in the pictures, but I have a couple of questions:

1) It was mentioned above that the buttons required a modification? Was that your experience too willmtaylor? It would annoy me if the bumper needs any kind of homemade modifications to work properly.

2) Given that I do NOT use a screen protector, does the bumper have enough of a lip around the front edge so that it can comfortably lay face down without the screen touching the surface?

3) How is the grip? To be honest, I don't mind the grip of the naked iPhone so much. But the Apple leather case was so slippery I couldn't hold onto it. So based on that, do you think I would be fine with the grip? I think putting tape on the sides of the case would ruin the look.

Also, willmtaylor, I would be interested in that $10 savings (depending on the answers to these questions). Can you PM that info to me? Thanks!

willmtaylor · Feb 4, 2017

Eric5273 said:
This bumper looks very nice in the pictures, but I have a couple of questions:

1) It was mentioned above that the buttons required a modification? Was that your experience too willmtaylor? It would annoy me if the bumper needs any kind of homemade modifications to work properly.

Nope. If anything, the buttons feel like the buttons on the phone itself. They aren't overly pronounced, but they're there and they are easy to use/press. No modifications here.

Eric5273 said:
2) Given that I do NOT use a screen protector, does the bumper have enough of a lip around the front edge so that it can comfortably lay face down without the screen touching the surface?

The lip is EVER so slightly large enough to just BARELY keep my screen from touching face down WITH my screen protector, so you should be fine without one. There's definitely less lip than the RhinoShield, so if you dropped onto gravel, etc., the K11 would leave your phone's screen more susceptible to damage.

Eric5273 said:
3) How is the grip? To be honest, I don't mind the grip of the naked iPhone so much. But the Apple leather case was so slippery I couldn't hold onto it. So based on that, do you think I would be fine with the grip? I think putting tape on the sides of the case would ruin the look.

Funny, I've always heard the leather case gave iPhone 6 & 7 series MUCH better grip. IMO, the naked 7 is quite slippy and this bumper helps some. I wouldn't call it a remarkable difference, but the TPU portions have ridges and this does help. The aluminum areas of the bumper feel no different than the phone itself.

Eric5273 said:
Also, willmtaylor, I would be interested in that $10 savings (depending on the answers to these questions). Can you PM that info to me? Thanks!

PM sent!