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Tech 21 vs Speck

Z

zip

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 6, 2003
59
0
I'm going to get an iPhone 5s and am having a ridiculously tough time deciding between two cases.

I've narrowed it down to a Tech 21 Impact Mesh case and their Impact Shield or a Speck Candyshell and faceplate.

Anyone have experience with Tech 21 iphone products, or Speck's Candyshell?
 
I've never tried Tech 21, but I have had a Speck Candyshell on my 4S for the last year and a half and I love it. I've dropped it several times with no damage to the phone. The case is starting to crack a little in the corners but that only recently.
 
Tech21 Impact Mesh rocks!

zip said:
I'm going to get an iPhone 5s and am having a ridiculously tough time deciding between two cases.

I've narrowed it down to a Tech 21 Impact Mesh case and their Impact Shield or a Speck Candyshell and faceplate.

Anyone have experience with Tech 21 iphone products, or Speck's Candyshell?
Click to expand...

I have an iPhone 5, and own CandyShell, CandyShell Grip and Tech21 Impact Mesh cases (yes, I have too many cases :) ). I got the CandyShell case first--nice case, really liked it, but too slippery. Then I got the CandyShell Grip case, and I was quite pleased with it. It solved the slipperiness problem and felt good on the phone. It was harder to slide in and out of pockets, though, and had only a very small lip protecting the screen. Finally, I got the Tech21 Impact Mesh, and wow! What a case! It is a little wider than the CandyShell case, and a tiny bit longer, but it adds less thickness to the phone, even though the case's lip is higher and more protective. I think that is because the back of the case is thinner, in comparison to the CandyShell. However, as the back of the iPhone 5 is pretty sturdy, I appreciate the fact that Tech21 concentrates its efforts on the sides of the iPhone. This is where the magic D3O gel is located--you can see it as an orange band encircling the case's edge. I have a white iPhone and the blue Impact Mesh case looks quite marvelous with it. The orange D3O strip is visible through the clear blue TPU, but it just adds a high tech, cool dimension to its appearance. As far as fit is concerned, my Impact Mesh fits like a glove and has a premium feel in the hand. It has a perfect amount of grip in the hand--just enough, while still being easy to pull in and out your pocket. The cut-outs are all perfectly positioned. The sleep/wake button is easy to push. The volume up and down buttons are slightly harder to push, but it is no big deal. The case looks great, feels great, and I would imagine that it would protect great as well, although I haven't dropped my phone with this case on it. I am very picky where cases are concerned and this one meets all my criteria. As far as the Impact Shield is concerned, I don't have one on my phone, but my teenage daughter has an Impact Shield on her iPhone 5 and she has been very happy with it. I helped her to install it and the installation was very easy. It is a dry install, which is nice, and we didn't have any problem with bubbles or anything. She has had the case on her phone for about four months and it has been rock solid--no scratches, no peeling edges, nothing. The optical quality is excellent and it feels just like the iPhone's glass screen.

Good luck with your case decision! Hope this was helpful!

Kristin
 
I've done my research and have decided to go with Speck.

I stopped people that had Speck cases on their phones and asked them how they like it, and I watched a lot of youtube reviews.

Going from my wallet type cases to an open screen, I'm nervous about the screen being exposed and having keys and coins hit it and Speck plays friendly with screen protectors including the one I decided on.

There are videos on youtube of people dropping their phone or ipod with Speck cases, and I feel confident if I drop my phone it will be protected.

And I really, really, really like the look of them and the colors. I bought a few of them, and I can't wait for my iPhone to arrive. :D
 
PNutts said:
Still happy with it? I went from Candyshell to Candyshell Grip then dropped my iPhone 5 and shattered the screen. I'm now using a Tech21 on the 5s.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that! So far so good with mine.
 
Just picked up a blue tech21 impact mesh today. Love it so far. I have a Black 5s. This thing feels super solid and has more grip than I expected. Love me some d30 technology.
 
The Speck Candyshell is really nice and looks great! I don't use it on mine because I don't like cases that bulky, but a lot of my friends have this and they love it.
 
I have a Speck clear TPU (I believe) case for my 5C along with a Tech 21 impact band bumper case. Both are pretty good. The Speck case has saved me a lot of times. I just got the Tech case for my 5C yesterday but I had one on my iphone 5 and it protected it through many drops as well. I would never get another speck case again as I only got clear to show of the phones colour but Tech 21 is durable and would look good on and protect any iphone model.
 
I've never used a tech 21 case but I've got a speck one for my iPod touch. I didn't even want it when I bought it. I only bought it at the time because it was the best that was available in the apple store and I wanted immediate protection. It's grey so it's so totally not my colour. However it's held up well and provides good protection.

I'm using a Spigen ultra clear hybrid on my 5S though.
 
Tech21 vs Speck

I have experience with both cases.

I got a Speck Candyshell (black with grey rubber) September 2012 with my Slate Black iPhone 5. It protected good, but it wears off easily. The glossy black gets easily scratched, and the rubber wears off very easily. It covers the microphone and speaker with the case, and it is not flexible. If you try twisting it, you will probably crack it (like I just did it literally a minute ago). It is pretty thick, but unnecessary thickness. It protected the front with an exaggerated overlap. It is also a fingerprint magnet.

Now when I got my Space Grey iPhone 5s, I got also a black Impact Mesh case. It protects like magic due to the D30 material. It doesn't get scratched since it is silicone, and it does not wear off easily. It is very well built: it leaves the microphone and speaker outputs clear from the case, and it is also flexible, making it easy-peasy to take off your precious phone from inside it, unlike the Speck case. The D30 material spared me unnecessary bulkiness and the orange band around it gives it a stylish and modern look. If you get the clear model it will have a brighter orange, which looks just as good, probably even better from a point of view. It also has an overlap to protect the iPhone's screen, but it a lot more discreet and stylish than the other one. However, it did manage to make some bubbles on the screen protector's sides when I put it on since the overlap is forcing it. I want a privacy filter, but if more people have the bubble problem then I am just changing the screen protector, the dude put it like *****. I didn't use screen protectors back in the day so I don't know about the Speck, but I think it is just the screen protector which was wrongfully applied.

Both of them don't let the 30-pin-to-Lightning adapter get in, so beware of that too.

I think you already know my answer.
 
I'm still loving my impact mesh one week in. Have the blue one on a space gray iPhone 5s
 
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