As you know we can’t keep awesome stuff a secret from our wonderful readers – so anytime we get our hands on some goods we have to share it! Being in a creative or technical field inherently means that we interact with gadgets on a daily basis – mostly our own gadgets! Our phones are our lifelines, whether it be keeping up with the latest news, goofing off on facebook, or getting some actual work done – we need our phone to be there through thick and thin! Most of us drop a pretty penny on our phones too, especially if you are an annual iPhone subscriber (like most of us reading this) ;). So naturally when we invest in an iPhone we want it to last – and the only way to do that is with a nice case – one that not only protects it, but doesn’t make our beautiful iPhone an iSore.
This week we had the opportunity to test out some great cases from Tech21, and man are they great. I have tried many cases in the past but I really like what Tech21 is doing in this space. If you haven’t heard of Tech21, they have an impressive polymer (their FlexShock™ tech) that flexes to protect your phone against damage when dropped by absorbing the impact. If you’ve ever been to an event and seen someone wrap a hand in an orange “gak” looking polymer and hit it with a hammer, that’s Tech21.
The Evo Case Contenders
These days people are used to getting their cake AND eating it too – since the early days of phone cases, you had options, but these options didn’t always look the best. Thankfully Tech21 doesn’t make you trade-off looks for protection, you can have both!
The cases we are reviewing today are the Evo Wallet ($59) for iPhone 7, the Evo Gem ($39) for iPhone 7, and the Evo Tactical ($39) for iPhone 7.
In the three cases I was sent, all of them look great – but this is by no means all of the choices that Tech21 offers – they have a range of nice looking impact resistant iPhone 7 cases (and colors to fit any style). They even offer lots of cases for some of the new popular Android/Microsoft smartphones and even laptops if you like what you see and are in need of those sorts of things, they aren’t an iPhone only shop.
So without further ado, let’s dig into each case:
Evo Tactical Case
This case is for the iPhone 7 Plus, weighing in at 85mm (W) x 11mm (D) x 159mm (H) it fits your 5.5″ screen and costs $39 USD. The first thing I noticed about the tactical case is that it isn’t bulky at all, in fact it’s quite thin which leads to a nice snug fit on your iPhone 7.
You can’t really tell from the pictures but the case is flexible but it is by no means flimsy – it gives you a stiff and protected feel but it is just flexible enough to easily put the case on and take it off without too much trouble. It has all the standard openings you will find on the typical iPhone case – so no need to worry about something not fitting or losing access to a port.
In my research on these cases I had found people complaining about the large opening around the camera and flash but I found this space refreshing – since I like to use macro (and other) camera attachments to get even better pictures from the stock camera – without all of that extra space a nice fit with those attachments wouldn’t be possible.
The great design of their case openings is one of Tech21’s signature offerings, and if anything else would be a signature of theirs it would be drop impact protection. Remember the FlexShock™ technology we mentioned earlier? Well that technology gives this case a 3M/9.9FT drop rating – that means that it can withstand a pretty steep fall and your phone will most likely survive with minimal to no damage. In our tests of the case we dropped the phone from 2.5FT several times and didn’t observe any adverse affects or scratches, so kudos to Tech21!
Evo Gem Case
This case is for the iPhone 7, weighing in at 75.26mm (W) x 10.35mm (D) x 144.54mm (H) it fits your 5.5″ screen and costs $39 USD. The first thing I noticed about the gem case is that it is just plain beautiful. I got the blue option (it also comes in Rose and Green colors) which looks super clean with the refracting transparent prism pattern on the back of the case – it looks like ice! I’m a sucker for blue, but the green looks awesome too – very gender neutral colors – although the ladies love these colors a little more than most guys do!
I won’t repeat a lot of the generic points that are great about these cases (check the Tactical review above if you missed them) but this is a great sporty case for the price, it has a great fit and really enhances the look of your iPhone if you are the type of person who loves colors on their gadgets. This is the stylish choice.
Evo Wallet Case
This case is for the iPhone 7, weighing in at 74.18mm (W) x 11.05mm (D) x 144mm (H) it fits your 4.7″ screen and costs $59 USD. The thing I love about this case (and what makes it stand out from the rest) is it’s utility lead functionality of the wallet flap! Yes it costs $20 more than the other cases but I feel that it is worth it because it truly achieves the purpose of replacing your wallet! Now let me tell you, replacing a wallet with a smartphone case is no easy feat, i’ve tried it in the past – and it isn’t that easy. This case actually pulls it off quite well (as you’ll see below) and it is a very liberating feeling to be able to just take your phone and keys somewhere, sans wallet!
As you can see in the image gallery above for the Evo Wallet there is a flap that protects your screen (and your money/cards) that snaps shut on the case. If you open the wallet flap you will see nothing out of the ordinary at first – because your money and wallet stuff is hidden behind a magnetic grey flap! Genius. If you pull back the magnetic grey flap you see a pocket on each flap (the wallet flap itself and the extra “hidden” flap that is held into place by magnets) so you have plenty of room for your ID, Paper Money, and Credit Cards/other cards.
As if that wasn’t cool enough (and totally convenient) if you decide for whatever reason that the wallet flap just isn’t your thing – you don’t even have to use it – you can detach it and attach the piece that comes with the case that fills in the hole that it leaves on the back. Talk about versatility! If that type of stuff makes your geek gears turn, then this is the case for you.
Conclusion
These are great cases, durable, and stylish while providing a great value. I can’t see much fault in these cases. The only downsides I was able to observe in the few weeks that i’ve been testing them is that the buttons become a little hard to press with the case on, but hopefully over time that will break the presses in and maybe yield a lighter touch – but that is a small price to pay for the assurance that your iPhone is protected in the event of a drop. I was really impressed with the protection from a drop with these cases, however they don’t protect the screen that much as you can see – so if you are paranoid you should probably invest in a screen protector as well since these are compatible with them.
Don’t worry about the case getting destroyed from wear and tear though, that is what it’s for after all. Also if your case gets messed up it comes with a Lifetime Warranty, meaning if your case does develop a fault during normal use they’ll replace it for free, so what do you have to lose?
If you are on the market for a case then you definitely need to try out Tech21. They are a brand you can trust and don’t take my word for it, you can find them at major retailers across the U.S. and UK – millions of people trust them to protect their phones, for good reason.
I hope you enjoyed this review – let us know in the comments what you think, have you tried these cases before? Any tips for new case buyers out there? Thanks for Reading!
Disclaimer: Samples supplied for review, but the opinions contained within are my own.
Evo Series Cases Review
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Durability
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Design
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Value
Summary
I found the durability of these cases to be remarkable, the partnership between Tech21 and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in London are definitely paying off. When you compare these cases to the mediocre and pricey mainstream cases that have flooded the market – with this price range ($39 – $59 USD) the Evo series is a definite buy if you have had a hard time finding “the right” iPhone case.