PRT Gear Full Leather Jacket iPhone case

I’ve got a box of a dozen or so iPhone covers to test and write about. Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten to writing about any of them. Part of that is because, over the past couple months, I’ve been swamped with work. But there’s more at fault here than just my schedule: the other factor in my lack of productivity is, in fact, one of those cases.

Ever since I started using my iPhone back in June, I’ve been in search of the ideal case. My requirements were, I thought, pretty simple. I wanted a case that would offer both the case and the screen some level of protection if I were to drop my iPhone, and yet didn’t make the iPhone too thick to slip into a pocket, which is my preferred carrying location. I’ve seen tons of cases: hard acrylic, soft rubber, padded leather, and even one combination unit that used both hard acrylic and soft rubber. But none of these cases met my requirements—most didn’t offer any form of screen protection (or they just offered a scratch-blocking clear overlay), and they were uniformly bulky. Thicker cases can also make it harder to type, as they interfere with your fingers as they approach the edges of the screen.

About a month ago, I received a case that immediately caught my eye: the creatively-named $40 iPhone Full Leather Jacket from Pacific Rim Technologies. From the outside, this case—which I’ll call the FLJ for ease of typing—doesn’t look like much. It’s a rigid case covered in black leather, with soft felt on the inside and curved edges that wrap up and around to hold the iPhone in place. There’s a mount on the back for a belt clip; thankfully, the clip mechanism can be removed leaving only a small bump on the otherwise-smooth back of the case. (I’m not much of a belt clip person—“Hey, look, come steal this expensive electronic device strapped to my belt!”—but I tested this one out, and it seemed to work just fine.)

The case is hinged (via a strip of leather) at the bottom; the front cover flips up and latches at the top of the iPhone. The latching mechanism isn't the sturdiest thing--it's just a leather-covered tab that's bent to grip the top of the iPhone--but even though it doesn't make a secure "click" sound when closed, I never had the cover open on me unexpectedly.

The case also comes with a clear, adhesive screen protector, but given my prior history with them--I've never been able to get one on the iPhone without leaving a horrendous number of bubbles in it--I didn't even try to use it. With the felt-lined cover, I felt my screen was well-protected, anyway.

With my iPhone in the case and the case's belt clip removed, overall size isn't all that much thicker than the bare iPhone. The leather is smooth, and as a result, the FLJ-wrapped iPhone still slips easily into a pocket.

The case has worked well for me in over a month of use--a month that included several business and personal trips. The design of the case means you don't need to remove it put your iPhone in Apple's dock cradle; you just open the case, flip the front cover backwards, and then slide the phone down in the case just a bit; the phone then slides right into the dock, as shown in the image at the top of this story.

About the only issue I've experienced with the FLJ is a slight alignment problem with the hole for the iPhone's camera. After the iPhone has been in my pocket for a while, the case may shift a bit--a couple times I snapped a picture and noticed a shadow in the resulting photo from the case's cutout. A quick adjustment of the case always solved that problem, though. (The iPhone can also be easily removed from the case, in the event you want to use it bare for a while.)

I also recommend flipping the cover of the case backwards when you're talking on the phone--if you don't, you'll look a bit like a Star Trek ensign asking to be beamed up before the cruel aliens turn you into a cube of dust! (The cover will extend forward if you just flip it open and start talking.)

Overall, I've been thrilled with this cover. It's unobtrusive enough on the screen's edges that typing isn't affected, and it's thin enough overall that my encased phone slips easily into a pocket. Yet the FLJ provides excellent protection from routine scratches and minor accidents. I particularly like how easy it is to open and close the cover, as well as the fact that the iPhone can be docked without removing the cover. At $40, this isn't the cheapest case around, but it works very well and is well-designed.

Category: Accessories

Posted by Rob Griffiths on Jan 28 2008, 2:14 PM ET

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iPhone illustration by Joe Zeff Design Inc. // Design by Jason Brightman