I just received this thing this morning and thought I'd share my first impressions.
I stumbled across it on amazon (.co.uk) where it was being sold for £13 incl delivery, so kind of fitted my criteria of "cheap". I'm guessing that the reduced price reflects the fact that it was designed for the original iPad Mini (and we're at version 4 at the time of writing this). I almost got my iPad Mini 3 in there, but it didn't slide in far enough to close the gate that locks it into place and resulted in some scuffing to the iPad as I slowly and painstakingly freed it after my attempt. So I won't try that again!
But - no problem, I bought it to protect an original iPad Mini which already has significant screen damage, but serves me well as my "beater" iPad (hence not wanting to spend a lot of money on a case.
Anyway here it is.
Once unpacked, you simply open the "gate" at the bottom of the case and slide your iPad in.
It took a little messing about with before I realised that you simply pull the gate open with a sort of twisting motion, but now I've sussed it, it appears to be pretty solid once closed - I can't see the iPad falling out during normal use.
When closed, the screen and button are totally covered, whereas the camera is left exposed.
The back / underside of the case is probably the most aesthetically pleasing.
So - what's it like?
Pros:
- It looks a bit different to most the generic neoprene / leather efforts out there.
- It's pretty solid and I feel pretty confident that it will prevent (more) cracks in my screen
- All switches and ports are easily accessible at all times.
Cons:
- It's heavy. I don't have scales to hand but it more than doubles the weight of the iPad.
- Although not explicitly stated in the advertising, it is implied that the case will "stand upright" and the rubber band on the cover will prevent slippage. In practice the hinge design means it won't assume a good standing position and therefore grip provided by the band and rubber strip mentioned are of little worth. This is a bit of a cock up tbh.
- Although the promotional message is that the door will fold around to allow the iPad to lie flat, in practice the door hinge gets in the way and it won't lie flat at all. Another bit of a cock up!
- The door is a stainless steel plate, so gravity can really set it moving when you pick the thing up! Some form of catch (magnetic maybe) to keep the door closed would have been a good idea.
In summary then, it's OK and for the price I paid I'm happy enough with it. I might not have been quite so understanding if I'd bought it at $89.99 RRP though, and I think it's clear why the product was discontinued by CRKT.
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