Note: Phone Loop is mine, and not included.
I hate modern smartphone design. We create these devices that are so fragile that they require a case. But what happens to that case when you’re done using your smartphone? Maybe you lend it to a friend who has the same phone as your old phone. But, typically? It ends up in the trash. How many cases do you have per smartphone? Personally, I have between 2-5. Some of them I’ve held on to. Others I’ve tried to give away. But even if you think one might be recyclable, it’s usually not. They end up in the trash. I’ve felt like garbage every time I did it.
But there’s another option. Smartphone case manufacturers are catching on to the impact they have. You can go with a case made of wood, something natural that will break down over the years. In the same vein, you could go for a compostable case, like one from Pela. Now you have another option, and this one doesn’t just reduce waste itself, it reduces waste from other sources. I posted about the Nimble Bottle Case when the company first revealed it, but I always wait at least a week before reviewing anything. Things change, and it’s important to give anything time to form an opinion.
So, I’ve been using this combination of cloth and recycled (and recyclable) plastic on my iPhone for a little over two weeks now. Why’d I wait longer than a week? Because my opinion changed as I owned it. For once, for the better!
In This Article:
Protection 2.5 / 5
My initial impression of the protection this case could provide wasn’t great. It’s very lightweight, as you’d expect from something made of plastic bottles. As it turns out, Nimble uses 6 plastic bottles in each case, so it’s certainly thicker and more sturdy than the plastic you’re likely thinking of. I’ve had thinner plastics and more lightweight cases than this. I don’t think the recycled construction lessens its ability to protect my phone. The real problem I had with it was the fact that it comes off the case so easily on the bottom corners. I’m afraid that if it falls face down from any height, the case is just going to pull away from the phone, the phone’s going to hit the ground on the corner, and it’s going to shatter.
Now, your phone would have to pretty much fall face down with most of the weight on one corner for this to happen, but it’s definitely a possibility. I’ve dropped my phone a few times (I’m down a hand due to an injury and fumbling all kinds of things), and, so far, it’s been fine. I don’t trust it as much as some of my other cases, but so far, so good. This case would be near perfect if it was just a bit more firm on the corners.
Looks 4/5
Looks come down to personal taste, and I love the fabric trend. There’s just one problem with fabric. It picks up marks easily. Dust, dirt, and the dye of your jeans will rub off on the case. See the “Cleaning Your Case” subsection of the “Odds and Ends” section below. It is possible to clean this case, but is that something you really want to keep up with? Unlike leather, this won’t wear with a nice patina. It’s cloth. It’ll just look worse with time. Perhaps that’s why Nimble has an option to get a new case from them every three months for a 15% discount on each case. As long as you’re sending it back to Nimble for recycling, this likely isn’t as wasteful as it sounds. Though shipping, production, and some materials are not reused, so they really shouldn’t push something like this.
I think the case looks great. It’s a simple design, and simple designs are, in my opinion, the best.
Ease of Use 3.5/5
This was initially my problem area with this case. The buttons were impossibly hard to press. I was downright mad over how hard they were to press. I thought to myself, well, this is the price of sustainability, isn’t it? Over the next few days, it loosened up. I don’t have to place cuts in the plastic like I have for other stiff cases, it just loosened up on its own. Now the buttons aren’t much harder to press than using it without a case. You can probably speed this up by pressing hard on the buttons with the case off and your other hand stabilizing the rest of the case. The goal here is just to stretch out the fabric holding the button in the case a little.
The fabric is incredibly grippy. Unlike so many other smartphone cases, this adds grip through texture, not sticky feeling plastic. You likely noticed from the photos that I still use a Loop Phone Loop though. That’s because I love Phone Loops. Once you use one, you’ll hold your phone a bit differently, and you’ll never want to go without a Phone Loop again. It’s not a comment on the grippiness of this case, more on the Loop itself. Phone Loops are great. I’ve used Pop Sockets and Phone Loops, and the winner is obvious, it’s Phone Loops.
The mute switch is recessed, but the opening is wide enough that you can still get your thumb nail in there, even if you have short finger nails like me.
Once you break in those buttons, it’s a case you can forget about, the perfect kind of case.
Size/Weight 4.5/5
This is a relatively light and thin case. Not so thin that it won’t protect your phone, but not so thick that it adds bulk or heft. In fact, with something like a phone loop, I actually prefer to hold my phone with this case on. I like it enough that I stopped using my battery case. I traded full 24 hour battery life for a nice case.
Really, that should tell Apple how to design their next iPhone, but, in reality, it won’t.
Value 4.5/5
Note the slight fraying on the corner. It’s two weeks old, that’ll be much worse in a month or two.
Usually, Nimble’s cases are $40 (okay, $39.95). Because I like you so much, you can get it for $29.95 using this link. Even at full price, that’s less than the $50 Apple charges for their cases, and, best of all, Nimble’s cases are recyclable. Plus, you can trade in your old case with Nimble for 10% off your new one. That’s a minimum of $4 savings every time. On top of that, another 5% goes to a charity, a different one for each phone color. These include Carbon Fund, Seabin Foundation, Coral Reef Alliance, Sea Save Foundation, and Wildcoast.
This is a high quality case. Apple would charge at least $50 for it. I literally ran it through the ringer, washing it by hand, and it held up quite well. I don’t think it would last you forever. It’s fabric, it’ll rub, tear, and eventually fall apart. But most cases will. And, if you’re like me, you likely don’t use one case for an entire year anyway. If you have kept a case for a long time, you’ve likely noticed it becomes discolored and worn over time anyway.
I think there’s a lot of value in a discount, in donating to charity, and in a case that’s sustainable. Therefore, given the discounts, the help it provides, and the value of sustainability, I’ve given this a high value rating, despite it costing more than many cheaper $15-$20 cases.
Sustainability 4.5/5
I’m adding a section to my case reviews. I’m sure nearly every other smartphone case I review will do terribly here, but that’s the point. Let’s call out unsustainable practices.
So, the Nimble Bottle case is fantastic when it comes to sustainability, but it’s not perfect. They use recyclable packaging made from recycled materials, they use non-toxic soy based inks, and they recycle e-waste, up to 1 pound for every product purchased. You can even send your case back when you’re done with it for 10% off your next case, and Nimble will recycle it. Furthermore, proceeds from your purchase go towards helping the environment. Every case carries a 5% donation to a charity dedicated to saving the planet. And that’s not even all. The plastic in these cases comes from bottles that could have ended up in a landfill. By using plastic from bottles, they ensure there’s a market for those products, which keeps plastic out of landfills.
So why not a 5/5? Well, it’s still plastic. Eventually, these cases are not going to make it back to Nimble for recycling. You could potentially disassemble it yourself, but there’s no guarantee it’ll be recycled with the rest of your recyclables. Also, Nimble hides the section on their page about recycling, which makes it seem like they don’t want everyone who buys a case to send it back to them.
As for their packaging, it’s all cardboard with the exception of a cloth insert and a thin paper insert. Now, cloth will break down over time, but it still felt unnecessary. All the information on it could have been printed on the inside of a box that unfolds, or even on their highly recyclable paper. But I’m hardly going to hold this against them. Truly, this was some of the most sustainable packaging I’ve ever seen.
Odds and Ends
Their insert invited you to go to “nimble.com/how-to-clean-cases.” Nimble.com is not Nimble’s website. This is a misprint. Their actual website is gonimble.com. Furthermore, “gonimble.com/how-to-clean-cases” just sends you to the page for their cases, not cleaning instructions. I wasn’t able to find cleaning instructions. This is necessary because, as you may have noticed from the photos, it becomes discolored over time. This is because I keep my phone in my back pocket, as I’m sure many of you do as well. Knowing how to clean it is likely important. Unfortunately, I didn’t know… so I tried something.
Cleaning Your Case
I got a small amount of detergent on a cotton pad. These are little cotton rounds I typically use for washing my face and removing makeup. Then, I got it damp and scrubbed the edges of the case. I rinsed it in the sink, and sat it on my window sill to dry. Now, you can see all the above photo and most of the photos in this review, you know what it looked like before. Here’s what it looked like after this washing attempt.
Much better! In fact, it almost looks brand new! There was some slight fabric fraying from cleaning it, I probably scrubbed too hard, but overall, very clean! So, if you’re looking to clean this at home, get a little bit of detergent (or, likely, any kind of soap), scrub a little with your hands, a little brush (a toothbrush would work), or a cotton pad, and use just a little bit of water. Then, rinse. I recommend just wetting a cotton pad or washcloth to get the soap out, but I fully rinsed it under running water with no issues. Your mileage may vary.
Overall 4.5/5
Overall, this is one of the best cases I’ve ever owned. Issues with a break in period, the lack of bottom corner protection for a face-down fall, the fact that it’s still not quite 100% sustainable due to using plastic and requiring Nimble for recycling, and the fact that the fabric will break down over time keep it from a perfect score. But, honestly? This is going to be the case I keep going back to. I believe I’ll get another one for my next iPhone, and many more after that. This is my favorite phone case. Small issues aside, it’s sustainably sourced, recyclable, attractive, lightweight, and easy to grip. Finally I have an iPhone case I don’t feel guilty about using.
If you’d like to order one for yourself, use my referral link and save $10!