Compostable Cases Part 2: The Pela Case Review

Reading Time: 7 minutes.

Previously, I reviewed the Casetify compostable case. I found it to be a decent enough case with a few durability and protection problems. It’s only rated for a 4ft drop. However, the case we’re looking at today claims it can survive a 20ft drop. I’m not buying it.

The Pela case was one of the first compostable cases on the market, and it’s also one of the most well known cases. The problem? It’s a really bad case. In fact, I’m afraid the Pela case could ruin what people think of when they think of a compostable case. There’s a chance that this could actually damage the market for compostable cases.

Here’s why you should definitely skip the Pela Classic case.

Sustainability 4.5/5

This is what draws you to Pela’s cases. The cases are made of a compostable material made from “Fkax shive and a plant based biopolymer.” Like the bamboo-based Casetify compostable case, the Pela case will break down in an industrial composting facility. However, you may notice it begins to fall apart if you bury it in your back yard, as YouTube reviewer Monty (and his assistant Aaron) at Mobile Reviews Eh found that it began to break down, even in his front yard.

Now, this doesn’t mean it’s perfect. It’s just close to as good as it gets for a phone case right now. If they didn’t ship this across the globe, use any plastic in the phone’s manufacturing process, and had a completely waste-free process, they’d be better off. About half of the case does use non-renewable materials. It’s decent, but not perfect.

Protection 1/5

 

I’m careless with things. When I’m doing the dishes, I like to grab a glass out of the dishwasher and toss it over to my other hand. Bonus points if I never look at the hand that catches it and puts it in the cabinet! I also learned to spin my iPhone many years ago, and now do it when I’m bored. Surprisingly, I don’t know how to juggle, but we’re only just over halfway through this COVID quarantine, so, maybe by January?

Why do I tell you this? Because it’ll help you understand this strange test I did. I tossed my iPhone onto my bed with a bit of a spin. Enough of a spin, as it would turn out, that the case actually pulled off the side of the phone as it landed on the bed. Falling onto a bed pulled the case off my phone. Could you imagine if my bed was made of concrete or hard wood?

In fact, just to try something out, I actually took a mechanical pencil with the graphite sticking out a little too far and tried to push the case off with it. I could. That’s how easy it is to take this case off. If it stayed on your phone, could it protect it? Maybe. But if you squeeze this case with one hand you can make your phone pop out, so I’ll go with, no, this case won’t protect your phone.

The worst thing for the environment? Breaking your phone and needing to replace it. So, while the case itself is sustainable, it may be worse than a plastic case when it comes to actual ecological impact.

Loopability

This isn’t a real standard, but I had to bring it up. Because the case is so flimsy, you can’t use a Phone Loop with it. That ribbon is enough to pull the case clean off your iPhone. I actually had to take the loop off the case because it was putting me in more danger of damaging my iPhone. When I tried to improve the grip of this case, I actually endangered my iPhone. That’s how bad this case is.

Poor Fit

It’s not just that this case is floppy. The Pela Classic case is also exceedingly loose. It’s as though it was made for an iPhone that’s just slightly larger than your iPhone. This doesn’t help with the fact that the case is as rigid as overcooked pasta. Between the poor fit and the floppy case, your iPhone will almost certainly fall out of this case at some point.

Screen Protection

There’s little screen protection here. Even ignoring the fact that the case doesn’t fit well and can pull off the phone with ease, there’s just next to no lip around the screen. That means if you place it face down on a table, it’s going to come in contact with the table or something on the table. It means if you drop it, if the case budges even a millimeter, your screen will hit the ground. This is somehow a case that didn’t take basic protection into consideration.

Durability 2.5/5

This actually is not the worst case I’ve tested. I was surprised. The material does flake quickly from things like brushing up against one of my skateboards, but it’s not as easily damaged as the Casetify case. There’s a bit more material to it as well, which helps it survive longer with damage. However, I did find that it’s easy to damage it, as other testers found, it can fall apart from damage. I also found it easier to damage than expected, either by cutting into it with a knife held loosely against it, or my standard test of “I store my iPhone in my back pocket and it rubs against my skateboard.”

That last test I didn’t even do, I simulated it. I couldn’t trust this case on my iPhone when out skating. I just knew I’d hit the ground and it would pull off of my iPhone. That’s actually how I have a scuff on my iPhone, from my Spigen case not protecting it well enough when I fell during a completely botched toeslide. I scuffed my iPhone like this before, and that was a case that did fit the iPhone well. Now I was using a case that can’t stay on when I spin it too fast, there was no way I was taking it out longboarding, even in my bag.

Looks 5/5

I have to hide this case from me. Otherwise, I think I’ll use it. It just looks cool. It’s like when you have to block your ex-girlfriend on your messaging app because you know damn well you’d text her otherwise after even glancing at a bottle of whiskey. You shut up, Jack, she wasn’t the one!

I went with yellow because I wasn’t as big of a fan of their reddish colors (just not enough “pop” in the hue for me). But I like yellow to appear golden and muted, almost orange. This case fit that description, as did the new top I had just bought that I really liked. Now, it doesn’t look great with the red iPhone, but it’s not too bad. And, from the front, it’s black and yellow, and those colors go together perfectly. Bumblebees have got it figured out.

Speaking of bumblebees, you can get this case with a honeycomb texture. Or, like I did, hands raised above flowers to an eye and a start. It was witchy, I like witchy things. Pela engraves a ton of really cool designs into their cases. These designs improve grip and also make the case look unlike any others. I hate how cool this case looks because I know it’s not good for me. Yes, we’re still talking about phone cases!

Weight 2/5

The other reason I don’t like using this case is the thickness it adds to the case. It’s not the worst I’ve used, it’s not some ridiculous Otterbox, Lifeproof, or Tech21 Impact case. No, this isn’t some case that people buy for the same reason so many people buy trucks (it makes it look tough). However, it is bulkier than I prefer my cases. It’s thicker than some clear cases, and considerably thicker than the Casetify case. You can feel those tenths of a millimeter when you hold it in your hand (I used a digital caliper, it really is tenths of a millimeter, but you’ll notice it).

So what you have is a case that’s a little bulky, adding mass to your device. However, the case can slide off. This just isn’t how I’d add weight to a phone. They could have used that extra weight to add screen protection or rigidity in the corners. They didn’t.

Ease of Use 4/5

The buttons are still easy to press, but they lose just a little bit of clickiness. This is because Pela designed the buttons with cutouts from the side, but didn’t actually loosen the material in the area of the buttons by thinning it. As a result, the only reason the case feels clicky at all is because Pela’s case material is a wet noodle between you and the button. It’s so flimsy it actually works in the case’s favor, for once. If this case fit properly, the buttons wouldn’t be easy to press.

Pela’s cases have a large, flat cutout for the mute switch. Unlike others that require you to use the edge of your finger or even your fingernail, the cutout in Pela’s cases go all the way down to the phone. You can actually see the phone sticking out a bit from the back. I love that you can just slide your finger along the side of your phone to mute or unmute your phone. It’s the most accessible mute switch cutout I’ve ever used on a phone case.

Grip 4/5

The case actually has better grip than many cases I’ve tested. It has a pleasant soft texture, and the engraved back with the engraving wrapping around the sides slightly really helps with grip. It doesn’t collect dust or lint from your pocket like similarly grippy cases either. However, it’s not perfect, and you can’t use something like a Pop Socket or Phone Loop on it, as they’d pull the case right off your iPhone. This seemed like a good enough place to dock off a point for that.

Value 2/5 (With an Exception)

Okay, true story: I got this case for free. Yes, free. I intended to purchase the third case on this list, the Pela clear case. Pela has been doing a buy one, get one deal throughout the summer, and I took advantage of it. This is why I didn’t rate this a 1/5 for value. Because, hey, I paid nothing for it!

But if I did pay for it, I would have spent $44.95. $45! For a case that can’t even stay on my iPhone! I consider this a poor value, even if I did value the fact that I could bury the case and it would disappear in a few years. It’s not protective, it falls apart, and it’ll cost you around 5% of the cost of your smartphone. I think of cases like an insurance policy. If they can protect your device, they were worth the money. That’s not the case here.

Pun intended.

Overall 1/5

I bought this along with another Pela case, their new clear cases. I’ll be spending a bit more time with that before reviewing it, but I can already tell you, it’s leaps and bounds above this case. It features a rigid back, which is something this case desperately needs. It fits the phone much better. This suggests that Pela may have learned their lesson and may improve future cases.

The Pela case is pretty. It’s compostable. It comes to you in a recyclable package. I love how the mute switch is so easy to access on Pela’s cases. However, it’s just not protective. It feels like it fits the iPhone as well as someone wearing their older sibling’s hand-me-downs, years before they’d grow into them properly. If your Nana knitted you a phone case, I feel like it would fit better, have more rigidity, and protect your phone about as well as a Pela Classic case. I haven’t given a product one star in a while, but I highly recommend you avoid these. They’re pretty and compostable, and that’s about it.

The Pela Classic case is $44.95, and I really don’t recommend it.