I just can’t stop on a case. The truth is, no case will ever be as good as no case. Unfortunately, that really doesn’t work out for my plan to use my iPhone 13 mini until Apple makes an iPhone better than the phablets they sell now. I may have to wait a while, Apple takes quite some time to admit their mistakes, and a folding or roll-out iPhone may be years away. That means my iPhone 13 mini has to last me a long time. That leaves me looking for cases that are thin and protective. It also has me using phone cases to mix things up for when I get bored of the same design on my iPhone.
Enter the Caudabe Sheath. These cases are thin, with extra protection on the back, and what Caudabe has called “ShockLite™,” a “proprietary, shock-absorbing polymer.” It feels like a stiff and surprisingly dense TPE material, which means it’ll be great at absorbing impact. On top of that, it’s textured with a surprisingly grippy surface that makes drops more rare. Outside of that, the case is made to blend in. It’s simple, protective, and grippy. I decided to finally give it a shot.
In This Article:
Specs
- Width: 67.93mm
- Height: 135.33mm
- Depth: 11.59mm
- Weight: 35g
The case is slim on the sides, but has more thickness on the back and as a lip above the screen. It’s a surprisingly dense material, coming in at 35g despite this slim design. Other cases around this size weigh anywhere between 5-10g less. The Apple leather case, for example, is just 23g, but it’s certainly not as protective.
Protection 10/10
This is a surprisingly dense case. It weighs almost as much as the MagBak case, which has an extra array of magnets. The depth on the back is one place this is added, which creates some rigidity on the case. Still, it mostly comes down to Caudabe’s “ShockLite™” material. This is a dense TPE-like material that can absorb shocks without transferring them on to your device.
There’s a lot of protection on the front of the screen, more than I’m used to seeing on a case. The “lips” of the case come around the front of the iPhone screen, giving it about 1mm of a raised edge that comes in over the screen. I actually couldn’t use this case right away when I first got it, because it pushed up my film screen protector. I had to get a new screen protector and apply it perfectly to get it to line up just right and not get pushed up from this case. It was frustrating, and I think most screen protectors won’t work with this case if they use an edge-to-edge design. That annoyance, however, does mean the screen has more protection from a downward-facing drop.
Looks 6/10
This is an incredibly basic case. The back has some subtle detail up by the camera that reminds me of the old antenna band breaks on iPhones before they had a glass back. Even the logo is a minimal small circle down by the charging port. However, it’s a bit boring. The flat matte design is certainly one that you can use to set it and forget it, but it just looks so plain. To make matters worse, there aren’t even many color options. It’s black, gray, or navy. They were promising an “ultraviolet” color when the iPhone 13 first came out, but never shipped it. However, it does seem as though Caudabe learned a lesson here. They released four new colors for the iPhone 14 Pro version, blue, green, red, and purple colors. That’s not a huge help to those of us refusing to “upgrade” to a phablet, but for many, it’s good news.
Ergonomics 7/10
First, the positives. The texture creates some fantastic grip, without making the phone grip the inside of your pocket. It feels solid in your hand, adding little bulk to your device, and you’re unlikely to drop it. I also liked that they didn’t worry about centering the mute switch. They made a larger area, even though this means the mute switch would be off-center, to ensure we could get our fingernail into the space easily to operate the switch. That’s a fantastic idea.
Now, on to the worst part: the buttons. “ShockLite™” is a dense material, and quite rigid. Caudabe didn’t place cutouts in the buttons that were nearly large enough for normal operation. I had to, as I have done for many cases like this, cut larger openings around the buttons. This is just to expand on the openings already by the buttons. It’s tricky, absolutely dangerous, and something that should never be asked of consumers who just want to use their device. It really pisses me off when simple molded cases like these don’t just have a bit of a slit around the buttons to make them work properly. It’s such a simple step, why skip it?
Durability 9.5/10
This ShockLite™ stuff is dense. That is going to lend itself well to durability. About two months in, many drops, and it looks no different. I even had a hard time cutting through the thinner space around the buttons to make them clicky and easy to use. I definitely think that this case is one that’s going to hold up a long time. If you can stand its bland appearance on your phone, I’m confident it’ll last you the life of your device.
You will have to clean it on occasion. I noticed the texture can pick up lint and dirt easily. Still, it’s easy enough to wipe a wet cloth over it, and this seems to clean it right up.
Sustainability 1/10
The box this came in contained a lot of wasteful plastic. I’ll never understand this. A little folded cardboard, hell, even just a simple cardboard sleeve with some printing on it, would be better for the environment and likely cheaper. It’s bad enough Caudabe’s ShockLite™ doesn’t seem to be recyclable, do you really need to load the case up with plastic? To make matters even worse, the plastic in the package doesn’t even seem to have any recycling information on it, so it’ll likely end up in a landfill even if you try to recycle it.
Seriously, they couldn’t have messed this up worse. It’s worth avoiding it and going for a different protective case if you really don’t want to create any additional waste.
Value 7/10
This is a surprisingly simple case, but it does feel high quality. It’s a dense material with just enough accents to make it feel like it was made simple by design, not out of cost cutting. The case is only $38, which seems fair for something of this quality.
Although, truly, anything over $30 should have floating buttons. Making something so bad your users have to take a knife to their new case, risking injury (don’t try this at home!) just to finish what the manufacturer should have is preposterous. It definitely downgraded the value rating here.
MagSafe Compatibility 4/6
The rating basics:
- Does it have MagSafe? (+1)
- How’s the strength, weak to strong, 0-2? (+1)
- Does it have the vertical alignment bar? (+2)
This isn’t the strongest MagSafe implementation I’ve used, but it’s certainly passable. Average strength, about what you’d expect from Apple’s cases, and the vitally important vertical alignment bar make it a case good enough for everyday use and adding a wallet or battery pack.
Overall 7/10
Pros:
- Protective
- Grippy
- Slim
Cons:
- Stiff buttons
- Few color options, depending on phone model
This was an interesting case. On the surface, it doesn’t look too special. It’s just a plain matte black case. However, it is dense, protective, and offers good grip without collecting lint in your pockets. In many ways, it’s the perfect minimalist case. It’s a little boring in the looks department, a fault in minimalism, and there aren’t many color choices, but it’s a simple case for a simple purpose: protecting your phone from drops. It does this well. Sure, I had to do something I don’t recommend due to safety issues: cut out the buttons better, but in the end, it’s become an everyday case for me. In fact, it’s probably the case I’ve been using the most over the past few months. I like to swap them out, but this plain-looking case is the one I keep slapping on my iPhone.
This case has protected it from drops and provided grip to ensure that isn’t a frequent occurrence. So, if you’re looking for a no-nonsense, plain case to protect your iPhone without adding a lot of bulk, the Caudabe Sheath may be one of your best choices.