Casemate Tough Case - Pics/Review

The Tough cases has always been the best I've owned. They have changed the design up for our Note 2 (just like trident, I feel these companies are debuting the latest and greatest with our phone). So I've reviewed it below.

Made a separate review thread here, easier to post a bunch of pics.

http://www.teamvenum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=686

I got my Marine Blue/Titanium Case-mate Tough Case (http://www.case-mate.com//samsung-g...se-mate-samsung-galaxy-note-2-tough-cases.asp) today and so far very impressed with this case!!! Reading Slesh's review as well as other comments gives you an idea of what to expect, but you don't realize how light and slim this case is until you hold it in your own hands. You almost get fooled into thinking how such a slim case claims to be "tough" and offers you a protection? Make no mistake, it does! I always believe a picture is worth a thousand words, so I included a ton of those below, from every angle and inside-out. Also, want to add a few of my thoughts about the case.

Unlike a lot of other dual layer cases, case-mate came up with an original design of a inner rubber bumper (not the full shell) and outer plastic shell. Bumper is made out of hard TPU material that fits very snugly around the phone, and when assembled with a plastic shell - has zero pull around the edges. Inner plastic shell has an extra cushion lining in the middle which aligns perfectly with a bumper cutout which explains how they were able to make this case so thin. Plastic shell itself has a nice grip and a cool textured design. The textured diamonds are very subtle and the surface is easy to clean, as I found out within minutes after my 4 year old grabbed it with his pizza hands The lip, as I tried taking a close up in a few of the pictures, is not as high as on some other cases with silicon lining, but due to TPU hard nature of the material it will serve its purpose on par, if not even better, than other cases with a higher lip made out of soft silicon that pulls away. Every cutout is precise and generous. S-pen is easy to access, headphone jack has wide enough opening to accommodate different options, micro-usb port is wide enough for any after-market plug, and mic and speaker openings wide enough for a clear sound going in and out. Volume and power buttons are clearly marked and very easy to locate just by feeling while sliding your finger along the edge. They also have a click feedback when you press on it. It's true these are not easy to press, but I personally don't mind that because in my previous case with silicone inner shell I had a lot of accidental power on hits. Camera and led flash opening has a slight raised edge which I not sure the purpose of, but it flattens out; I took a close up picture of that as well.

It's hard to say which case I would compare it to because I think it's in a class by itself. It's like a hybrid between Commuter and slim TPU case since it's that thin and yet offers a decent level of protection. Once I get my UAG case, I will do side-by-side comparison since in my book I consider these two cases to offer the best of both worlds between slim design and phone protection.


...
EDIT. a few more comments. I would like to add that package it came in is actually very high quality and that shiny top is made out of real aluminum, not some cheap foil (I'm talking about the box this case was packaged in). Also, unlike other vendors, it didn't include any screen protector which is common with other higher quality cases. Not sure if its even necessary since those are typically not high quality sp anyway, just a bonus. But still wanted to point out because people asking me if it came with any other goodies lol! Furthermore, the phone is very balanced once on its back, no wobbling or rocking - important if you are using it on flat surface to type/browse. Also, it does offer some grip with a surface once you lay it down on the screen or the back - important detail so the phone will not slide freely if you bump it on the table.
...

Here's a few with the red liner. The sun was beaming right on it in a few of them, and makes the red look lighter than it is.

EDIT: and people keep mentioning how it looks boring or generic, that depends on what you consider to look good. Personally I pay extra money for good clothing and gear that DOESN'T turn me into a walking billboard, or have rediculous markings. I find often in life the highest quality brands don't spend time plastering their damn logo ALL OVER a product and adding useless lines all over the place. All these cases now try to make your phone look like a cyborg, I'm all set with that. I don't think it looks boring at all, I think it looks and feels like quality, and looks professional and sophisticated. Which it is. Also if people are going to complain that the case adds weight and size to the phone over naked, I just don't know what to say. OF course it will! this is a comparison over other cases not over naked, geez lol

wase4711 said:

but you don't have a problem posting coupon discounts?

sorry, I didn't know you owned XDA..

Click to expand...

Click to collapse

It is 100% inappropriate to try to sell personal goods in an accessories thread not dedicated to that. And this thread is for reviews and discount codes pretty much specifically so whats the issue with that? not sure how you dont see the dif dude. You have enough posts under your belt to know better.

Posted the link in the OP, whipped together a quick review and put a bunch of pics on the team site, might add more etc tomorrow

http://www.teamvenum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=686