Yoobao Executive Leather...188g....leather..........kickstand
CaseCrown Bold Standby.....226g....faux leather...kickstand
BearMotion Leather:...........291g....leather .........kickstand
SwitchEasy Canvas:...........392g...."canvas".......3 grooves
I've tested the 4 cases above with an iPad2. Each is a portfolio case. You can find reviews of each online. I found good video reviews of each except Bear.
Three of these are "kickstand" cases. That is, the cover folds back and slips into a notch (the "kickstand") which holds the cover in a certain way that creates a stand. One case (SwitchEasy) doesn't use the kickstand but instead has grooves on the inside cover which the side of the case can slide into to create a stand.
All cases had magnets on the cover that turned the iPad on/off. This function worked well with all of them. Also, none of them had any problem with the magnets turning the case off if you flipped the cover around back, as some of other cases do (I had the latest version of the Yoobao, which apparently fixed that problem in an earlier version).
The Bear Motion was my favorite. The review below goes from lightest to heaviest.
YOOBAO EXECUTIVE. A glove for the iPad that was just a bit too flimsy for me.
Pros:
Very light. By far the lightest. It is basically a thin leather glove that goes around the iPad, and then a thin leather portfolio cover. You barely noticed the extra weight/bulk.
Cons:
1. Though made well, I didn't think it lived up to the vaunted reports of "Yoobao quality" that some other reviewers mentioned. A few of the holes on top were slightly off, and I wasn't really impressed with the look of the black leather and the off-white stitching.
2. The kickstand worked, but not as well as the other two kickstand cases in this review. Because the Yoobao is so light and thin, the cover would slip out of the kickstand notch sometimes if you were moving it around in your lap or in bed. No problem of course if it was static, like on a table.
3. Most annoying to me, the cover magnets were not strong enough to keep the cover closed if you turned it upside down or just grabbed it to carry it a certain way. In other words, the flap would flap open, turning the thing on and then off again when it flapped closed. It seemed to do this every time I picked it up.
4. It offers only a very thin layer between your iPad and the outside world (not a con for me but perhaps for others). It's fine for walking into a meeting or putting in your briefcase. But if you were concerned about the iPad getting banged around and wanted serious protection, it's not the case for you (particularly with the flap issue noted above).
CASECROWN BOLD STANDBY - A well made faux leather case. My runner-up. It is very close in design to the Bear
Pros:
1. least expensive of the lot
2. well made, everything works.
3. second lightest, while giving almost as much protection as the heavier models. Indeed, I would say it's got the best weight and bulk of the 4.
4. faux leather is actually quite nice. Unless closely inspected, hard to tell it's not the real thing. It looks smart.
Cons:
1. The volume buttons are just a tad difficult to reach, you have to kind of push your way in there. (The Bear has a bit of this but it's so slight as not to be an issue.)
2. After handling the Bear leather case, you can kind of tell the CaseCrown is not real leather when it's in your hands. It's just something I noticed. You might not.
3. Perhaps because of its lighter weight and bulk, or its build quality, it's just a bit looser and flimsier than the Bear. This might not sound like much, but over time it started to annoy me. For instance, when you flipped the cover behind the iPad to hold it open, or when you put it in its kickstand to create a stand, the cover had a "looseness" not found in the heavier cases. That is, it would come off its stand, or would flop around a bit, or otherwise just feel a bit loose and cheap. Another minor example is that the cover, while it always worked to turn the iPad off when you closed it, sometimes didn't line up exactly with the edges of the screen the way it did with all the other cases. These examples may seem minor, and perhaps they are, but as I say, after experiencing the feel of the Bear - the looseness of the CaseCrown started to bug me.
BEAR MOTION LEATHER. A really well made leather case. My first choice. It is very close in design to the CaseCrown.
Pros:
1. To me, had the best overall "Feel". Fine leather and acceptable weight. The Bear is 100g heavier than the Yoobao, which to my hand felt acceptable. In contrast, the SwitchEasy is 100g heavier than the Bear and, again, to my taste, was just 100g too much - see discussion of SwitchEasy below). The CaseCrown is similar to the Bear but a bit lighter and cheaper (see below)
2. The case was sturdy and offered good protection all around. It of course offered more protection than the Yoobao. It also perhaps had a bit more than CaseCrown (because it was a bit thicker, but they were more or less comparable) and a bit less than SwitchEasy. It was light enough to carry into a meeting but sturdy enough to throw in a knapsack an feel it was secure.
3. The magnets work flawlessly, closed with a "snap" and kept it closed until you wanted to open it. Best magnets of the lot.
4. The stand worked very well. The best of the kickstand cases, probably because, again, the leather was thicker than with the other two and so everything just stayed in place a bit more.
Cons: All these "cons" are very much a matter of personal taste
1. It's probably about average weight for these things but just slightly heavier than I'd like. If I had my druthers, the weight and thinness of the CaseCrown would be what I wanted, coupled with the quality and sturdiness of the Bear.
2. It's the least "cool" looking of the 4 cases. It's just a conservative black leather case, with no real "flash". SwitchEasy is by far the coolest looking. The Yoobao might also be viewed by some as cool though I personally didn't like it so much. The CaseCrown and Bear are similar, but CC probably edges out the Bear in that the Bear is a bit thicker and boxier.
3. The leather covers almost all of the black borders of the screen. The other two kickstand cases left a bit more black exposed, which I preferred aesthetically, and the SwitchEasy leaves all of it showing (which, again, looks cool). I couldn't find anything functionally wrong with this. Although one reviewer mentioned that it might get in the way of certain programs where you had to swipe to the edge of the screen, I didn't have that experience.
SWITCHEASY CANVAS - A cool, innovative case but for me, a bit too much bulk.
Pros:
1. Exceptionally well made. The strongest and sturdiest of the bunch, probably offering the most protection.
3. The grooves worked well as a stand, though because I use the iPad a lot in bed and on the couch, I think I may prefer the kickstand system, though it really is a matter of taste.
2. To my eye, a very cool looking case, the coolest of the bunch. The "canvas" isn't canvas but some high tech material. The material and design were top notch. I also loved the way the iPad was held in the plastic shell backing so that - unlike the other three - the whole of the screen was uncovered (black border and all).
Cons:
1. Too heavy. This is of course a matter of taste. I tried it for days and really wanted to prefer it, but in the end the heaviness (and the cover issue discussed below) just started to get to me. As I mentioned above, it's just 100g heavier than the Bear but that was 100g too much. I'm a strong adult male. I carry around a laptop in my briefcase all the time. But I wanted my iPad light, and this just made it a bit too heavy for me.
2. Too bulky. Related to the above and, as above, a matter of taste. To me, just a bit too much thickness when you were actually holding it and, for instance, folding the flap back around behind it to work with the screen.
3. The cover. The cover has magnets, which worked fine, but it also has a curved extension that bends over the side and kind of clicks it closed. This extension bugged me. It didn't easily close. You kind of had to push and force it over the side (if you didn't do this, the magnets wouldn't connect and turn the thing off, and the cover would not be secured. I suspect it may have worn in over time, but I used it on and off for a week and it was always a bit of a chore to actually open and close the thing. This really got to be annoying, particularly compared to the others that so effortlessly opened and closed.
4. Since it uses a "groove" rather than "kickstand" design, you had to kind of pull part of the iPad off of the back base (where it was held by Velcro) to put it in the grooves and stand it up. Not a big deal but, again, just an added bit of work that the other cases didn't have. Over time, this annoyed me a bit.
5. I loved the material, but even with the black version that I had, I felt it might start showing stains, hand sweat, etc. over time in ways the leather and faux leather cases wouldn't. However, I'm not sure of this and so it may be an unfair comment.
SUMMATION:
I ended up taking the BearMotion because of build quality, functionality, hand feel and acceptable weight. I wish it had been slightly lighter and thinner (like the CaseCrown) while keeping its build quality/feel (which was better than the CaseCrown) - and of course if it looked a bit cooler -- but I felt for me it was the best of the lot. The CaseCrown was the runner up but ultimately, the feel and quality of the Bear won me over, beating out the slightly lighter, slightly trimmer, slightly cheaper, CaseCrown. The SwitchEasy is a great case, but just too big and bulky for me, and the cover clip bugged me. I didn't like the Yoobao's because it's overall look didn't work for me and, most importantly, the cover flap came open whenever it was tilted. The lightness was a great asset though and the protection it offered would have been enough for me if other factors had been more appealing.
Hope that helps!
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