iPad iPad Air - Light(est) case

[iPodJedi]

i would just find a snap on plastic case for the back-or look on ebay.

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Currently using the Ozaki O!coat-Slim-Y case. Very good quality product and extremely light as well. The origami folding stand is just stellar.

thats a cool case

 

[macidiot]

Currently using the Ozaki O!coat-Slim-Y case. Very good quality product and extremely light as well. The origami folding stand is just stellar.

I looked at the slim y case. It's less espensive than the Moshi which is nice. But I was looking for a case where the inside cover (the part that lays against the screen when closed) does not touch the table when using it as a stand. The Ozaki seems to do that while the Moshi doesn't.

I use the stand feature a lot with an airplane tray table. I don't want the inside cover surface turning into the outside surface and touching all sorts of nasty tabletops, like the seatback tray table.

 

[24hrpizza]

Lol. Statistically near half of Americans are obese, and here are obsessing over carrying extra ounces and grams. I know, I know. I'm up much too late looking for some sort of cover I like too. It just isn't out there. A compromise will have to be made.

lolololol

 

[ZipZap]

The case is the Ozaki O!Coat slim. Not the Y, which is an origami style case.

Apparently it is a folio style case that only weighs 150g.

http://store.ozakiverse.com/ipad5/200-ocoat-slim.html

Its not a bad price, at ~$37 but they charge $20 shipping to the US.

Anyway, I ended up going with the versacover from Moshi. Just got it. Seems nice so far, but a little heavier than I expected. But that just might be from getting used to using a naked iPad air while I was waiting for the case to arrive.

Still, comparing it to my old iPad 2, it is still lighter overall. I am comparing the iPad Air with versacover to an iPad 2 with an STM Skinny case (which at the time was a very light case).

Honestly I am not sure that there is a case that is much more minimal than the versacover that still offers some protection and a stand. The versacover seems to add minimal bulk.

Why do they refer to the case as 360 when it does not rotate.

This case fits the need better:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EX9J9L0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

When I bought it is was only $4.99. Still its now 1/2 the price of the ozak.

 

[smoking monkey]

If anybody is still reading this thread I'll throw in my real world usage 2 cents.

I've owned the iPad 1, 2 and now Air. 3 different case patterns.

iPad1: The Apple case. It was heavy, but protected the iPad extremely well as the iPad 1 still looks in perfect condition and still works and is being used by the inlaws. It is quite heavy though and didn't really feel or look all that nice.

iPad2: I bought some Italian case that looked absolutely brilliant with a beautiful design, but wasn't the lightest around. It was very protective but wear and tear on it after 2 and a half years was pretty rough. I had to apply black marker and nail polish to it to keep it looking nice.

ipad Air: I really wanted to keep my Air as light as possible with as thin a case as possible. Not sure I've done that but have come pretty close. I got a clear back soft plastic cover (Hard scratches too easy I feel) that's thin and lightish. I combined this with the Black Apple Smart Cover (I got for free from Apple for all my troubles).

I love this combination. LOVE IT.

So much better than the cases in my opinion. I love being able to take the cover off and love how it just snaps back onto the iPad so easily and perfectly. There's no chance of scratches as the magnets in the cover are covered with a soft material as well.

The one downside for me is that it sits a little low angle-wise horizontally compared to the other cases I've had and it's not quite as stable in that position. The vertical orientation is a great angle and stable enough to not fall over at all on 6 flights including 2 international long haul flights.

If you do a lot of typing on an iPad on a table, then i'd probably not recommend this combination.

My 2 yens worth.

 

[itsjustmeee]

If anybody is still reading this thread I'll throw in my real world usage 2 cents.

I've owned the iPad 1, 2 and now Air. 3 different case patterns.

iPad1: The Apple case. It was heavy, but protected the iPad extremely well as the iPad 1 still looks in perfect condition and still works and is being used by the inlaws. It is quite heavy though and didn't really feel or look all that nice.

iPad2: I bought some Italian case that looked absolutely brilliant with a beautiful design, but wasn't the lightest around. It was very protective but wear and tear on it after 2 and a half years was pretty rough. I had to apply black marker and nail polish to it to keep it looking nice.

ipad Air: I really wanted to keep my Air as light as possible with as thin a case as possible. Not sure I've done that but have come pretty close. I got a clear back soft plastic cover (Hard scratches too easy I feel) that's thin and lightish. I combined this with the Black Apple Smart Cover (I got for free from Apple for all my troubles).

I love this combination. LOVE IT.

So much better than the cases in my opinion. I love being able to take the cover off and love how it just snaps back onto the iPad so easily and perfectly. There's no chance of scratches as the magnets in the cover are covered with a soft material as well.

The one downside for me is that it sits a little low angle-wise horizontally compared to the other cases I've had and it's not quite as stable in that position. The vertical orientation is a great angle and stable enough to not fall over at all on 6 flights including 2 international long haul flights.

If you do a lot of typing on an iPad on a table, then i'd probably not recommend this combination.

My 2 yens worth.

Which clear back soft plastic cover did you go with?

 

[smoking monkey]

Which clear back soft plastic cover did you go with?

I didn't really have much of a choice last year here in Japan and got this one...

http://www.amazon.ca/iBUFFALO-protective-clear-BSIPD13TCR-japan/dp/B00G3BYXAS

It's way too expensive in Canada!?!? That's a crazy price. Even the 2,200yen or so I paid (20 US dollars) is too expensive.

It does have a seam and it's not quite as tight as it could be. But it does the job. I've give it a 3/5. If you can find a better one, I'd go with that. But it looks good and is light enough. If I could find one that's lighter and a bit thinner I would probably change.

 

[itsjustmeee]

I didn't really have much of a choice last year here in Japan and got this one...

http://www.amazon.ca/iBUFFALO-protective-clear-BSIPD13TCR-japan/dp/B00G3BYXAS

It's way too expensive in Canada!?!? That's a crazy price. Even the 2,200yen or so I paid (20 US dollars) is too expensive.

It does have a seam and it's not quite as tight as it could be. But it does the job. I've give it a 3/5. If you can find a better one, I'd go with that. But it looks good and is light enough. If I could find one that's lighter and a bit thinner I would probably change.

I ended up ordering this...

http://www.amazon.com/Fintie-Shell-...d=1390353729&sr=8-42&keywords=fintie+ipad+air

It's cheap and will probably scratch easily but whatever. At least it's light and cheap. It seems like it's pretty hard to actually find a clear back case for an ipad air that's compatible with the smart cover on Amazon. The Poetic clear version isn't available and the I-Blason one has a "Smart Cover Anchor Lock" which basically holds the smart cover in place. That seems to defeat the purpose of having it in my opinion. BoxWave's model isn't compatible with the smart cover either. At a glance it sure seems like there's more options but I've yet to find them.

 

[carjakester]

27 grams more than the lightest case and its diassappointing? you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference the thing weighs a pound.

 

[smoking monkey]

I ended up ordering this...

http://www.amazon.com/Fintie-Shell-...d=1390353729&sr=8-42&keywords=fintie+ipad+air

It's cheap and will probably scratch easily but whatever. At least it's light and cheap. It seems like it's pretty hard to actually find a clear back case for an ipad air that's compatible with the smart cover on Amazon. The Poetic clear version isn't available and the I-Blason one has a "Smart Cover Anchor Lock" which basically holds the smart cover in place. That seems to defeat the purpose of having it in my opinion. BoxWave's model isn't compatible with the smart cover either. At a glance it sure seems like there's more options but I've yet to find them.

At 3 bucks it's hard to go wrong. Scratching was the reason I didn't want a hard case, but I think hard cases are lighter than soft ones. Let us know how you find it once you get it.

27 grams more than the lightest case and its diassappointing? you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference the thing weighs a pound.

Is this comment directed at me or Itsjustmeee? Or an earlier post? Perhaps quoting might help.

 

[itsjustmeee]

I ended up ordering this...

http://www.amazon.com/Fintie-Shell-...d=1390353729&sr=8-42&keywords=fintie+ipad+air

It's cheap and will probably scratch easily but whatever. At least it's light and cheap. It seems like it's pretty hard to actually find a clear back case for an ipad air that's compatible with the smart cover on Amazon. The Poetic clear version isn't available and the I-Blason one has a "Smart Cover Anchor Lock" which basically holds the smart cover in place. That seems to defeat the purpose of having it in my opinion. BoxWave's model isn't compatible with the smart cover either. At a glance it sure seems like there's more options but I've yet to find them.

I finally got it and have been living with it for about 5 days and basically it's junk. It actually looks ok and fits fine but the edges are so sharp and "unfinished" feeling around the front that it makes it uncomfortable to hold. It feels like it's digging into the palm of my hands. I'm talking about the lip that surrounds most of the front of the iPad. In this case you definitely get what you pay for. The whole rant about "I wouldn't pay 25 dollars for a piece of plastic! I'll just get one on ebay" now doesn't hold water with me. I'm going with the Belkin Snap Shield as I originally intended. There's some real decent quality bargains out there for cases (like the Poetic stuff), but even with good reviews like this crummy back care I bought, it still comes down to actual every-day use that makes it a worthwhile product.

 

[ThirtysixRed]

Rear Cover/Front Protector

I went with the Power Support Air Jacket; perfect fit on the back; front screen protector a breeze to put on (and I've struggled with those screen protectors on iP4s, iP5s and iPads) Crystal clear screen protector is great but does show fingerprints. I went w/the SOLO unit which does not have the cutouts for a Smart type cover. PS offers the alternate version (check their website).

I'm using a Dodocase sleeve instead of a cover.

Wow! you've got $100 invested in covers/sleeves? For a 64GB Air I'm planning to keep a while, it's worth it to me.

 

[andrejkw]

I am currently using the LUVVIT SILVERBACK Protective Skin combined with a Smart Cover. It's the lightest option I've been able to come up with. Also, being able to remove the front cover whenever I want is really nice.

I'll be traveling soon and I can tell the protective skin is just not going to cut it. The newly-released Speck SmartShell for iPad Air looks good. It has a rear magnet, so you can still flip the Smart Cover back and it'll hold in place.

 

[polbit]

I have the Apple Smart Cover, one of the cheap clear backs, and MoKo case - this one. The last one is still the best for me, and at $10 can't be beat.