Yep, I vote Keyway too. Loving mine. Its aging beautifully as seen here https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/leather-cases-patina-proud-photos.2091430/post-32831640
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Leather alternatives to FineWoven cases
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Can anyone recommend a good Nappa leather case?
I love the feel of Nappa, so I ordered the Lonli nappa. It came today and I'm really disappointed, the fit is poor (the lip around the top right of the phone is noticeably lower than everywhere else), the buttons aren't great (the lock buttons aren't as tactile as the others, and the volume and action buttons are wonky) and the cutouts at the bottom are a little sharp.
Is there anything else I could try? Doesn't even have to be real leather, happy with one of these 'vegan' leathers if it feels like Nappa.
I've got the Andar Aspen, and as much as it's a good case I just want a nappa/similar feel.
I love the feel of Nappa, so I ordered the Lonli nappa. It came today and I'm really disappointed, the fit is poor (the lip around the top right of the phone is noticeably lower than everywhere else), the buttons aren't great (the lock buttons aren't as tactile as the others, and the volume and action buttons are wonky) and the cutouts at the bottom are a little sharp.
Is there anything else I could try? Doesn't even have to be real leather, happy with one of these 'vegan' leathers if it feels like Nappa.
I've got the Andar Aspen, and as much as it's a good case I just want a nappa/similar feel.
Not the cheapest, but what about YMW? I have a Crazy Horse one of them, and I like their cases.
€37,27 32％ Off | Ymw Italiaanse Nappa Echt Lederen Hoesje Voor Iphone 15 14 13 Pro Max Magnetische Supercar Interieur Bedrijf Premium Koe Telefoon Hoes
€37,27 32％ Off | Ymw Italiaanse Nappa Echt Lederen Hoesje Voor Iphone 15 14 13 Pro Max Magnetische Supercar Interieur Bedrijf Premium Koe Telefoon Hoes
a.aliexpress.com
ThanksNot the cheapest, but what about YMW? I have a Crazy Horse one of them, and I like their cases.
€37,27 32％ Off | Ymw Italiaanse Nappa Echt Lederen Hoesje Voor Iphone 15 14 13 Pro Max Magnetische Supercar Interieur Bedrijf Premium Koe Telefoon Hoes
€37,27 32％ Off | Ymw Italiaanse Nappa Echt Lederen Hoesje Voor Iphone 15 14 13 Pro Max Magnetische Supercar Interieur Bedrijf Premium Koe Telefoon Hoesa.aliexpress.com
I can show you some pictures when I am at home. It is 100% the exact same green-ish color like the Andar Aspen Navy. Except the Bare has also green buttons and camera ring instead of black (Andar).
For those who have actually tried some leather cases for 15 series, please post your reviews and comments here.
Because Apple dropped leather cases, I've been through a whole bunch of third-party leather cases. Here are my assessments of the various brands. Please add yours.
Alto - good cases that are reasonably priced and would be acceptable for many. They're somewhat slippery out of the box. Buttons work well. Fit is slim, which is good. Leather doesn't smell all that much, if at all, like leather. Camera bump seems to be plastic but matches the leather colors. Overall, after trying so many other cases, these were good enough to be keepers but went to the bottom of the pile because they're simply unremarkable. Still, if you don't have a case fetish and/or aren't trying to find really wonderful leather cases for your 15, then these would work, sure. Alto makes some nice leather AirPods cases, by the way.
Andar - nice leather but the edges of the buttons are so sharp I had to return my two copies. Never experienced buttons that sharp before. Actually never even had to think too much about buttons until Andar's made me worried that my fingers would lose skin while rubbing up and down the sides of my phone. You'll find other users on the web noting this, too, as well as one popular YouTube reviewer. Too bad. Otherwise these are good cases. Nice leather.
Apple 14 Plus leather on 15 Plus - these fit, sort of. They're a tad too loose because the 15 Plus is just slightly different than the 14 Plus. You'll get the familiar Apple leather, slim, decent, good grippiness on some units (there is unit variation in this regard).
Ryan London - after trying Bullstrap, I tried Ryan London because various reports on the web say that Ryan London is better. I don't think it is. The leather is good. The cases are thinner than Bullstrap (2mm vs 3mm). Cases were somewhat slippery out of the box. I've heard this improves. Nice buttons. Not too far out, not too far in. I prefer the company's open bottom cases to the new closed bottom ones. Leather seems nicer, and there's a leather camera bump rather than whatever they're using (metal) with the closed bottom cases. This is my #2 choice after Bullstrap. Various reports on the web note that these cases tend to fit a bit looser than Bullstrap's. This was my finding, as well. The closed bottom case was worse in this regard than the open bottom one. Neither fit so loose that it would actually be a problem, I think. USB-C cutout on the closed bottom case could be a tad larger to accommodate some cables.
Bullstrap - of the many, many cases I've tried, those from Bullstrap seem the best, overall. Leather is nice quality. Cases are thick (3mm), which is both good and bad, depending on your viewpoint. Some units (I tried about 10) are grippy out of the box, others are slippery, so there is unit variation here. I've read they all get grippy after some usage. Bullstrap's buttons can vary from case to case. On some of my units, the power button didn't stick out far enough (almost flush with case), while on others it did. Open bottom: Something people like to worry about, but I actually grew to like this after previously using only closed bottom cases. Now I don't want to go back to a closed bottom case. These are the most expensive of the cases tried. Still, I'm keeping the Bullstrap ones. If you're looking for high quality leather, you're talking a difference of $20 or $30 among the cases. Get what you like. Forget the dough. If you're buying Apple, you're used to spending too much anyway.
LuckyCoin - these are on Amazon. They're inexpensive. And there's some talk online that they're made by the same factory that is supposed to be making upcoming closed-bottom Bullstrap cases. Whether this is true or not, I don't know, and I don't care. The cases aren't as good as Bullstrap's, in my opinion. They're thinner. They've attempted to place holes in the bottom edge to perfectly align with the holes in the bottom of the iPhone. Probably not a good decision (alignment concerns). Anyway, the first words that came out of my mouth after playing with these for a minute or so were "you get what you pay for." Returning these was an easy call.
Because Apple dropped leather cases, I've been through a whole bunch of third-party leather cases. Here are my assessments of the various brands. Please add yours.
Alto - good cases that are reasonably priced and would be acceptable for many. They're somewhat slippery out of the box. Buttons work well. Fit is slim, which is good. Leather doesn't smell all that much, if at all, like leather. Camera bump seems to be plastic but matches the leather colors. Overall, after trying so many other cases, these were good enough to be keepers but went to the bottom of the pile because they're simply unremarkable. Still, if you don't have a case fetish and/or aren't trying to find really wonderful leather cases for your 15, then these would work, sure. Alto makes some nice leather AirPods cases, by the way.
Andar - nice leather but the edges of the buttons are so sharp I had to return my two copies. Never experienced buttons that sharp before. Actually never even had to think too much about buttons until Andar's made me worried that my fingers would lose skin while rubbing up and down the sides of my phone. You'll find other users on the web noting this, too, as well as one popular YouTube reviewer. Too bad. Otherwise these are good cases. Nice leather.
Apple 14 Plus leather on 15 Plus - these fit, sort of. They're a tad too loose because the 15 Plus is just slightly different than the 14 Plus. You'll get the familiar Apple leather, slim, decent, good grippiness on some units (there is unit variation in this regard).
Ryan London - after trying Bullstrap, I tried Ryan London because various reports on the web say that Ryan London is better. I don't think it is. The leather is good. The cases are thinner than Bullstrap (2mm vs 3mm). Cases were somewhat slippery out of the box. I've heard this improves. Nice buttons. Not too far out, not too far in. I prefer the company's open bottom cases to the new closed bottom ones. Leather seems nicer, and there's a leather camera bump rather than whatever they're using (metal) with the closed bottom cases. This is my #2 choice after Bullstrap. Various reports on the web note that these cases tend to fit a bit looser than Bullstrap's. This was my finding, as well. The closed bottom case was worse in this regard than the open bottom one. Neither fit so loose that it would actually be a problem, I think. USB-C cutout on the closed bottom case could be a tad larger to accommodate some cables.
Bullstrap - of the many, many cases I've tried, those from Bullstrap seem the best, overall. Leather is nice quality. Cases are thick (3mm), which is both good and bad, depending on your viewpoint. Some units (I tried about 10) are grippy out of the box, others are slippery, so there is unit variation here. I've read they all get grippy after some usage. Bullstrap's buttons can vary from case to case. On some of my units, the power button didn't stick out far enough (almost flush with case), while on others it did. Open bottom: Something people like to worry about, but I actually grew to like this after previously using only closed bottom cases. Now I don't want to go back to a closed bottom case. These are the most expensive of the cases tried. Still, I'm keeping the Bullstrap ones. If you're looking for high quality leather, you're talking a difference of $20 or $30 among the cases. Get what you like. Forget the dough. If you're buying Apple, you're used to spending too much anyway.
LuckyCoin - these are on Amazon. They're inexpensive. And there's some talk online that they're made by the same factory that is supposed to be making upcoming closed-bottom Bullstrap cases. Whether this is true or not, I don't know, and I don't care. The cases aren't as good as Bullstrap's, in my opinion. They're thinner. They've attempted to place holes in the bottom edge to perfectly align with the holes in the bottom of the iPhone. Probably not a good decision (alignment concerns). Anyway, the first words that came out of my mouth after playing with these for a minute or so were "you get what you pay for." Returning these was an easy call.
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Keyway makes a great case that patina's beautifully. The buttons are perfect and all cutouts were precise. However, the X is bothersome for some people and it does impede on some magsafe accessories preventing them from laying flat on the back of the phone. Also as I learned the hard way the cutout for the X can let water into the leather resulting in water staining. If the X were done different I'd say its a damn near perfect case.
Andar is basically the Keyway without the X. These are great cases, and the buttons are no where near as bad as the above post woudl make you think. They are not going to cut you or remove skin... thats just being dramatic. I personally think if you're in the market for a full leather case the Andar is the best choice. The only reason I picked the Keyway over the Andar was because I'm Canadian and Keyway is Canaidan so I could get better shipping prices and not pay duty. However I know people with the Andar and its a beauty of a case.
Bullstrap makes a nice case and their warranty looks great on paper but in my experience their warranty was useless. They made the process of obtaining a warranty replacement unecessarily difficult. The constant questions and requests for more and more photos of the existing case dragged out so long I eventually gave up and swore off them for good. Maybe that unfair of me but at these prices I have a hard time supporting them when they won't stand behind their promise.
Mujjo is garbage leather. Worse than even the old Apple leather on the 12 - 14 series phones.
Decoded is decent. Their cases are well made but their color choices aren't for me. I always get brown leather and their current color choices are just ugly.
Nomad is a case that I spent years bashing. I had become a leather snob and felt that only a full leather case should be called a leather case. After my oops with the Keyway I decided I wanted something stronger but didn't want to give up on leather so I took a chance on the Nomand and would you beleive I freaking love it. The leather is easily the best of all the cases I've ever had ( and theres been alot ) the TPU doesn't bother me in the least and the way they sculpted the sides makes it way easier to pick the phone up off a table or surface. The buttons are very nice and responsive. I dont' see myself switching away from the Nomad anytime soon.
I’ve got a pretty long list as well but here goes, starting with my favorite
Bare - Great leather feel and probably the closest to the pre iPhone 12 apple leather cases I’ve found. Leather has a great finish and doesn’t patina quickly like some of the other leather cases. Also love the buttons matching the color of the case. My only knock really is they use the same chamfered buttons like andar uses, I prefer the flat buttons like Keyway uses.
Lucky coin - pretty surprised by this case. Love how lightweight this case is. The leather is dry out if the box but after 3 coats of andar leather conditioner it feels great. The knock on this one is it’s kind of a lottery to get aligned speaker holes and usb cutouts. My first one was tan and the alignment was off but my turquoise one the alignment was good. Also love that this case has a lower lip than most of the cases I’ve tried, just not as low as the apple leather cases.
Keyway - like the feel of the leather, like the flat buttons and like the slate and whisky colors. The lip on this one is higher than I like and if you get moisture in the X the leather will bubble up around it.
Andar - didn’t use this one long enough to give a full review. The leather was dry but probably would be good with some conditioner. I didn’t like how high the lip was or the thickness so it went back.
Ymw nappa - didn’t like the feel of the leather. Gave it a shot for 1 day and my MagSafe wallet came off twice in my pocket. Not sure if it was missing the alignment magnet or if it was just weak magnets.
Lonli edition - buttons were all out of wack, got a refund
Alto - huge speaker cutouts looks terrible and just feels like hard plastic
Bullstrap - loved the slate color but couldn’t do the open bottom, too uncomfortable on the pinky when using the phone one handed. Honestly after seeing how quick the slate patinas i don’t think I would get it even if they launch the closed bottom version.
I also really like the dbrand leather skin but I keep going back to a case. I just ordered the nomad leather back so hoping I like it.
Honestly after trying all these cases I would gladly get an apple leather case if they still made them. I loved how minimal the case was and the lip was basically even with a screen protector so you didn’t feel it when swiping. I can live without the patina.
I’m after exactly the same as you, a minimal leather case with no lip. LC is the best I’ve found so far. Let us know if you ever find one that has an even lower lip.
You’ll like the lip on the Nomad especially if you run a screen protector.
I ordered the new one that only covers the back so no lip to worry about at all.
I just ordered one too, have AC+ so this is might be a great “cover” to use.
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33 grams??? That’s the same weight as a full coverage Keyway or Bare. That’s pretty surprising, I was expecting 15-20 grams max.
How thick is the nomad goods leather case? Currently have a Caudabe Sheath, but want something a bit softer (feels like sandpaper sometimes)