The Rugged Case is covered in Horween leather, an extremely smooth leather from the Horween Leather Co. of Chicago, one of America’s oldest tanneries. The nature of the leather causes it to patina over time and Nomad explicitly displays the patina effects over time on both the packaging (see the picture of the back of the packing box), and on their website. If the leather does indeed fade and change as Nomad claims it does, it will not be an issue for me. I personally am not a fan of the worn leather look, but I have no objection to a decent patina color change.
As for features, the Rugged Case contains a microfiber lining to prevent any scratching of the AirPods Pro plastic case held within. The charging light on the front of the Apple AirPods Pro case is nicely displayed through the Rugged case by a feature called "light pipe" where a small tube of clear plastic or (glass?) tube rests within the case to conduct the charging light making it visible at multiple angles rather than just a plain cut out which can make the AirPods Pro charging light difficult to see if a case is put over it. The light pipe works well, and I have no issues knowing if the case is charging at any given time, an issue that can present itself when using various Qi charging pads. Not to be left out, the case also includes a decent size cutout for lighting charging cables on the bottom of the case.
The rigidity of the case ensures a tight fit over the flip-top and main parts of the Airpods case. Several months ago, I had purchased a cheaper silicone case for my AirPods Pro in order to quickly differentiate my AirPods Pro from my Wife's pair. The silicone quickly wore and lost it's overall grip to the Airpods case. Needless to say, that particular product wound up in the garbage can. With the Nomad Rugged Case, each part slides onto the Apple case easily and with a bit of pressure on the top and bottom ensures a tight and secure fit on the Apple case. I have not tested any drops with this case, but I suspect it should do well and would most like stay on if dropped from a reasonable distance. Heck, it's not called the Rugged Case for nothing.
Over the years, I have become a fan of many of Nomad's products. I own their PowerStation Apple Watch version Qi charging pad, several of their high-quality Lighting and USB-C cables, and now the AirPods Pro Rugged Case. Nomad offers a wide variety of smartphone and other technology accessories and my experience with the company has always been exemplary. At $34.95 USD, some may feel that the price might be a bit much for a simple AirPods Pro case, however, the quality and feel of the Horween leather combined with the overall quality of the case makes this a nice purchase if you want to add a bit of "personality" to differentiate your case from the almost blinding sea-of-white cases out there in the wild while providing an extra level of drop protection for your AirPods Pro investment.
Pros
- High Quality - beautiful Horween Leather
- Tight, secure fit with microfiber lining protecting the Apple case
- Built-in Light Pipe, making charging LED light visible at multiple viewing angles
Cons
- Horween leather does petina over time - Nomad is very clear on this
- Price may be considered expensive for an Airpods case
NOMAD Rugged Case for AirPods Pro - #34.95 USD