Review: Elago Outfit Case for iPhone 5

11/1/2012

Initially I was very hesitant to purchase a case for my iPhone 5. It's just so darn good looking without a case. However, when I saw the Outfit Case by Elago, I decided to pick it up. The Outfit is a thin, snap-on style case. Like most snap on cases a small amount of protection is offered for the back and sides. Both the top and bottom of the case are open, which is not such a bad thing as there should be no problems with accessories such as cables and headphone plugs.

The Outfit is made of a soft-touch plastic for the sides and partially on the back. The back of the case mimics the design of the iPhone 5 by having the soft touch plastic on the upper and lower quarters of the case. The middle of the Outfit is a sheet of metal which offers a similar look as the middle of the iPhone itself. The opening for the camera, like most iPhone 5 cases, is a large oval which gives plenty of room for the Camera, Flash and extra microphone. The front of the case has a bit of a lip for a lay-on-the-table design. I don't have a screen protector on my phone so I can't comment on how the lip affects installed shields.

Overall, the Elago Outfit is a nice looking case with only one real flaw. The black one that I purchased is a fingerprint magnet. The soft touch plastic just seems to show too many smudges. I am not sure how long this case will hold up over time. Based on my experience with soft touch plastics, they tend to look very worn after a month or so of everyday use.

The Outfit is listed on the Elago site for $26.99, but can be purchased on Amazon for $14.99 if you are a Prime member. It comes in multiple colors such as Black, Gray, White, Blue Jean, and Hot Pink.

Note: The case I received came defective from Elago. The back metal piece was not affixed properly and was coming off. I contacted customer support and within a hour of sending the email, a CS rep had contacted me that another case was going to be shipped out to me as a replacement.