Click to Skip Ad
Closing in...

Someone finally made wooden iPhone cases that look good

Published Aug 10th, 2016 4:40PM EDT

If you buy through a BGR link, we may earn an affiliate commission, helping support our expert product labs.

I’ve stuck by the official leather iPhone cases for years, mostly because I’m the kind of predictable person who walks into the Apple store and buys whatever Steve Jobs tells me to. But I also have a real thing for wooden phone cases: they give a good feel in the hand, offer lots of protection, and look fantastic.

Unfortunately, most of the ones you find are being hawked by street vendors, and don’t last a week. But a company called Pad & Quill have started making slim wooden cases for the newer iPhones, and they’re not bad at all.

DON’T MISS: Tesla admits Autopilot was engaged in new crash, but says driver was still at fault

The cases are constructed from two pieces of hardwood with Kevlar sandwiched between, but you’d never know it. The case really just looks like a very thin, very hard shell made out of wood. It’s a straight hardwood pattern, with the only detail a small logo on the back.

DSCF9314

DSCF9318Image source: Chris Mills/BGR

The minimalist design doesn’t offer much by way of protection — you might still shatter the screen in a face-down fall — but the corners, which I destroy the most, are well covered. Best of all, there’s cut-outs for all the buttons, which I much prefer to the mushy button covers on the leather case.

Given how stiff it is, it takes an unnerving amount of force to get on the phone, but that also means it’s never coming off accidentally. There’s just enough space in the back to slip in a $50 bill and a credit card, thankfully.

It’s not all perfect: in just a week of light use, I’ve already managed to put a little dent in one corner, and a small crack in the other. Then again, my Greek god alter-ego would be “destroyer of electronics,” so the fact it’s lasted this long is honestly impressive.

The case comes in four colors, all of which cost $50.

DSCF9322 DSCF9317

Chris Mills
Chris Mills News Editor

Chris Mills has been a news editor and writer for over 15 years, starting at Future Publishing, Gawker Media, and then BGR. He studied at McGill University in Quebec, Canada.