The Good: Smart looks are matched with impressive build quality, a great stand and two solid carrying options.
The Bad: The Gripster provides only modest protection despite being a bit bulky, and it is sensitive to dirt.
The Bottom Line: Look beyond the protection issue, and the Gripster is a mighty fine utility belt for your iPad, with respectable scratch resistance thrown in.
We iPad owners are a seriously demanding bunch when it comes to cases. We want slimness, yet we also want protection and extras like hand grips, stands and carrying handles. It sounds like a recipe for a messy compromise, but it’s a challenge Native Union is taking on with the Gripster. But is it the best of all worlds?
Design
Gripster’s handle used as a stand
Although the Gripster provides all the extras mentioned above, it doesn’t have the over-complicated look of a multitasker, and Native Union’s often revered design skills are clear to see.
The iPad clips securely into the main body of the case, which is made from a thin but robust kind of plastic with gaps for the switches, microphone, speaker and camera. It’s unfortunate that the particular plastic used is made to look incredibly greasy even by freshly-washed hands, but this is probably only a concern for those with an overly developed sense for aesthetics (e.g. me).
Side view of the Gripster case
Attached to the body, by a hinge, is a folding magnetic screen protector which is clearly based on Apple’s own Smart Cover. However, the Gripster’s cover is softer, and it folds into much smaller sections, allowing it to be rolled up like a blind.
The visual combination of these two is unremarkable, but it is enough to impress in a corporate environment, and the build quality is superb throughout.
All of the Gripster’s tricks can be found at the back of the main casing, where a slightly-squared circular handle sits on a rotating base. It protrudes from the case in an ungainly fashion, but at least it doesn’t destabilise the iPad when it is on a flat surface. To some degree, the irritation caused by this handle is the price you pay for added functionality — some iPad owners will be more willing than others to make that compromise.
Features
The outcome of that calculation is heavily reliant on how often you use your iPad when out and about. While the handle doubles as a highly competent stand — capable of holding the iPad at most angles in portrait or landscape — it is primarily an easier way of carrying your tablet. Strangely, the handle is too small to be a comfortable fit with my average-sized hands, although it does feel like a secure handhold once it is clicked into place. It keeps the iPad relatively well balanced, too.
Handle makes it easy to carry around your iPad
The other main feature here is the hand strap that is located in the middle of the handle pod. Again, it’s a tight squeeze to get your hand in, but it is made of some seriously tough material, and it provides a reassuring grip when you have the iPad in one hand.
Protection
Being clumsy, I have dropped my iPad a number of times over the years, and it has always come out (apparently) unharmed. To be honest, I’m not sure how much more protection the Gripster gives in such instances. The shell is hard but unpadded, while the front cover is nothing more than a kind of synthetic felt substitute.
Not much protection with the Gripster’s front cover
However, if you treat your iPad in a civilised manner, the Gripster’s all-round coverage means that scratching is highly unlikely to occur, so that is some kind of praiseworthy protection. The only issue with this is that the front cover doesn’t magnetically attach to the front of the iPad, so just turning the case halfway towards upside-down is enough for it to flap open. Not the most trustworthy lid, then.
Verdict
Despite having always been reluctant to clothe my iPad in any kind of casing, I find it hard not to be impressed by the Gripster. While the protection it offers might be relatively modest, the utility provided by the handle-cum-stand is genuinely great in everyday use, and the quality of this case is undeniable.
That said, the Gripster is most definitely designed for people who are on the go. Folks who predominantly use their iPads for living room web browsing will probably enjoy the Gripster’s stand, but will curse the bulk it adds (it actually weighs over 350 grams) and its lack of drop-cushioning protection.
If you can look beyond the protection issue, though, the Gripster is a mighty fine utility belt for your iPad, with a sprinkling of respectable scratch resistance thrown in.
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