[Nexus 6P Accessories] Heisenberg:
[size=+1]Introduction[/size]

Today I'll be reviewing the Rhinoshield Crash Guard bumper case and the Rhinoshield Screen Protector. I've never used a Rhinoshield product before now but I've always heard positive things about their range. I've been using these products for two weeks. I've been supplied these products for free in return for my review.

[size=+1]Crash Guard[/size]

The packaging for this product is quite good, it features bold colours and a quality card box, it looks and feels very nice. There's a slim vertical window on the box that reveals one edge of the case inside.

This case is a smooth TPU-like rubber that wraps only around the edges of the phone (open front and open back). It's a bit more slippery in the hand than I'd like but not so much that I'm dropping the phone. The case is raised up on both the front and the back, meaning that when you place it on a surface (either face up or face down) only the case is touching that surface, the actual phone doesn't make contact at all. This provides a good level of protection from scratches from rough surfaces. All in all, it feels ok in the hand. The edges on this case aren't rounded/curved, they're quite hard and angular, making it uncomfortable to hold, especially at the rear where you naturally rest your fingers.

Installing the case is relatively easy but it does take a decent amount of force to get the last corner or two snapped on completely. With all the hype about this device bending relatively easily, I must admit that the force I was applying to get the case on worried me. Anyway, the corners fit quite tightly once you have it on. The sides of the case are pretty floppy, though, you can very easily pull the side of the case away from the phone about 10mm. It might be because of this fact that the power and volume buttons on the right side of the phone require significantly more force to push than without a case installed. Using those buttons is cumbersome and is a downfall of this case. In saying this, the level of protection that's provided might be worth the fussing caused by the buttons.

I'm not going to deliberately drop my device but my assumption is that it will offer a good amount of protection. Tapping the phone against a hard surface with a good amount of force, you can feel the impact vibrate and disperse through the case. The Rhinoshield website claims that this case is rated to protect from at least an 11 foot (3.35 metre) drop. Their convincing product test videos can be found here:

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=AKC213nMRN4

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=7Qk23X9eVrU

There are plenty of other independent test videos on YouTube that support the 11 foot drop protection claim.

At first I was going to write a fairly negative review because the buttons are so difficult to push. I don't know whether the case has softened up a little since first installing it or whether I've gotten used to the buttons, but they don't seem to bother me as much anymore. I've used other cases that are far easier to install/remove but actually fit to the device much better and don't make the buttons difficult at all to use. All in all though, I've decided to keep this case on my phone because I believe the protection it offers is worth the negative aspects about this case.

Pros:

Excellent scratch protection via the case being raised away from the phone.

Sturdy design and it feels like it offers good drop protection.

Nice matte colour and finish.

Cons:

Buttons are difficult to press with this case installed.

Floppy/loose sides.

Uncomfortable to hold.

Please scroll to post #3 for images.