[EVO 4G Accessories] pingpongboss:
Edit: I've been told by Seidio that the "Active-Like Thing" actually has a name. It's called the Rugged Skin. Also, they assured me that they are "working to make the tabs strong and easier to remove."

Seidio Innocase Rugged Holster Combo

Innocase Rugged Holster Combo For use with HTC EVO 4G

The newest case in Seidio's line for the HTC Evo 4G, the Innocase Rugged will not disappointed those who are seeking a case that offers more protection with minimal sacrifice in thickness and weight gain. The best thing about this case is, you choose when you want to add more protection, and when to go for lightweight and style.

If you haven't seen my reviews for the Innocase II Surface and Innocase Active yet, go check them out. I will be referring to them quite a lot, since the Innocase Rugged is at its heart, a combination of the two.

There are 4 separate pieces to the Innocase Rugged, which is an incredible bang for your buck. You are essentially buying a screen protector, a holster, and 2 separate cases for around $50. The pieces are engineered to fit together perfectly, and best of all, it is made by Seidio, a company that is hugely concerned about its consumers. You won't see another company like Seidio who spends a lot of time and effort answering questions on these forums. They've taken advice and criticisms on all their past products, and iterated new generations that fix the most pressing issues. I am truly impressed with their dedication to their consumers.

The Innocase Active was widely considered to be their most successful case (especially the Limited Edition), so lets see how this new case compares.

Full disclosure: I was given a review unit from Seidio. However, you'll find that I strive to be uninfluenced by that, and will be fully honest when it comes to weaknesses.

Raison d'être

The Seidio Innocase Rugged is made for those needs a case with supreme protection, compatibility with a holster, and flexibility. You can choose when to slip the Active-like outer casing over the inner Surface for the times when you want more protection, and don't mind a little extra bulk. When you want to go lightweight, take off the outer layer and you are left with an Innocase II Surface on your Evo. The flexibility, plus the ultimate protection it offers, will no doubt appeal to a lot of people.

Ultimate Screen Guard

The Innocase Rugged comes with Seidio's well-received Ultimate Screen Guard - Crystal Clear. The package contains 1 screen guard, 1 microfiber cloth, and 1 hard application card, which can be bought separately for $9.95. This screen protector is static-cling (not wet-application), has a very hard glass-like surface, no rainbow effects, extremely thin, no orange peel, super scratch-resistant, and does not reduce touch sensitivity. If you'd like to see my full review on the Ultimate Screen Guard, check out this review thread.

Currently I am not using Seidio's Ultimate Screen Guard. I have taken a liking to the Anti-Fingerprint/Anti-Glare variety of screen protectors, and am using SGP's Steinheil Anti-Fingerprint screen protector. It's too bad that Seidio only making Crystal Clear varieties, since I'm sure a lot of people, me included, would love to try out an Anti-Fingerprint version from Seidio. However, like I said in my review for the Ultimate Screen Guard, I found almost no difference between Seidio's Crystal Clear and SGP's Crystal Clear.

Innocase II Surface

This is arguably the most important piece of the Innocase Rugged Combo. This inner piece stays on your phone the whole time, and is exactly the same as a 2nd generation Innocase II Surface. Checkout this great comparison between the 1st and 2nd generation of Innocase II Surface made by htc.EVOlution for more details.

When you do not want the entire bulk of the Innocase Rugged, you take off the other outer layers, and leave this Innocase II Surface on your Evo. It offers enough protection for reasonably high (head height) drops, while only adding 1mm of thickness to the phone. Being the 2nd generation, the inside is coated with rubber, destroying any squeaks and fit issues that the previous generation had. The felt lining on the inside serves as a cushion for sudden impacts, and outer rubberized coating makes the device a joy to hold. For more information on the Innocase II Surface, look at this review.

Rugged Skin

The Rugged Skin is very much like the Innocase Active Limited Edition, yet it's different. What it is, is a slightly larger version of the Active that fits over the Innocase II Surface. Before you ask any questions, yes it is larger, meaning it will not fit over a naked Evo. Also this means the original Innocase Active will not fit inside of the included Hoster without some modding.

By the time you put this Rugged Skin layer on, your Evo will be covered in 2 cases. I feel pretty confident that my Evo will survive if I chuck it across the room, or if it gets thrown off of my desk accidentally. You won't find more protection than this in any cases on the market today.

This Rugged Skin piece comes in 2 parts of its own: The inner rubber silicon layer, and the hard plastic exoskeleton. They've made some adjustments that make this much better than the Innocase Active Limited Edition, but also some adjustments that hurt its viability. Let's talk about the good things first.

There's a camera flap! Even though the old cases indirectly protected the camera by protruding out more than the camera did (kind of like our eye sockets protecting the eye ball), many people were unsatisfied and wanted something more. Seidio then engineered a flap that covers the camera when not in use. It has a little knob at the top which fits into a little hole in the exoskeleton, so that it holds the flap open when you are using the camera. The flap is thin and is only meant to protect against minor bumps and scratches.

No kickstand! I think the reasoning was, since you'd have 2 separate cases on, it would be too difficult to dig out the kickstand if there was an opening. Also, this heavier case might mean that the weight distribution will not be able to be held up by the kickstand.

Redesigned Power and Volume buttons! This was a BIG DEAL to a lot of Innocase Active owners. The power button is now MUCH EASIER to press. The rubber inner silicon layer now has a stub that sticks out of the case, into the Evo's power button, whereas before it had an indent. This makes it so that you have to press it much softer to hit the Power or Volume buttons. Good job listening to your users Seidio!

There are 4 locking tabs located at the corners of the soft inner silicon layer. These tabs hook onto the newly added grooves in the exoskeleton, and prevent the exoskeleton from slipping off. This makes the Rugged Skin much sturdier and more reliable.

There are now covers for the ports. The headphone jack is covered, as well as the bottom ports. The covers are flaps that you lift up when you want to use those ports, and they are designed to keep out dust, dirt, and grime.

Thankfully, the exoskeleton is styled like the Active Limited Edition. I prefer it to the new non-Limited Edition exoskeleton that they've made.

Holster

The holster pretty much weighs the same as the Surface and Active weigh together.

It is a a face-in design, which protects the screen while snapped in. There is felt where it touches the screen, and the rest of the holster is made of hard plastic.

The large back clip is very powerful, and designed so that it won't slip off your belt when someone pulls on it. There is 7 ways to orient/rotate the clip, so you can have the holster be horizontal, vertical, or somewhere in between.

The sprint-loaded top clip has rubber where it touches your phone. It shows very good foresight, and will prevent any scratches that may occur. There is a locking mechanism, so that the top clip does not come loose when you don't want it to. When you have your Evo in the holster, you can be sure that it will stay in there.

The holster will NOT work out of the box with the current Innocase Active. The Rugged is just slightly bigger.

Cons/Criticism

Like I said, I'm going to be very honest with you guys here. Even though the case is awesome, and fixes almost all of the problems people have been having with the Innocase II Surface and Active, it has problems of its own.

Not much to say about the Innocase II Surface. It is what it is. Only thing that might make it better is if there was more felt inside.

The Rugged Skin is missing the kickstand support. That's a big con!

It's much harder to put on and remove the Rugged Skin layer. It has a tighter fit, but takes more effort to add and remove. The exoskeleton is also more difficult to put on and remove, because of the safety tabs that are designed to keep the exoskeleton on. It's always a give-or-take between more versatility and more ruggedness.

The port/camera covers are hard to open. Again, they're designed to keep out dust and offer more protection, so it's no surprise. However, what did surprise me is how flimsy the cover flap connectors are. I feel like over time, it will be inevitable that these port covers will get ripped off accidentally.

Overall, with both the Innocase II Surface and the Rugged Skin on, the device is much bulkier than either the Innocase II Surface or Active by itself. Although that's to be expected, you have to ask yourself what type of protection you need before jumping into the Rugged. Although there is the versatility of being able to use only the Surface when you want to. I imagine that if the Rugged was strictly a heavy weight case, many people will shy away from it. But due to the fact that you can transform it into a lightweight case, many more people should be interested. Right now I have the Innocase Rugged and a dumb phone in my jeans pocket at the same time, and they fit tightly but comfortably. I have to carry around a dumbphone because my AT&T plan isn't up yet, but for those who are worried about pocketability, relax. It slides in and out just fine, the rubber silicon isn't sticky and won't catch on your pockets.

Conclusion

The Innocase Rugged is a great versatile case that I can recommend fully. It offers the highest protection of any cases on the market today, while it can still slim down for when you need it to. The improves the Rugged makes to the Surface and Active far outweigh the cons. You can't go wrong with this case. Everyone asks: Is the thickness/weight/bulk worth it? The answer is YES!

Pictures below.