While at a coffee shop last month, I took my iPad out of my bag to find a big scratch on the back of it. I’m not opposed to my iPad showing wear, but this was a fine, deep scratch and it rather bothered me. I decided then and there that I needed a case for my iPad. Not only would it protect the thing from resembling a skating rink but it would make the iPad easier to carry around, too.
I had my heart set on a Dodocase but couldn’t pull the trigger; seventy dollars was above my budget. I found Treegloo, which had a comparable style of case for half the price. I placed my order.
There were a couple of unfortunate customer service missteps before I actually received my case this week. I almost had it sent to an old address, shipping was delayed several weeks due to a resin issue, and it almost got sent to an old address anyway. I’ve now had the case for a few days… but I’ve asked Treegloo if I can return it.
Despite the issues there’s nothing inherently wrong with the case. It serves its function properly, but I believe I misjudged what I needed in a case. The Treegloo certainly looks good and feels good in the hand. It fills the role of faux Moleskine quite well. But it’s not for me.
The Treegloo, much like other notebook-style cases, changes the iPad in a number of physical ways. The act of interacting with the iPad becomes more of a chore when you need to unstrap a cover and flip said cover over in order to just use it. This might be a little thing, but these types of cases make the iPad more laptop-like, and that’s not a good thing to me. The fact that I can just pick up the iPad and use it is important.
The Treegloo is not a heavy case, but at about 11 ounces it does make the iPad heavier. Size is a problem too: since the iPad has a curved back, any rectangular case must use the iPad’s deepest point when considering its height. That means the overall package becomes deeper, taller, and wider. It’s funny, but I found that interacting with the iPad while in its case felt less simple.
These issues ended up being deal breakers for me. I’ve decided instead to go with a sleeve (Timbuk2 or Griffin, likely) which would eliminate the awkwardness of carrying the iPad around while enabling me to use the iPad without any additional heft attached to it. I’ll need to remove it from its sleeve every time, of course, but that feels like a more reasonable compromise than the notebook-like cases demand.
All in all, I think Treegloo makes a good case. It just wasn’t a good fit for me.