The Best Leather Case For The iPhone 5: Sena's UltraSlim Classic For iPhone 5 Full Review

I first came across the brand Sena on a forum (not unlike the ones on The Verge or Lifehacker asking readers to choose and vote on their favorite cases) - back in those days, Sena was nowhere as popular or as mainstream as they are now. However, just visiting the website alone for the first time perked my interests: they seem to be doing leather cases exclusively. Of course, there were many variations of the type of leather cases they did including snap-ons, silicon-type all around cover and the slip-ons. In this review, we're going to be talking about the slip-ons, the famous UltraSlim Classic for the iPhone 5 (they have other variations of this case such as the UltraSlim Access) since they seem to be the most popular model as well as being, well, the original.

Starting off with the packaging, we're got an incredibly simple boxed case with a clear see through window. On the top of the box we see what Sena is really famous for - "Handcrafted/Italian Leather". Moving to the back of the box, we've got a few more descriptions such as "Handcrafted from the finest quality, full-grain leather". Even before prying into the box, the whole presentation just screams quality.

Opening the box, we've got the case itself and a styrofoam within to make sure the case keep its shape. The first time picking up the case, it feels...smooth. It feels as though it is made out of really high quality leather and that the leather is "flat", even though in reality it is textured for a more authentic look. Impressive, to say the least.

Looking at the edges of the case, we've got a really neat stitching across the entire case, (this presented a little bit of problem which we're going to talk in just a moment) which, once again, screams quality. I should also probably point out that the Sena logo mixes and camouflages itself pretty well with the general look and feel of the case so unless you look closely, it's pretty discreet. On the bottom of the case are 4 punctured holes in the event that you want to put your iPhone back in the case but still want to use it as a source of music. Again, the attention to detail here is pretty impressive.

Inside the case is the leather linen that is supposed to clean your iPhone whenever you slip it in and keep it safe in there - in which it does a pretty good job of. In the month that I've used this case, the linen inside the case seems pretty resistant to dust or dirt, which is good since no one wants to find their iPhones dirtier when they pull it out of the case than when they put it in. If you use a glossy screen protector like I do, you would also realize that it cleans the screen protector up pretty nicely, ensuring that you'll never have to grab a cloth to re-clean it.

Now, let's talk about the only slightly negative part of the case. When you first start using the case, you'll feel that you almost have to force it in with a tad of strength to ensure that your iPhone is fully enclosed and protected in the case. There are three options to removing your iPhone from the case the moment it's in:

1. You can grip the case on both sides and use one finger to push the case upwards (this is a pretty bad method for the first few weeks of using the case since the iPhone hasn't "broken into" the case - think of it as shoes - you tend to get blisters in the first few days of using a new shoes because you haven't broken into the new shoes). As some of you might've guessed, there might be a problem with this method - what if you use too much strength and the iPhone comes flying out of the case?
2. You can grip the iPhone from the two sides (the sides curve down like a U shape) but since the distance for your fingers to grip the iPhone, you don't get much leverage there.
3. This would be the most ideal option as well as one that I used the most - just stick your finger into the front and back on the top of the case and pull as hard as you can. Trust me, it usually works.

All in all, among all the leather iPhone cases I've tried out for the iPhone 5, think ranks not only among the best, but simply the best. For its price of $29.99 on their website (you've also got 11 different colors to choose from should you decide to purchase from their website), you get not only an amazing case in general, but one that exudes luxury. While the price might be in the middle range category when it comes to iPhone cases, fear not that you're getting your money's worth of quality. With that, I can safely say that I can fully recommend the Sena case UltraSlim Classic for the iPhone 5 to anyone looking for a great and affordable iPhone 5 leather case.

PURCHASE YOUR VERY OWN SENA ULTRASLIM CLASSIC CASE FOR THE IPHONE 5 HERE

Thanks to Sena Cases for sending this case out for review.

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