Review: i-Tube Case for iPhone/iPod Touch

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This is the most original idea I have ever seen. It is a product called i-Tube which is made from the inner tubing of a wheel from bicycles. Line it with soft cloth on the inside and you’ve got i-Tube, the environmentally friendly case for your iPhone and iPod Touch. Not only that but the cases are also handmade!

Tube, a Swiss company, have a whole product line revolving around the re-using of used inner tubing. Apart from iPhone/iPod Touch cases, they offer belts, USB keys and even a light/lamp. You can visit there website at: http://www.tube.ch/.

This case, if you were to call it that it is more of a pouch, consists of two different layers. The first being a used inner tubing of a tyre from a bicycle and the second being a elastic micro-fibre which allows the case to stretch to easily remove and put in the case plus makes it compatible with more iPods (fits my iPhone 3GS, original iPod Touch and iPod Classic). This combination does a great job in protecting the device within from nicks and scratches but won’t protect it from drops or knocks but then again, this case wasn’t meant to do that. It is very thin so doesn’t add much bulk at all to the device. The exact dimensions are 6.5 x 11.5 x 1.0cm.

Because of the micro-fibre inside lining, this case also acts as an iPod equivalent to the car wash. You just pop your device in, take it out and the screen is spotless.

One of the main things I feared about this case would be the smell. My experience with rubber items is that they smell. But my fears where immediately diminished because unless you sniff it from right up close, the rubber does not smell.

The case is labelled as “STREET” (4omm thick) on the website meaning the rubber used to create the outside was from a street biking and is the middle thickness of rubber they offer. The thickest is DOWNHILL and the thinnest is RACE. You can get the case with different markings on it. The one I was sent was plain whilst the one pictured on the website has some writing on it. I guess it depends on what part of the inner tubing you get.

Clearly this case has quite high demand because at the time of this review (7th July 2009) the i-Tube cases are all sold out.

Overall, quite simply I love this case. It is such a unique idea and it is executed brilliantly. The case is well made, doesn’t feel like it is going to rip when you stretch it, and protects the device within well. If I were to rate it, it would almost definitely receive a 5/5.

If you want to go and get yourself one of these, you can buy it from Tube’s very own online store: HERE

You can visit the i-Tube’s page and all the other products Tube has to offer at their website: http://www.tube.ch/