Choosing smartphone case isn’t a simple task, as we have to sift through a sea of types and brands. Fortunately at AndroidGuys, we get the opportunity to get our hands on great offerings and are able to take closeup, real-world pics and provide usability insight.
PureGear is such case company that keeps up with the latest smartphones and gives us the opportunity to check out. Today, I have an interesting case made for the Note5 – the DualTek Pro. It is PureGear’s latest crack at merging sleekness with robustness. Let’s check it out.
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Design
I was surprised when I opened the box up and toured the Dualtek Pro case. It’s different. With cases, we typically see either TPU material (flexible plastic) or hard shell plastic. However, PureGear merged both of these approaches.
From the back it looks and feels like typical hard plastic. But then the perimeter is a mix of clear TPU and that hard plastic that wrapped itself around the sides. Take a look.
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Why has PureGear done this? Robustness is a big reason. It can now boast a “Military Tested and Approved” standard. Also, we can have a pad that sits in the middle of the interior for shock absorption.
So then why not just make the whole case hard plastic? Well, PureGear thinks that you don’t want to completely cover up that beauty of a phone. It’s their solution for compromising sleekness and robustness.
I like the choice of finish of the plastic on the back. It’s a matte, smooth and soft feeling plastic. It feels like quality and like it can take a beating.
As expected, there is a lip on the front TPU wrapping, for protection of phone’s front glass.
The TPU material feels as expected from other cases. It’s great how PureGear made the hard plastic and TPU seamless where they meet on the sides.
The buttons are nice and firm. They have a satisfying click and protrude out of the sides slightly to make them easy to locate. They also have an appealing chrome finish on them.
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Usability
The smooth-touch plastic on the rear of the DualTek case feels nice in hand. It does well with smudges too. Moisture it initially picks up from your fingers disappears within a couple seconds.
Being that this case carries a Military drop standard, don’t expect it to be the slimmest option. Not that we’re looking at a thick brick either, I’m just saying you’ll certainly notice the extra thickness in your pocket.
That also means that your phone won’t feel fragile anymore. You’ll have a solid grip now. And the case retains the curved-back design of the Note5 for a nice fit in hand.
You’ll naturally grip the phone on soft touch plastic around the sides. This is another reason why it was a nice touch to design the frame this way.
The cutouts for the ports on the bottom of the phone are perfectly done. And there’s plenty of an opening to access the SPen.
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I must mention that the fit is tight. I’ve never had so much difficultly getting a case off before. So if you plan to just have one case, then there’s no problem. But if you have several cases you switch between, keep this in mind.
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Final Thoughts
PureGear’s DualTek Pro is a great case to consider for your Note5. I’m happy to say that the quality impressed, both from an in-hand feel and robustness perspective.
I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good compromise of protection and slimness. However, keep in mind that the case wants to stay put once it’s installed.
You can find more info about the case at PureGear’s product page or on Amazon
