Acme Made Slick Case & Skinny Sleeve for iPad Review

If there's one thing there's no shortage of, it's cases for Apple products: accessory manufacturers know a good market when they see one, and protecting your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad is an excellent example. Acme Made sent over two of their latest cases for the iPad, the Slick Case and the Skinny Sleeve; check out our review after the cut.

Of the two, the Acme Made Skinny Sleeve is the more straightforward. A gloss-white pouch with contrasting black stitching, it looks a little like patent leather but is actually the StretchShell neoprene with a white, water resistant finish. It fits tightly around the iPad – though not to the point where whipping the tablet out is difficult – without excess bulk, and there's a plastic screen-insert which provides a little extra protection from impacts.

Still, this isn't a hard-shell case by any means, and isn't intended to protect your iPad from serious knocks. Our biggest complaint, perhaps, is that the white finish is definitely an acquired taste, and we can see many people opting for Acme Made's black alternative which is slightly less eye-catching.

As for the Acme Made Slick Case, that's a zip-closing folio style case again made from the company's StretchShell neoprene with a gloss white finish. A little larger all around than the iPad, and around twice the thickness, the case holds the tablet in place using four elasticated corners. That means you can still plug in a set of headphones or a sync cable, though there aren't any specific cut-outs so you won't be able to then close up the case afterwards.

Meanwhile, on the facing side there's a fabric-covered flap that can hold a few documents or cables. We tried to slot in the iPad's AC adapter, but the Slick Case is really not designed to accommodate something of that bulk. Given the case is already bulky in comparison to Apple's own folio, we'd have liked to have seen some accommodation for the charger at least.

With an MRSP of $39.99 we'd be tempted to reach for Apple's case rather than the Acme Made Slick, prioritising the official folio's angled stand and tighter-fitting construction. The Acme Made Skinny Sleeve, however, at $29.99 MRSP, makes a little more sense, particularly if you don't like using your iPad while it's in a case or skin, but still want to avoid scratching it during transportation in your bag.