The folks at Inatek were kind enough to send me two of their iPad sleeves to review—a matching pair for my iPad Air and my iPad Mini. The sleeves are both made of a very nice felted material and are a great choice for on-the-go protection.
Their offer came at a perfect time for me because I had been using a keyboard case for my old iPad, which I liked, but I was not happy with the updated model of it which was available for the iPad Air. I had downgraded to Apple’s ‘smart cover’ and found that while it did not always stay shut in my bag (especially my tote-style carryall that I use at school). A few times, it sat in my bag open and then the battery drained. So I was looking forward to trying a case that would not pull such shenanigans.
This case did the job. The iPad stayed in sleep mode, and was protected from lumps and bumps while in transit. A magnet held the leather clasp in place and all was well. It even fit—just barely—with the smart cover still attached. The felt material was pleasant to the touch and felt fairly durable. It worked great as a sleeve.
I had two small quibbles with these sleeves. Firstly, they advertise that the sleeve converts to a stand, and the instructions for doing this were vague and difficult to figure out. What you have to do is turn it vertical, then sort of smooth one crease down into the other. The leather clasp then adheres to the magnet and holds up the iPad against this makeshift backing.
It did the job, and would work in a pinch as a stand, I guess. But I found that the material did not quite bounce back to normal after my little experiment. I could not get it to quite lie flat again. I’m not sure it would stand up to this stand feature being used regularly. I’m not in a hurry to try it again!
Also, I found that I did miss the small amount of comfort the smart cover added to my iPad while I was using it. With a sleeve, the protection ends when you remove it; you are meant to use your device ‘naked.’ the Smart cover can stay on while you use the iPad,and it does provide just enough cushion to round out the corners and make it just a little more comfortable.
This is not the case for you if you don’t like using your device ‘naked’ or if you really need a stand feature that stands up to heavy use. But if all you want to do it keep your iPad protected in your bag, this is a good little sleeve. The felt fabric is cozy, comfortable and a little bit stylish and different. I’d recommend these for people who are looking for that sort of option.
