dbrand is a company that is very popular for making smartphone skins.
Recently, they just started making their own smartphone cases.
This was made possible through crowdfunding via their Indiegogo campaign.
For the backers, it's been a long time since the campaign launched.
But, I finally got mine and so, this is my review video of the dbrand GRIP case for the
Pixel 2 XL.
Now, to be completely honest, I have been using this case for a total of maybe two days
but honestly, you don't really need that long of a period to form an opinion.
We use our smartphones every minute, after all.
The GRIP case's main selling points are: A revolutionary grip; An industry-first carbon
composite frame; World-class D3O shock-absorbing technology; Full dbrand skin compatibility;
and Ultra-tactile buttons.
Well, it is quite grippy, actually.
The carbon composite frame looks good but it reminds me too much of my Nexus 6P's Rhinoshield case.
It actually broke at many points on the frame, compromising its strength.
Hopefully, that won't happen with this one.
The D3O technology is nothing new.
Actually, it's commonly found in stuff like motorcycle protection gear.
See, D3O is soft and flexible in its normal form but once you apply impact, it becomes
rigid and hard; distributing all the force across the entire surface.
According to dbrand, the entire inner-edge of this case is actually lined with this D3O material.
As well as, some of the grip spots on the outside.
The D3O supposedly creates a grippier surface.
They weren't kidding about that but we're going to get back to that later.
Needless to say, I'm a big fan of this D3O technology.
I have been, ever since my iPhone 5S.
They also say that the D3O material breaks in, and that
every case becomes unique after a certain point.
But I don't really know what that means and honestly, I just want good protection.
The dbrand skin compatibility just means that the entire back is exposed, so that you can
show off another dbrand [product].
The ultra-tactile buttons actually do feel very tactile and I really like them.
They also claim that NFC and wireless charging will not be affected but I don't really see
how this case can affect it.
Also, that it's waterproof but I wouldn't expect this case to make your phone waterproof
if it wasn't already in the first place.
Here are my first impressions: It's big.
My Pixel 2 XL, which is normally 7.5 CM in width, now becomes 8.5.
That is 3" to nearly 3.5, for those who measure in imperial.
At first, this was borderline uncomfortable and I really didn't appreciate the added size.
But after a day or two, well, you kind-of get used to it.
And to its credit, the added actually does add more grip.
And I have to say, it does feel like it adds good protection.
Especially these little rounded corners here that protrude from the rest of the case.
They put more D3O in the places where your phone is more likely to contact another surface.
I wouldn't really hesitate too much in the case of a drop, with this case on my phone.
So, I decided to do a drop test!
Okay, so since I'm a small channel and this is not a sponsored video, I don't have a spare
phone to throw around.
So I'm making this demonstration using my own Pixel 2 XL.
If this breaks, I'm going to be very disappointed.
So I'm going to only do one drop test because I don't want to break my phone.
I'm going to drop it from just above head level...
Your phone shouldn't be falling any further than that.
If it is, then this probably isn't the case for you.
Or maybe it is!
We're going to find out.
Okay, here goes nothing.
I'm going to try to drop it right in this little spot that I cleared.
So you can see that this is actually a working phone, I'm going to turn on the camera.
Horizontal video, obviously.
Okay, from just about head level, here goes nothing.
Acutally, I dropped it twice because I forgot to turn on the camera for the first one.
So yeah, this thing is protective.
Fortunately, this scenario is less likely to happen to your phone because of the added grip.
And they weren't kidding about the added grip.
Watch as I push my finger on this phone at a 45 degree angle on this surface.
The entire mat would slide before my phone did.
Now, that is impressive.
But it's not all positives.
Like I said earlier, I'm not sure how to feel about the carbon composite frame.
Specifically, around the area of the buttons and the charging port.
Notice here, how you can actually see some light through the charging port's cutout.
But honestly, the Pixel 2's design is probably to blame for that.
I'm also not a fan of form factor.
I kind-of expected it to be slimmer and it's really hard to remove from the pocket.
It really pulls everything out along with it and the extra grip doesn't really help
in this scenario.
Just because I got used to it, doesn't mean I really enjoy it.
I'm also not a fan of this oversized front lip.
The sides actually go in a lot just because of the design of the Pixel 2 XL.
It creates these trenches, where lint and dust would collect like there's no tomorrow.
The same can be said for the back but that is less of a concern.
Also, just the shape and the stiffness of the case seems to make the phone's squeeze
feature a lot more sensitive but that one's a bit more of a nitpick, since this can be
customized in the settings.
In the end, my recommendation for this case is conditional.
If you have big hands, I would have no problem recommending this case to you.
Sure, you might get a bunch of dust collection inside the case but honestly, just due to
the design of the Pixel 2 XL, it's going to be hard to find a case that doesn't do this
to some extent, anyway.
And yeah, it's not the prettiest thing in the world but it's functional.
You'll be glad it wasn't something pretty when you drop it.
But for those with smaller hands, like myself, I would hesitate to recommend the dbrand GRIP
for the Pixel 2 XL.
It just increases the size by that much.
It's a $60 case, so if you're going to be paying that much, you better be paying for
something that you're going to like using.
And the size just might get in the way of that but if you've used big phones in the
past and have no problem with it, then I'd say go for it.
Just know that I warned you because it looks a lot bigger in person.
Let me know your thoughts about the dbrand GRIP case and whether or not this is the first
time that you've heard of it in the comments section below.
That is it for this video, thank you for watching and I will see you in the next one!