I'm a big fan of Sena and their leather goods are one of the best around. I got the chance to review Sena's latest leather offerings for the iPad 2, the UltraSlim. A fine leather sleeve that is one of the slimmest I've tried yet. Sena uses very high quality leather in all of their cases and sleeves, the Ultraslim is no exception. Anyone who owns an iPad 2 and uses it in conjunction with a Smart Cover knows its limitations of protection. The UltraSlim isn't here to give you constant maximum protection, but what it does offer is the elegance of non-bulky carrying and storing protection that some of you may be on the lookout for. Be sure to check out the full review right after the jump to see if the UltraSlim is worth your hard earned cash. (see end of post for the updated review).

Sena makes some outstanding pouches like the Argyle for the iPhone 4, but we're here to talk about the Ultraslim for the iPad 2. In typical Sena fashion, the UltraSlim leather sleeve is made very well and although there is very little stitching done here, everything looks perfect. There are two versions to the UltraSlim sleeve for the iPad 2. The one I've got here to review is the Smart Cover compatible version while there is also a regular UltraSlim sleeve that fits a naked iPad 2. Both are going to run you $59.99 and come in a slew of gorgeous colors. Naturally I picked out the orange to go along with my orange Smart Cover, and as you can see here, the two colors are very different. Apple's orange Smart Cover looks like a very peachy cream color compared to Sena's dark sporty orange colored UltraSlim. So I wouldn't say that trying to match the colors isn't going to work out for you so well.

Like I said before, the leather quality is very high here and not to mention it smells outstanding. Since the Ultraslim is, well ultra-slim, there is virtually no padding what so ever. The outside leather texture feels rather smooth to the touch. If you are seeking something very slim, chances are it won't provide with much protection. The UltraSlim is here to look good while providing you with scratch protection and some screen protection while carrying your iPad 2 around. Of course if you already use a Smart Cover then your iPad 2 is ever more so protected inside the UltraSlim.

The interior lining isn't anything to brag about. It's lined with some sort of mircofiber felt that isn't such a smooth material but will still protect your iPad 2 nonetheless. To keep the Ultraslim they way its name implies, there probably isn't a better way of adding anymore padded materials on the inside.

Getting into the fit side of things, the UltraSlim sort of disappoints me. I'm using the iPad 2 with a polyurethane Smart Cover and a back Wrapsol skin protection with the UltraSlim and even after all of those added protection, the fit is slightly loose. In other words, the Ultraslim is not a tight fitting sleeve. I can hold the Ultraslim sleeve upside-down with the iPad 2 and Smart Cover inside of it and they will easily slide out faster than I could say slim. Clearly there is an issue here. I would say however that it's easy to slide the iPad 2 with the Smart Cover on, in and out of the UltraSlim sleeve. 

One of the features I'm most happy about on the UltraSlim is its unique pull-tab. I have never seen a pull-tab on an iPad sleeve such as this. It's pretty much a genius thing that helps your get your iPad 2 out of the UltraSlim sleeve very fast. Instead of having no where to grasp, the pull-tab is a neat little place where you can grab with your fingers instead of having to struggle with gradually trying to take out your iPad 2 within the sleeve. +1 to Sena on this one.

Going back into the fitting issue, you can see that there is excess room that should be more tight fitting to keep the iPad 2 from easily sliding out. This also causes the leather to not look very tight stretching around the iPad 2 leaving a bit of a wrinkled look to the sleeve. I do hope Sena takes some sleeve of action to fix this because the UltraSlim looks and functions extremely well. 

I hate to say this but I don't think that the UltraSlim for the iPad 2 with Smart Cover is worth your money at this point and time. If you're still fine with a sleeve that isn't from and tight-fitting, the Sena UltraSlim would be a good choice for a high quality leather sleeve. I could only imagine how awesome this sleeve would be if only it was a little more tight-fitting around the iPad 2. Price $59.99.

Update: Well it looks like Sena has indeed fixed the issues I've been experiencing with the UltraSlim sleeve I've received for the review. It runs out that Sena had in fact has a bad batch of UltraSlim Smart Cover compatible sleeves for the iPad 2. Sena has send over the updated version of the UltraSlim Smart Cover compatible sleeve to once more re-review it and hopefully it will have all the bad kinks ironed out of it.

The guys over at Sena really wanted to perfect their product and make it so that it will hopefully pass the vigorous testing reviewers need to look for. But most importantly, consumers like you will come to appreciate. While Sena did have some trouble with a few of the UltraSlim colors and their inside lining, one being the orange I've been sent, they seem to have fixed all of it now. I was disappointed to see how poorly the first generation UltraSlim sleeve fit the iPad 2 with a Smart Cover on after knowing that Sena isn't typically known for any such issues which I myself have experienced in the past. Every single product Sena has made, I had only but good things to say about it.

The new and improved UltraSlim leather sleeve for the iPad 2 is now incredibly form-fitting. Just like it should have been from the start. And even though it starting off rocky, Sena took initiative and has fixed the fitment issues once and for all. I'm now really happy about how well the UltraSlim sleeve fits the iPad 2 with a Smart Cover on. The fit is exactly right without any excess leather going to waste. The top opening is now looking tight and straight as it should be. No more lose ends.

Your iPad 2 will never slide out without you wanting to remove it. You can shake it upside down all you want without a budge. Now there's a good use of the pull tab to help you easily have a grip to take out your iPad 2 within the UltraSlim sleeve. Before it was just a matter of gravity pulling the iPad 2 out.

The new and improved fit is simply amazing and a night and day difference from the orange colored UltraSlim I was first provided to review. You can see just how the UltraSlim hugs the iPad 2 and shows off the contours. There's not a single tiny spot where the leather isn't stretched and looks beautifully form-fitting surrounding the iPad 2 with the Smart Cover. It's so form-fitting that you see faintly see the Smart Cover's grooves along the leather. I now can highly recommend the UtraSlim sleeve for anyone looking for a high quality slim leather sleeve with an elegant and executive look for the iPad 2. I only imagine the same amazing fitting with the UltraSlim version for the naked iPad 2.

Senacases.com