Vaja Feather Pouch Leather Pouch for iPhone 4/S Review
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After having first hand with the iVolution Top LP case, we know Vaja is more than capable of putting out some really sumptuous leather cases. One of Vaja's recent offerings for the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 includes the Feather Pouch, a slimmed down leather sleeve pouch. What better way to carry your bare iPhone with you than having it safely slipped into a leather sleeve pouch? The Feather Pouch answers the needs of iPhone users that hate using bulky cases and overly protective cases for the bare feeling of arguably one of the most gorgeous smartphones ever made. Find out how the Feather Pouch stacks up against the rest after the jump!
The Feather Pouch comes inside Vaja's gorgeous packaging with little to no extras. It comes in six readily available colors with plenty more to choose from as a custom option. At $90 or $110 should you want to customize your Feather Pouch, you're looking at the most expensive basic leather sleeve pouch of them all.
Take a gander at all that leather. It looks like Vaja skinned a baby elephant in order to make this leather pouch. Can leather look any more bold and textured than this? I wouldn't say so. As I've said before, Vaja's leather can't possibly be any better. The floater leather is soft, supple and so fluffy it feels great to touch. When you set anything that has to do with Vaja on a table, that's when you can really come to appreciate the unique qualities of what's keeping your iPhone protected. If style is what you're looking for, the Feather Pouch has enough of that to hand around. Sure it's only a sleeve pouch, and a simple one at that, but Vaja managed to make that extra effort in really bringing out a simple sleeve pouch to have some more oomph to its appearance and even performance.
As far as protection comes into play, the Feather Pouch isn't nearly as protective as the CalypsoCase which one of my most favorite protective leather sleeves for the iPhone. Of course the Vaja leather is still an unbeatable entity. The only good in the Feather Pouch when it comes to protection is that it'll protect your iPhone from everyday wear and tear and very minor drops as the leather is on the slim side with little to no additional padding to protect against impacts. Since the Feather Pouch pretty much exposes the top portion of the iPhone you'll be out of luck should your iPhone land on top in a drop. Though it does make for a good momentary protective solution if you like using your iPhone naked or with very little protecting it.
The Feather Pouch's top slot opening is trimmed with the interior color depending on which color you prefer, in this case red and black. The matching elastic band contrasts nicely on top of the black leather with a little metal Vaja medallion making sure you don't forget that you're sporting a Vaja. On the inside, the Feather Pouch is fully lined with smooth, red leather that alone has enough traction to keep grab of the iPhone preventing it from prematurely ejecting out and onto hard concrete floor.
What really seals the deal though is the Feather Pouch's elastic closure with a leather tab that insures your iPhone's metal antenna band won't get scuffed while also offering a good area to grab onto when wanting to remove the elastic closure to the side. In fact it's so easy you can easily use one finger to slip the leather tab off to the side. And whilst that elastic closure is slipped back on, you'll still have full access to your headphone port and sleep/wake button.
Both sides are cut in a way to allow constant access to side buttons as well as give you an easy way to grab a hold onto the sides in order to pull the iPhone out. I'm no fan of elastic bands and would always pass on anything that has to do with them, but in this case the Feather Pouch is a good exception as it adds a lot of character and additional security. With that said, the Feather Pouch style comes down to personal taste more than anything else as it isn't your typical phone pouch.
Although the Feather Pouch offers a perfect form fitting fit, sliding the iPhone in and out is a breeze. And even if you've got a protective skin on that's thicker than usual like a Trunket wood skin or a glass screen protection, you'll still be able to fit inside the Feather Pouch just as easily. When your iPhone resides within the Feather Pouch, there are two small holes on either sides that insure audio passes thru. I could clearly hear my iPhone ringing and audio notifications without any issues. It's worth noting that the Feather Pouch doesn't offer quick access to the Dock Connector port as you do with the Zero Series leather sleeve, albeit it isn't nearly as well put together as the Feather Pouch.
The one serious drawback with the Feather Pouch is its price. For what it has to offer, the Feather Pouch is an overpriced leather sleeve pouch with all due respect. Yes the overall quality is high, but that alone isn't enough to justify such an expensive price. Otherwise, the Feather Pouch is definitely a winner when it comes to looking elegant and performing very well as a slim leather sleeve pouch should. While the Feather Pouch is an attractive leather pouch, we can't recommend it being that it's highly above what we think is a decent price for a leather iPhone pouch.
