Contour ShowCase vs. iSkin Evo 2

[Stabwound]

I am in Canada and I'm looking for a good case. I've pretty much narrowed it down to these 2 at the moment.

A few questions: Which one gives the overall better protection?

Do they both cover the screen? Screen protection is my #1 concern.

I heard about a $36 service charge at the border for the ShowCase when shipping to Canada. Is this still true? If so that case is definately out of the question.

I was looking at the black versions of both. Which one *looks* better?

[justgotmyipod]

1. they all have screen protector.
2. depends on how you use your ipod. I, personally, found the iskin evo getting loose after a lil while.
3. I dont think so. the highest possible duty fee for something under 50 usd is 15 can I think. you may get one on ebay then ask the seller to mark your item as a gift. ( most sellers would do that if you tell him you promise you will be responsible for any consequences. thats kinda cheating but it can save you money and the case will be dropped at your door. otherwise, you will have to go to the post office and pay 10 can in order to get it.

[Galley]

I sold my iHP-120 to a dude in Portugal. I marked it as a gift, and even enclosed a fake letter from me to him in Portuguese! It was in customs for more than a month, and they charged him something like $50! Yikes!

[ArcadeStickMonk]

After looking at all the same options that we all are going over, I chose and ordered the Showcase today. I wanted the iPod armor, but thinkdifferentstore.com ran out of them or something so I dropped that.

My needs were to have a hard case to protect the pod at work, as well as something smaller and softer for general scratch protection. The ipod armor was the clear choice for the hardcase, especially since I will be using a remote. I didn't much like the Evo because of the dock issues, but that goes across the board doesn't it?

I ordered the shields from trendygeek.com, so those should serve as my general protection, with dock compatibilty. When I ordered the remote off the Apple Store, they had the Showcase too, so I figured why not?

It looks durable enough for everything I do, plus slim enough for daily use with access to the wheel. I'll order the armor later if I think I need it but I needed protection now. i have daily iPod applications and no protection for my new 4G. It's still in the box.

[Stabwound]

Well I don't think the ShowCase is going to be an option at all for me. After repeated emails asking about the rumoured $36 fee from US to Canada, they haven't responded. I'm not going to just play Russian Roulette with it so I guess I'll have to go with a different case.

[Stabwound]

So far I think I'm gonna get the Ebony iSkin Evo2 unless someone convinces me otherwise...

[ArcadeStickMonk]

I couldn't resist the lajo cases, so I ordered the Exo2FB. Quickie description is covered screen and wheel, flat back, bottom does not break open for dock.

Then I get home and see that Apple's stock of Showcases's are on backorder or something. I was never informed of this in any way, I even did a mock order just to double check. The only way I knew is the tracking on Apple's site. Bonus is that since one item shipped fromt hem, they say I cannot cancel the Showcase. We'll see.

So that ####es me off. In the interim I'll see if the Lajo suits me. If I find it nice for everyday but don't feel as safe as I think I should, I'll order that armor after all. At this point I kind of expect to return the Showcase as soon as it get to me, just out of spite.

[elaiw]

I have both the iSkin Arctic evo2 and the Showcase for my 4G 40G. I preordered the iSkin and got it mid-August I think. I got the Showcase a few days ago.

I'm going to sell the iSkin. It's very difficult to put into and take out of my pockets because of the material. The Showcase does not make the iPod much bigger than the iSkin'd iPod and it offers better daily protection. The belt clip is also superior as it is much sturdier. Finally it is very easy to take the iPod out of the Showcase so I can dock it. I hadn't been using the dock but now that it's an option again, I like being able to use it.

I would not trust the belt clip on the iSkin for any real activity other than walking.

The white Showcase does get dirtier easier though.

Also both have no wheel protection. I cut up a screen protector for a Palm up and placed it over the wheel. It works perfectly and I highly suggest it. I thought non-protection of the wheel wouldn't be an issue but it is.

Finally, I bought the Showcase 2 days ago at Fry's Electronics for 29.99. I got the last one there. I went to the Apple Store afterwards and they had full stock of the white Showcases for 32.99. I have not seen any of the black ones.

Right now the only other case I want to see when it comes out is the Crystal Jacket for the 4G. I did not like the Speck FlipStand after seeing it at Fry's and people have remarked that the older models will cut up the iPod when it's inside the case.

[Darkseid]

I'm currently debating on this too. The showcase looks nice, but I can get a nice exo2 skin for $15.99 with the screen protector. I'm almost close to getting it, I still can't decide.

[ayn]

I love my ShowCase, it provides way better protection to the skins. But if you have a 20GB, it will make your iPod a lot thicker. I'll also look into the Lajo exoflp.

[4Glover]

I have an arctic evo2. I am very happy with it, other than the small gap between the case and the click wheel. There is about a 1 mm space that allows some dust to get into the case. A piece of dirt got in mine and left a pretty good scar on the front of my iPod.

[elaiw]

It will be hard to decide between the evo2 and the Showcase without using each for a week or so. I ordered the evo2 thinking it would be the first and only case because I did alot of research on it and what I thought my listening habits would be.

I bought the Showcase mainly because I had slight quibbles with the evo2 (the clip and the sticky outside) and it was slightly discounted from what I have seen online. I expected to return it within 2 or 3 days. It was the glowing review on here that made me even pick up the box and look at it and I still wasn't impressed until I actually tried it. I wanted a case that would add the least to the size of the iPod.

It's a more expensive proppsition but you should try both. Borrow a friend's if you have to. The plus side is the market on eBay for the Showcase seems to be pretty good; you'll recoup nearly all your cost if you sell it and the iSkins are still hard to get so you may even get more than cost back on eBay. This is if you think it might take you longer than a week or two to decide between the cases and can't return them to the dealer for some reason.

The plus side is that these are pretty much the two best cases for what kind of use you're considering so it won't run more than these two. :-)