Nomad Active Rugged iPhone Case Review - LONG TERM Review

Nomad Active Rugged Case is a worthwhile leather case. Nomad designed Nomad Active Rugged Case as a case wrapped in leather, not the other way around which is a good thing in our opinion. 

The only question we think you need to answer before buying Nomad Active Rugged Case is “Do you want a leather case that ages or a leather case that looks new, almost all the time?”

Find out more in our Nomad Active Rugged Case Review for the iPhone 11!

Get the Nomad Active Rugged Case on Amazon!
Amazon US: https://mreh.ca/2SFeiaG
Amazon CA: https://mreh.ca/31ThYK1
Amazon UK: https://mreh.ca/2SILkGP
Amazon DE: https://mreh.ca/2tW1VP8

Design

The big standout feature of the Nomad Active Rugged Case is how the leather is finished. It’s made from Heinen leather, made in Germany. Up until this point, Nomad had been using Horween leather from a tannery in Chicago, but with their active gear line, they decided to try the Heinen. 

The German leather tanning process is supposed to produce entirely hydrophobic leather, which leaves the material more water and scratch-resistant. 

We’ve been testing the case over the past three months, the Nomad Active Rugged Case has become one of our go-to leather cases. It doesn’t look nearly as beat up as the Rugged case we used for the iPhone XS’s. The Heinen leather definitely has better scratch resistance between the normal Rugged case and the Active Rugged Case when scratched.

In terms of water resistance, after leaving droplets of water for 20 minutes across multiple leather cases, the Nomad Active Rugged Case had the least amount of absorption, followed by the Rhinoshield SolidSuit. 

Other than the leather, the Nomad Active Rugged Case ~looks like a normal Nomad Rugged Case. Though upon closer inspection, the Nomad Active Rugged Case is slightly larger which increases the protection it offers your iPhone. The biggest difference that we’ve noticed is that the normal Rugged cases’ finish handles a bit better as there is a bit more texture and friction so it doesn’t feel as slick.

When it comes to leather cases, there are lots of brands that focus on the leather first and then your iPhone. And that’s the wrong approach in our opinion. The only reason to get a case is to protect your stupidly expensive device and hopefully, it doesn’t get in the way of you using the device.

Functionality

In terms of functionality, the Nomad Active Rugged Case gave us no issues accessing the iPhone. It’s QI-charging capable and the edges aren’t that noticeable. The downside of Nomad cases is that your iPhone buttons feel soft. Which is unlike the Rhinoshield SolidSuit with their crisp response. The bottom of the case looks like you can attach a wrist strap to it, which is ideal if you’re active or you’re interested in puddle-dropping prevention technology. 

At the end of the day, for normal usage, how do you choose between the Nomad Rugged Case and the Nomad Active Rugged Case. Do you want a case that patina’s overtime or do you want something that is leather but looks new? The Nomad Active Rugged Case isn’t going to age which results in it looking more like a normal case whereas the Nomad Active Rugged Case is going to develop a bit of character over time. You just need to be a bit more careful with Active Rugged Case since a bad drop will be quite noticeable.

One isn’t necessarily better, it’s just all personal preference. Both are going to protect your iPhone during a drop.

Protection

The Nomad Active Rugged Case is a tough one to crack.  Nomad Active Rugged Case is drop rated up to 6 feet. The case has TPU edges, with the bottom looking like it’s both PC and TPU edges. 

Your iPhone is cradled in a microfibre cloth which is meant to reduce the potential scratches from dust and debris that gets caught between the case and device.

We also tested out the durability of the leather and did a mini-marathon of drops with the Nomad Active Rugged Case. The leather does scuff and a bad enough drop will deform the PC bottom. However, the edges are high enough to keep the screen protector from scratching. After all that, the damage to the case is noticeable.

Overall, the Nomad Active Rugged Case is going to wear similar to the Mous Contour. It won’t be as tough as the Mous Contour but the leather wears just as well.

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