On my search for a good cover for my FP3 I came across the reboon covers. They seem to be quite versatile and well made. The big plus is, they are not dedicated to special mobile phones. So I could find a case that would match the FP3.
I decided to buy the Boonflip XS2. For anybody interested, I’ll share some pictures of the FP3 with and without bumper put into this cover.
Without bumper, I’d say it fits quite perfect.
With bumper the FP3 becomes a little too long. So the bumper will stick out a little at the top. It also is a but too thick with the bumper. But with a little wear (I’ve had the civer for one and half days now) the cover begins to close quite smoothly.
After some days of use I want to add some findings.
Since the lid closes around the bottom of the phone it cannot be charged with the cover closed. The cover has to be open or the taken out of the cover for charging. The headphone jack, the buttons and the speaker all remain unobstructed, even with the lid closed.
The booncover Xs2, which is a bookstyle cover, might be an alternative. With the lid closing around the left side of the phone it would obstruct the buttons. Especially with the power button that might be annoying. And since the booncover is only designed for devices 7mm deep (the boonflip is designed for 9mm),you certainly could not fit the fairphone with bumper.
The other thing, that is a bit annoying is the flap for the camera. To me it works great to access the fingerprint reader. I don’t really have to open the flap, I just slip my index finger between the back of the phone and the flap. For this scenario it is great that the fingerprint reader is so far uo, close to the top of the phone.
But for taking pictures the flap has to be pushed back and held with a little force, otherwise it will be seen in the capture.
Otherwise I’m happy with this cover. I like the looks. I like the build quality and I like the protection the lid and back provide.
Unfortunately I have to add one more complaint. The Velcro is already very loose. The Fairphone is still holding tight in the closed cover. But once opened up it will fall out very easy. In the beginning it was held tight by the velcro. I do remove the phone quite regularly, so if you intend to never remove the mobile from the cover, this will not be an issue.
One thing is for sure … the build quality of the reboon boonflip XS2 is much more convincing than the build quality of the currently only other available no-bookstyle no-rotating flipcase, the K-S Trade cork cover.
However they both stick out quite a bit left and right, they are noticeably wider than the phone. I guess that’s what you get with generic covers which were available for other phones even before the Fairphone 3 came out.
I don’t like the handling of the phone this way at all.
I returned the K-S Trade cover, and I’ll keep the reboon cover in case I start to worry that the original bumper might be not enough until I find a decently fitting no-bookstyle no-rotating flipcase for the Fairphone 3.
Photos taken after case has been in use for 1-2 weeks.
(Sorry for the bad quality of photos )
EDIT: 24 Jan 2020: the top right corner on the back (near the camera) is losing its form. I had to use some glue to attach it to the case. I’m using hobby glue because I want to be able to detach the case e.g. to remove SIM or battery or repair phone.
While a vegan option is always nice to have, in my opinion it deserves a mention how this is achieved, too (I suppose everybody knows what leather is with its implications).
Wikipedia has an article about
Piñatex, the material used for the cover, and the article has a section on sustainability … (Spoiler: Not looking pretty, if you read the whole thing.) …
That animal rights and climate / sustainability are at odds, does not surprise me. I’ve come across that conundrum regularly.
I needed something to protect my screen. I already almost dropped my FP3. Which wouldn’t have been good for the environment either. Nor my wallet.
Byproduct of petroleum is actually a good thing, as it is a byproduct of something widely in use. Using something of plastic for 3-5 years is adequate.
The changelog includes also:
Included full disclosure of the ingredients, a sustainability section, and reputable references to support the new content. Deleted ‘vegan’ from the properties because this is not a factual property of the material, and controversial when considering the full lifecycle of it.
You can take veganism as extreme as you want it to.
Well, not exactly.
At least a search on “amazon (de)” or on “amazon (uk)” for example brings quite a few results - that you regularly can shop somewhere else of course.
Here are some examples:
Be aware, however, that most of what’s available currently at the bigger shopping platforms are generic cases meant to fit a range of different smartphones with similar measurements. They should fit in general, but don’t expect them to fit perfectly like they were tailor-made for the Fairphone 3.
Though this topic is kind of old, the title fits for this posting in another thread:
Linking to:
They do offer wooden covers for the FP3(+) and come at 599 SEK (around 59 Euro). And they state:
We have chosen to buy timber from small farms and “Plockhugget”, an organization that instead of creating clear-cuts gently cuts by thinning out trees, which helps the forest to maintain a functioning ecosystem.
So it really seems to be fitting the Fairphone in my opinion.
Hello,
I’ve been using one of Anna Treurniet’s FP3 leather cases for about two weeks, and I’m very very satisfied with it. Like many others, I spent quite a while trawling the internet for a suitable case. If you need to open the phone, the rear cover stays attached to the case, so that’s not a problem. You also get an extra piece of adhesive in case you need to remove the back cover sometime.
There is one slit on the back of the cover for credit cards etc.
As for Look and Feel, it’s feels extremely robust (which it is) and looks handmade (I mean that in the positive sense). It’s not cheap at 67 euros, but it’s not meant to last two years or so…
Regards, Colm
It was a looooong journey to get the cases for our FP3s for my boys…
requirements: as transparent as possible, removable, as slim as possible - to fit into trouser’s bag and enable the swap of the pictures on the background.