Review: SwitchEasy RibCage

I’ll admit, I was a little put off at first by the SwitchEasy RibCage iPad case just because of the look. This simple slipcase features features faux-leather on one side and a plastic panel that looks like a human ribcage on the other. It didn’t seem to be quite up my alley, but after I used it for just a couple hours, I realized that it was a pretty good case.

For such a simple design, the RibCage offers both the original iPad and iPad 2 quite a bit of protection—similar to the human version, the ribs protect what they surround. This reinforcement is hard and the inside is padded and lined with microfiber, so if it gets dropped from a reasonable height, the iPad will probably be fine. The case comes in four colors: white, black, red, and “mercury” (silver). The case also doesn’t add a lot of bulk to the iPad, which makes it great for travel, especially when used in conjunction with another bag.

Although the case was designed for the original iPad, users of both models should notice that it provides a snug fit so that if you’re carrying your iPad around, it won’t slide out. A big complaint about this snugness though? It does make it somewhat difficult to remove an iPad, especially the fatter original model.

The only other negative I found was that when the iPad is outside of the case in use, it’s completely exposed. Unlike a many zippered sleeve-style cases, the RibCage doesn’t allow for you to use another case (such as a plastic or TPU shell) with your iPad. Possibly to help with convenience and protection, SwithEasy does include the standard array of pack-ins, including two portable fold-out stands, one anti-static screen guard, one microfiber wipe, and the squeegee card to apply the screen guard. It seems at this point that the included screen guard is for the original iPad, although it should work with the iPad 2 (the screen guard is clear enough that the camera should work). We expect this to change in the near-future.