Review: X-Doria Defense Lux: Fashionably Robust

When it comes to phone cases, there’s a lot out there on the market to suit each and every demographic. You have companies like Spigen that tend to direct their abilities to the masses and follow the curvature of the markets — and on the opposite end of the spectrum you have companies like Case-Mate, that tend to lean towards the more fashionable end of the market, catering to the consumers that prefer beauty over function.

Then you get companies like X-Doria. X-Doria are, for the most part, a relatively fresh case manufacturer that aim to add an extra shade of beauty to the protective case market. Their overall schtick is that you shouldn’t need to be ashamed about what your phone case looks like, and breathe a fresh, new life into your accessorization while handling a couple of bumps and bruises along the way. It’s a path that a myriad of other case manufacturers have tried and all-round succeeded at in the past, just missing the mark on the ‘looks’ side of it. X-Doria are wanting to change the public perception of protective smartphone cases from Stig of the Dump, to Belle of the ball.

X-Doria sent me over their latest and greatest case free for the purpose of review, so let’s get straight into the depths of the wonderfully robust nether of the X-Doria Defense Lux.

Look and Feel

One thing that caught my eye about the Defense Lux case was its inspiring beauty. The version I have is the leather finish, with a multitude of other options that suit your style — leather is more of a style I can see myself using, so I was more than happy to appreciate the stunning nature of this case. From initial impressions, you would be of the thought that this case isn’t made for protective uses at all, but the in-hand feel gives the accessory a different, more rough story to tell. The case is made primarily of rubber, with a hard polycarbonate outer layer to add to its robustness. Along the sides of the case you will find an aluminium frame with heavily recessed buttons that are easy to decipher between.

The cutouts for the usual headphone jack, lightning connector and speaker ports are all machined out nicely and are inch perfect.

Feeling the case in the hand and it exudes the word ‘premium’. From its wondrous aluminium outer frame, to the leather-effect back, you can tell X-Doria found the correct middle ground between robust and rigidity.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]For me, what X-Doria did to the secureness of the case is a sight to behold.[/perfectpullquote]

Instead of having an easy to slip-on case that would be just as easy to remove, they decided to add their own spice of protectiveness with a ‘latch’ system. What this latch system does, in effect, is when the case is safely on the phone and is covering every port, you have a little red latch along the left-hand side of the aluminium frame that you toggle and you’re good to go. No amount of pressure or force would pry the case from the phone until you loosen off the latch. This, for me, shows how much attention to detail X-Doria showed when presenting a new case for the ‘defense’ part of the market.

Application

The Defense Lux is a very easy case to put on. When you first unbox it, you will notice that the aluminium frame is separate from the inner rubber/polycarbonate section. This is just so the latch mechanism can work to its ability for extra security. First thing you need to be is separate the aluminium frame from the inner layer, then insert your phone into the polycarbonate section. Once you have done that, slide the aluminium frame on and apply the latch which is located on the left-hand side of the outer frame. Simple-yet-effective mechanism.

Removing the case is more of the same, but in reverse order — loosen off the latch, remove the aluminium frame, and take your device out of the inner layer.

Protection

The word protection appears to be a sticking point in X-Doria’s marketing, and is a prominent word alongside fashionable when it comes to their overall branding. The Defense Lux is built to take a admirable amount of bumps before your device will actually see the damage. According to the information provided to me by the company – which is also embossed on the box of the case – the protective case has been drop tested at up to 2M in height, withstanding any damage close to that point. From a consumeristic point-of-view, dropping something from such a height isn’t a far-fetched observation, so the X-Doria Defense Lux case is more than comfortable taking a tumble if your phone accidentally drops out of your pocket.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Even if your device drops face-first, the slight protrusion on the front of the case saves you from any nasty screen damage it may have taken if the device was in its naked status.[/perfectpullquote]

If you so please, for extra protection, you could apply a glass screen protector to make that full-proof.

I have had a couple of weeks with the Defense Lux case, and I have been in a couple of those unfortunate situations where my phone spawns its own legs and manages to fall out of my pocket — the case itself took a few scuffs around the back, but the phone was intact. I was more than happy to know that this case can take different magnitudes of damage before giving up the ghost entirely.

Verdict

X-Doria are attempting to change a heavily saturated market of smartphone cases, by combining the two main focal points when it comes to looking for cases: Protectiveness and Style. Not only did they manage to pull such a thing off, they hit a home run with the overall implementation.

The case looks and feels astounding, adding the most minimal of bulk that I have seen from a case of this calibre — and more importantly its appearance leads you to believe that its only motive is to be pretty and do nothing else.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]I’m more of a style over function guy myself, and with the X-Doria Defense Lux combining the stylishness of a Case-Mate Case, with the ruggedness of a Spigen, it has won me over tenfold.[/perfectpullquote]

You can purchase the X-Doria Defense Lux from X-Doria directly with multiple other pattern variations here or from Amazon UK here.