I have been using the Rokform Rugged case on my Samsung Galaxy S8+ for the last couple months and wanted to share my thoughts an opinion on the rugged case that caters to the outdoor enthusiast and everyday users.
The case is made of a hard plastic (polycarbonate) similar to other hard cases on the market for drop protection. The edges are beefed up a bit more and raised to give the case more drop protection, but the sides remain minimal for a thin feel when the case is in hand. The cut outs work well for all the headphone, and charging cables we used with the phone. Speaker works great through the cutout as well as the microphone.
The buttons for power, volume up/down, and biskby all work well and maintain the “clickly” feeling after they are broken in a bit. When the case was new, it was a little harder to know if you had actually clicked the button underneath. But after a month of used, they have softened up a bit and feel much better. Also the raised markings make it nice when feeling for the case buttons to know what direction it is in hand, and what button is being pressed.
You can see the magnetic backing on the phone, more on this later. Also worth noting is the enlarged corners that keep the phone off the screen when placed screen down. This is a nice feature even with the new beveled edge of the Galaxy S phones.
The case has an opening for the camera, flash, fingerprint reader. It’s open enough to work well when reading fingerprints, as well as using the heart rate monitor. You can also see the cutout for the bicycle and other attachable mounts.
The two small incisions are for threading a lanyard to the phone case when it’s attached to a bike mount. It’s works well for what it’s for, but a little annoying to have to add and remove the lanyard all the time. More on this below.
Rokform Case Magnet
The standout for the Rokform is definatly the magnet. It sets their case apart from the huge competition out there. A super strong magnet can be added or removed from the inside of the case. It’s used to attach to a few different mounts like the vent mount in a car.
The magnet is removable if not wanted. There are many times when I find my pocket has picked up paperclips or it’s being sucked to my car door when in my pocket. I’ve actually found myself using this all the time around the garage. When working on bikes or cars I’ll attach my phone to a metal cabinet to keep it visible or accessible.
Rokform Car Vent Mount
The vent mount has to be one of our favorites. It’s got a duck beak that clips on most vents. Obviously the downside is warm days it blocks the cold air. This means you either move it to a vent less used, but may be less visibility. However, for cooler days when your not running air out of the vent it’s a great option.
The mount always come out when you remove the phone, and it’s a bit of a bugger to get clipped back into the vent some times, but still our favorite mount. The mount is high quality metal, and rubber coated that keeps it from slipping around in the vent.
Rokform Bike Mount
We had mixed feelings about the bike mount. There is a low profile minimalist mount that didn’t work with our medium rise stem. Additionally, it requires you to drop your bars enough to stack it on top. I anticipate the mount would work on a large number of bikes, so just be sure you check to know it will work with your bike first.
The alternate was an adjustable mount. These things are built high quality and really adjustable. It mounts directly to your stem cap, and allows for adjustable angles.
Having used many bike computers and phone mounts, I really loved the adjustable and quality of the mount. The downside I had with it is that it’s only about 1/8 turn to attach the phone. However, the magnet adds some reassurance, as well as being able to add a lanyard to the case to ensure you won’t be dumping your phone on the ground when you hit the first set of cobblestone.
The lanyard offers piece of mind, but is annoying to always be taking off and on when riding the bike.
Once mounted, the phone case works great and is easily adjustable to get the right angle.
You can see in the photo above that, it only takes a slight turn to remove the phone. I wish this was a quarter turn, I would feel a lot more comfortable on rugged rides that my phone is going to stay with me. The magnet does help provide some additional security.
The lanyard attaches to the back of the phone for keeping the phone case with you. However, it’s a little annoying adding and removing it when unneeded. We do like the added security and comfort of having it.
Conclusion
Overall, the Rokform Rugged case is a great value at $49.99 then add on a few accessories for and a screen protector and you are pretty well covered. Rokform has a ton of other accessories for their cases for motorcycles, belts, golf shooter, and many more. You can see the entire list of accessories here or you can view all the cases and phones they fit here.