KoalaKase iPhone Wallet Case Review

I have another iPhone case for everyone out there that would like to ditch their wallet. This time it’s the KoalaKase, which is the third iPhone wallet case that I’ve tested. The first one was made of hard plastic (Case-Mate ID), the second one was made of silicone (Phone Slipper) and now I’m taking a look at the the KoalaKase, which is made of leather. Does leather beat plastic and silicone? Let’s find out.

As mentioned above, the KoalaKase is made of leather. According to the KoalaKase site, the type of leather used is Grade A. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard that term before when describing leather… just meat. Anyway, the leather has a fine grain and is soft to the touch.

The cases are available in Brown, Black, Pink and White (looks more like Tan to me) and have a soft velvet and nylon lining.

The case is designed to allow the iPhone to slide in from the top. When fully inserted, the phone will not slide out on its own.

There is one large cutout that provides access to the screen and the home button located under the screen. Pressing the home button is a little awkward due to the thickness of the leather case. I usually have to use the tip of my thumbnail to press it and it sometimes takes 2 tries for me to activate the button.

I have the same issue with the volume button cutout. I can’t easily use the pad of my thumb to press it because the leather is in the way.

There is no problem accessing the earphone jack or power button at the top of the iPhone though.

No problem plugging in a sync / charge cable on the bottom either.

The feature that sets this case apart from the bazillion other leather iPhone cases on the market is the card slot (marsupial pouch?) on the back. The slot is designed to hold 2-3 credit cards so that you can leave your wallet at home. I tested the KoalaKase with my driver’s license, credit card and insurance card and found them to be a tight fit. I’m sure that the slot might loosen up a little bit after a few days of use, but I found it difficult to extract a single card from the slot. Since the cards only stick out a little bit (as you can see in the image above), it’s hard to get a grip on one card. You have to pull out the entire set. It would work better if there was a second cut out on the opposite end that you could use to push the cards up from the bottom – like the Case-Mate ID case.

As far as construction goes, the KoalaKase is made well. I didn’t find any problems with the material or stitching. I just feel that the case adds too much bulk to the iPhone, making it more difficult to use. For that fact, I’m continuing to stick with the Case-Mate ID case as my preferred iPhone wallet case.

FYI: $1 of every KoalaKase sale goes to charity, but they don’t mention which charity it is.