Toast Nexus 6p leather skin review

Earlier this year I reviewed the Toast wood skin for the Nexus 6p. Its unique material and precision design, while adding little to no bulk was just the minimalistic protection I wanted for my Nexus 6p. Add in the fact, it adhered directly to my device greatly reducing the chance of grit and grime building up between the two that could ultimately mar my smartphone’s finish. That said, I used the wood skin until the day I received Toast’s new leather skin for the Nexus 6p and it was love at first sight.

Note: Click images for larger size.

The Toast leather skin is finely cut from a single piece of thick, rich leather. Its one-piece design enables the leather skin to completely wrap the back, sides and corners of your Nexus 6p. Like the wood skin, its leather sibling attaches directly and securely to your smartphone by a high-quality 3M adhesive, protecting it from dust, dirt, and other particulates that can build up under common cases and ultimately scratch or damage the finish of your device.

Installation:

The sad and definitely most difficult part of this whole endeavor was the removal of the Toast wood skin. The 3M adhesive is insanely strong. It took me over an hour to carefully peel away and break off countless bits and pieces of the wood skin. It was without a doubt a tedious process. If you couldn’t tell, the little pile of kindling on the right of this pic is all that is left of the CNC laser cut skin.

Once I removed the small amount of residue adhesive, installing the leather skin took just a few minutes. Remove the adhesive’s protective paper, start at the top of the back, lining up the camera area, mic hole, fingerprint reader and carefully work your way down the back to the USB-C port. This process is a little more forgiving than the wood skin cause you can lift and readjust things until you press the skin to the metal without too much concern about damaging anything. Then simple roll the edges over into place and you’re good to go.

Even though this video is of their wood skin being applied, the process is nearly identical to the method Toast recommends for the leather.

Here you can see the leather skin installed on my Nexus 6p…and I have to say the pictures do not do it justice.

For this review, Toast offered to laser etch/burn a design of my own into the leather for me. So I sent them this Seahawks design I have been playing with for awhile now. All it takes is sending Toast the graphic you would like on your skin and their designers will take care of the rest. There is an additional cost for this that varies depending on device and skin material.

There are cutouts for the power button, volume rocker, SIM card slot, earphone plug, and USB-C port.

Etched outlines highlight the contours of the back glass camera panel and as mentioned above, cutouts allow for easy button access. This picture illustrates just how well the leather wraps around the edges and corners of the device.

The Toast leather skin not only gives the Nexus 6p a great look but an excellent old world feel as well. The leather also adds grip-ability to the very slick device. Though it has taken a bit of getting use to the thickness of the leather as compared to the razor thin thickness of the wood skin. The 3M adhesive is holding down the edges of the leather very well so far with no corner or curve coming away from the device. Other than protecting the N6p from being scratched, the skin provides almost no protection from bumps or drops.

The leather’s finish does a good job fighting off coffee stains and grime and still looks as good as the day I installed it.

The Toast leather skin is available in: Scotch, Mocha, Earl Grey, Stout, Mojito, and Syrah.

To quote Toast:

They’re SO. DARN. GORGEOUS.  Sporting our kickin’ aviator-inspired, laser-cut detailing and a hand-rubbed finish that will mellow beautifully over time, these bad boys are licensed to thrill.

I LOVE the Toast Made leather skin for the Nexus 6p and will most likely keep it on my smartphone until the day I upgrade devices. The leather skin adds great feel, grip-ability and old world charm to my phablet without adding much bulk or weight. With the ability for customization (GO HAWKS) that truly makes it my own, I cannot envision a better case or accessory for my N6p.

Updates 08/22/16

The Toast Leather Skin continues to adorn and protect my Nexus 6p. I love the look and feel of the thick, soft leather. Add in the fact it has my own Seahawks design burned into the leather surface, I just can’t let it go. I’ve considered surgically lifting the lower half to add a metal plate between the leather skin and back of my smartphone. But the risk of destroying it outweighs the convenience of a magnetic car mount. Truth be told, I highly doubt that I’ll remove this Toast skin during the life of my N6p.

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Toast. Please visit their site for more info and Amazon to shop.