REVIEW – Phones cost enough that a case is all but required to protect your investment. That doesn’t mean you can’t still show off your phone or your personal style. ESR’s Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case offers lots of protection in a clear package and for my review they also sent along their Power Bank Wallet as well to complete the package. Let’s see how they check out.
What is it?
ESR’s Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case is a clear case with strong drop protection and a built-in stand. Their Power Bank Wallet is a 5,000 mAh MagSafe compatible battery pack with a built-in wallet and phone stand.
What’s in the boxes?
- Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case (ESR’s packaging calls it a Hybrid Case with Stash Stand)
- Instruction and other info cards
- Power Bank Wallet
- Charging cable
- Setup card and registration info
Hardware specs
Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case
Compatibility: Model specific for iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max
Charging: MagSafe compatible and open access to USB-C charging port
Protection: Military grade drop protection
Stand: Zinc alloy stand nested around camera lens
Power Bank Wallet
Compatibility: Works with all MagSafe iPhone devices and with cases that support MagSafe or ESR HaloLock™
Charging: Auto-on function starts charging immediately
Stability: Stronger magnets lock it on to iPhone
Stand: Built-in stand creates landscape or portrait phone support
Wallet: Carries one or two cards securely
Design and features
Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case – A clear case that shows off your chosen color of iPhone or graphic skin while preserving all button functionality, speaker/mic pass-through and access to the USB-C charge port.
The front glass is protected a raised lip all the way around and the general feel is smooth without being too slippery.
Each corner sports their Air Guard design (the two small pockets below) creating additional cushion helping their case to pass the Mil-STD 810H specification for drop protection.
The HaloLock magnetic ring and clocking magnet is called out in white and there’s a small lanyard mount point towards the bottom of the left side of the phone.
It’s fully MagSafe compatible with increased magnetic strength.
The coolest feature is their camera guard which protects your camera’s lenses but also flips out to function as a stand.
Power Bank Wallet – A 5,000 mAh battery pack that supports MagSafe wireless charging. The light texture is smooth without being slippery.
A built-in stand adjusts to any angle between 20 and 70 degrees and wears a 2-card wallet like a backpack helping to reduce what you need to carry.
Auto-On means your phone starts charging as soon as you attach it, and you can always turn it off to save some charge for later.
Setup
If you’ve got an old case on your phone; pop that off first, then pop this on. The case is pretty flexible so both installation and removal is nice and easy.
As for the Power Bank, connect the included cable to a power supply and to the battery’s USB-C port to top off the charge. When you’re ready to start charging your phone, simply place it on the back and let the magnets do their thing and the power will begin flowing. To leave it attached, without charging just press and hold the power button for 3 seconds. To start charging again, press and hold for 3 seconds. The picture above shows that power button and the 4 LEDs showing a full charge.
Performance
The case works great. I tend to change cases a lot, so whenever I find myself running the same one for days on end or switch back to a particular one often, I take note. That’s the case with the Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case. You can have any color you want as long as it’s clear, which is nice, and optically clear by the way. If you do want a color, check out their Cloud series with Stash Stand which looks very similar.
As for durability, this case meets military drop specifications which usually means falls from about 4 feet onto concrete. I fumbled this once getting out of my truck and watched it hit glass side down. All good and the only damage was a small scuff to the top right corner. The buttons all press easily and there are no accidental triggers pressing the case sides close to the buttons either.
Now their stash stand is a very cool feature. It’s built into the camera bezel and flips out from left to right at the top of the phone.
It’s super stable in landscape mode with adjustable angles, but also works in a very reclined portrait mode which is great when you’re just endlessly scrolling.
The Power Bank Wallet is about as easy to use as it gets. Just place it on the back of a MagSafe-compatible phone, and it jumps into place, and it starts charging. It works well on a phone without a case, but works especially well when paired with an ESR case with Halo Lock which effectively boosts the magnetic retention of MagSafe. It uses both the ring and the clocking magnet so alignment is guaranteed.
The flip out stand is adjustable from 45º to near vertical and supports the phone in the standard portrait mode or landscape by rotating the phone 90º on the Power Bank. Very cool for the nightstand function built into iOS. You can also connect power to the powerbank to charge both it and your phone overnight.
The wallet is a fixed take on the minimal magnetic wallets sized to hold 2 cards. There’s a notch at the bottom (where you see my mug) to help push out the cards.
If you happen to over-jam it, there’s an access window inside the stand.
It’s a little bit of a bummer that the volume of the wallet is present even if you don’t want to use it. Luckily there’s a Kickstand Wireless Power Bank that replaces the combo stand/wallet with a kickstand if that’s more your thing.
What I like
- Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case
- Great protection, look and feel
- Built-in stand is very functional and works in portrait
- Power Bank Wallet
- Good hold on back of phone
- Stand is sturdy and very adjustable
What I’d change
- Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case
- Nothing, Great case
- Power Bank Wallet
- Thicker than I’d like due to stand and the wallet
- 2 cards is limiting, especially if I’m out long enough to need a battery pack
Final thoughts
ESR’s Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case protects your phone while still showing it off and has a cool built in stand that doesn’t get in your way. Their Power Bank comes in the Wallet version reviewed here and a kickstand version if you’ve already got a wallet you’re happy with. Bottom line is ESR is creating some great products that work well and it shows.
Price: $32.99 – Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case || $64.99 – Power Bank Wallet || Both on sale at time of writing
Where to buy: Classic Hybrid MagSafe Case || Power Bank Wallet and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by ESR.
