Girl Talk Reviews: Vibe Vault iPod Cases

Fashionable girls have fashionable toys. Pretty little baubles that look as good as their owner. Now the real problem: how to keep them that way. With lives populated by piles of goodies, the Stiletto Jungle Girl Talk panelists are always on the lookout for stylish ways to keep their big girl toys in tip top shape. When they were offered the chance to review Vibe Vault, a new line of nearly indestructible iPod cases that still manage to keep all of the buttons and dials available for use, the Girl Talk panel jumped on it! Would this new line live up to their claims of superior protection?

"When Vibe Vault arrived and I really liked the color-- a bronze look," starts Tina, a San Diego-based attorney. "I had to disassemble it to then put my iPod inside. I finally got all the locks in place and was ready to go. My first impression is that it made my iPod actually feel heavier and seem bigger. Which, if you have the iPod mini, that isn't really what you are after. I like that my iPod is protected, but not sure I would spend the asking price to have that case. I also am more concerned about it coming on in my purse now since there is no face protection. My old case enclosed the iPod so it wouldn't accidentally come on. Altogether, the Vibe Vault is a great option for iPods."

Vibe Vault - 3rd Gen Nano
$39.00
Available at: vibevault.com

"Man, I was so excited to get a new case for my iPod. I am a self proclaimed iPod junkie, and am always on the look out for better products to house my iPod," says 29-year-old Pearl, who works in digital media at Interscope records. "I just recently purchased a 160GB classic iPod-- yes, I need that much storage-- and wanted a case that was durable for my workouts, but also allowed me access to all the functions of the iPod. Upon first receiving the Vibe Vault iPod case, I noticed that the material was a very hard metal and was pretty heavy. This turned me off right away. Additionally, it was really hard to use! My thumb is aching from trying to pry the 8 screws off with one of those Ikea-like screw drivers.

The cover comes with a protective shield and you are supposed to peel away the opaque sides to reveal the clear coating in the middle. This is a task similar to prying those damn plastic grocery bags in the vegetable aisle at your local grocery store. I pretty much gave up and couldn't peel away the film. I did finally get my iPod inside the cover and screwed it back up. It is a good fit, and I think if I ran over it in my car, it'd still be OK (please don't try this at home). And yes, it is probably very scratch resistant. But honestly? It's so much more weighty, and not very comfortable to carry around with me. I'm really disappointed. I say scrap the metal material, use something more malleable. And also scrap the idea of screws and this tiny driver! That was a ridiculous process. We iPod users choose this product because it's super easy to use. I wish this was a better case, but I really could not recommend this to someone else. I'm switching back to my old case and icing my thumbs."

Vibe Vault - 5th Gen
$48.00
Available at: vibevault.com

"Well, after my husband and I both tried out the Vibe Vault we both came to the same conclusions," offers Jennifer, a 31-year-old Long Beach nurse. "First, it is pretty much bomb proof. We found it to be useful and it served its purpose, which we found out when he dropped his iPod outside of his fire engine when he opened the door on a call. Not only was the iPod intact, but not a scratch could be seen. Second, we found that it was very user friendly. Even though the plastic that goes over the face had a hole in it when we opened it. The instructions were simple to understand. Third, aside from the pink color that my husband was not a fan of, we did find it to be cool looking. Not too feminine and not too masculine. So, with all the positive reviews we could only come up with one negative thing: the weight. It was bulky and you could feel it weighing down your shorts while working out. That aside, we both agreed we would buy one. Although we wouldn't use it while running due to the weight issue, we would use it to protect our iPods on a daily basis."

Well, there you have it. Vibe Vault offers a very high level of protection for your iPod and a slick look, but the trade off is a heavier iPod-- perhaps too heavy for use during exercise. Don't miss any Girl Talk Reviews. Subscribe to Stiletto Jungle and get free updates by e-mail or RSS. Take Stiletto Jungle with you wherever you surf with the Stiletto Jungle Connect Toolbar featuring Google search.

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