Griffin Elan iPad Sleeve Case Review
Yet another iPad case has landed upon my desk here at Gadgetoid. This time it’s the Griffin Elan Sleeve, a back to basics synthetic leather sleeve with a simple but intuitive twist: the clasp doubles up as a pull-tab, which helps you easily and quickly pull your iPad out of the sleeve.
Other than this simple, yet extremely useful twist there’s nothing terribly compelling about the Elan Sleeve. It’s a simple black faux leather sleeve with a spare amount of internal padding that feels “crunchy” to the squeeze. It’s embossed with the griffin logo on the back, and features white stitching around the edges as detail.
The interior is a softer, medium grey suede which shouldn’t scratch your iPad and contrasts the black exterior well. The pull-tab/fastening doesn’t use velcro or a popper, but simply slips underneath a small leather loop to keep it secure. This can be a bit tedious if you remove your iPad from the case often, but generally a slip case is used for keeping your tablet safe when it’s stowed away in a bag, letting you use the iPad unencumbered in its sexy, naked form.
When is a WiFi-only iPad not a WiFi-only iPad?:
The Elan Sleeve has a decidedly hand-made feel about it, the cuts are not straight, and the bottom corners are ever so slightly asymmetrical. The stitching, however, is fairly uniform and Griffin do not tout the case as being hand-made.
The Griffin Elan Sleve iPad case is slightly reinforced inside, making it impossible to fold up and pocket like the Proporta Maya II slip case.
Noticeably different in my sample from the photos of the Elan Sleeve that I found online are the lack of a Griffin label on the side, and the single, central Griffin logo, as opposed to the front and back logos on those I’ve seen online. It turns out that these photos are actually 2d renders, not depicting the actual case. So be careful when shopping online as you’ll often be shown a case that differs ever so slightly from the actual product- but not enough for it to be a major concern. Fortunately, in the flesh the Griffin Elan Sleeve is slightly better than it looks in these renders, sans the would-be irritating side label and with one less embossed logo.
The Griffin Elan Sleeve retails at £29.99, placing it favourably against more expensive leather competition, but making it significantly more expensive than the Proporta Maya II.
