We have a tendency to try to take everything to an extreme. We either want everything supersized or we want to cram as much as we can into the smallest thing possible. This is why the IN1 Multi-Tool Utility Case for the iPhone 6+ seemed like a wonderful idea to me. It’s taking the idea of a Swiss Army knife and applying it to a phablet.
The website advertises the following features for this case:
• blue pen
• polycarbonate casing
• phillips screwdriver
• flat-head screwdriver
• kickstand
• nail file
• tweezers
• scissors
• bottle opener
• TSA compliant
• scratch protection inside felt
The polycarbonate casing was incredibly smooth, almost too smooth. Fortunately, you do gain some traction from the ends of the tools. The felt inside the case was a nice touch. Most people are so focused about protecting the phone from everything else that they forget to protect the phone from the case. Expecting this case to have extra weight from the tools, I definitely appreciated this small addition. I was surprised, however, that the case really wasn’t that much heavier than many cases on the market. It actually felt about the same (if not lighter than) an Otterbox and it seemed less bulky, as well.
I had a lot of trouble getting the tools out of the slots initially. After working at each one multiple times, it did get a little easier, though I practically need to use one of the other tools to pry out the flat-head screwdriver or the toothpick. Each little tool is visible through the clear case, if you want to be able to easily see them or if you want to be a little less obvious, the case does come in black.
Unfortunately, I don’t find very many of the tools helpful. The screwdrivers and the pen are too small to be much use and the tweezers feel like I’m going to warp them because they’re so thin. The case has plenty of space left so I wonder if the company will take a look at making the pieces a little bigger later on, while they take a look at evening out the weight distribution. (On my magnetic dashboard mount, it always leans to the left because of the tool locations.)
The file and the bottle opener were the most useful features. No matter what, it seems like these tool are always the ones that you have trouble finding when you need them so having them already in hand truly did save a little time.
Overall, the case is mostly a conversation piece for me. At $39.95, it’s a bit higher than what I’d want to pay for something that is more form than function at this point, but if they manage to work out some of the snags, I’d definitely consider it.
