TL;DR: The Nomad Rugged Case for Airpods is almost perfect: it has leather, class, protection… and only one drawback — if you can call it that.
Note: Nomad sent us a free sample Rugged Case for Airpods for our open and honest review. And, for real, who would want a used case back anyway?
I love Nomad’s aesthetic, branding, and grasp of design — I’m not going to lie. They even do leather phone cases better than Apple does. That doesn’t mean, however, that I think everything they make is perfect. Nothing is perfect. But Nomad gets so close sometimes it hurts.
This will be a quick review, because honestly there isn’t much to say.
Rugged Case for Airpods: Design
Like a lot of their other products, the Nomad Rugged Case for Airpods is wrapped in Horween leather that gets better with age as you scuff it, work it in, and let it mingle with all the other junk in your pocket — like random legos you find on the floor, hair ties, fruit pouch caps… anything you pick up as a parent.
The case comes in both black and brown, and we were sent the black version. I’m more of a brown leather guy myself — from wallet to watch straps — but I’ve falling in love with the black, and it matches my black OnePlus 6T very nicely. You can’t go wrong with either color.
There’s a hole in the bottom for charging, and enough space for the Airpod hinge to do its thing. That’s… that’s it. And the simplicity is beautiful.
Note, though, that the case actually comes in two piece. I thought for a split second that I broke the thing pulling it out of the box expecting it to be on its own hinge, but that’s not the situation.
In Use
The Nomad Rugged Case for Airpods adds some texture to your Airpods, some protection, sits impossibly flush with your Airpods, but isn’t a struggle to remove if you have to get to the connection button on the back.
It opens and shuts easily with no friction or hinderance.
You can charge your Airpods without taking it off.
See? It’s a simple accessory that deserves a simple review.
The Downside
My only gripe with the Nomad Rugged Case for Airpods is that there’s a band around the edge of it of it, going from bottom to the top, the top being where the Nomad logo sits. It’s plastic.
It doesn’t stop functionality, but if it had been made out of some sort of metal… it would elevate the design even more.
In Conclusion
If you want to protect your stupidly expensive Airpods, you won’t find a better option than the Nomad Rugged Case for Airpods. It’s got style, class, and the design you want to add to your everyday life. The top of the case being plastic does not deter me one bit from recommending it — it would be a great stocking stuffer, or even a nice little treat for yourself.
You can buy them on Nomad’s site… if you find them in stock.