In our last Orox Leather Co. review of the Medicus Dopp, we saw a single piece of oil tanned leather shaped into a beautiful utility kit for toiletries. Today we get our leather fix with the Orox iPad Sleeve, yet another item made of a single swath of oil tanned full grain goodness to cover and protect your iPad.
CONSTRUCTION
All Orox goods are handmade in Portland Oregon. The iPad Sleeve is made of a single thick piece of full grain hide oil tanned in Red Wing, Minnesota. If you’ve heard of Red Wing before, it’s because it’s the birthplace of a famous shoe company and home to one of the oldest of the remaining great tanneries in the USA – so yea, they know their leather. This particular leather used for the iPad has a particularly high oil content which makes it BUTTERY soft and supple enough to roll into a tube and keep its shape without leaving any creases. The iPad Sleeve is a basic rectangular envelope design measuring 11’’ x 8’’ which is more than enough to fit the iPad Air 2 (9.4” x6.6’’) or its predecessors. There is a single row of stitching along each side to create the sleeve. The Orox signature tab closure is a single firm piece of leather in the shape similar to a guitar pick which hooks onto a leather tab to keep the flap closed. The inside of the sleeve is unlined and the Orox company logo is debossed into the right front corner while the name is debossed along the contralateral edge on the back side.
FUNCTION
Well this sleeve really just holds an iPad so there’s not much to say. Does it work? Yes! Will it fit my iPad WITH a case? Yes! Is it comfortable and easy to hold? Double Yes!
But when it comes to an iPad sleeve, function is where I feel most people underestimate the importance of the design process. Yes, the signature tab is quick, easy, and cool but there are other benefits. The closure has no hanging parts like a cord that gets tangled and unkempt. There are no magnets that can wreak havoc on the screen and hardware components, and, most importantly, this closure does not require any downward pressure to close like your standard push tab. This means you’re not repeatedly pushing all this force onto a single focal part of your screen. So let’s go back to Physics 101. Pressure = Force/Area. No Force = No Pressure. It’s a win-win for your $400+ iPad!! Someone at the Orox Leather Company was clearly thinking…
AESTHETIC
The leather sleeve in brown looks sharp, dark, and polished which means it can work well with your sweatpants and hoodie in the school library or in your D&G suit at the executive committee meeting. The smell of oils and leather will bring a smile to any true leather lover’s face. Overall the sleeve’s clean appearance with its rounded flap edges make it an understated beauty which begs to be picked up and enjoyed by feel and smell. This sleeve also comes in Tan color.
BESTLEATHER CONCLUSION
The Orox Leather Co. iPad Sleeve 2 & Air is regularly priced at $140. While you won’t be finding this sleeve at the dollar store, it’s best held by someone who truly appreciates fine leather goods and realizes its finer details from sizing, leather selection, and closure design. If you can afford an iPad that goes out of style every year, purchasing a quality sleeve that will last a lifetime of iPads isn’t a hard decision to make. Check it out on the website, who knows? It might be on sale.
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