This is a review of Zerolemon Zero Shock rugged case for Note 2. ZeroLemon
I can't believe I'm finally reviewing a rugged case for Zerolemon 9300 mAh battery. It was just like yesterday when they announced about rugged case for their extended battery... wait, that yesterday was actually over 6 months ago
But as they say, better later than never. As I understand it correctly, delays had to do with ZL wanting to introducing rugged cases around the same time for their entire line of extended batteries for different phones. With Note 2 we had an additional delay due to uncertainty with Note 3 size right before its introduction where nobody knew if its going to be the same. But either way, case is released, so let's take a closer look at it.
It looks like Zerolemon approached the design of this rugged case by basing it on a popular Defender mod. Why reinvent the wheel? You take what already works and improve it. That's exactly what ZL has done, starting with inner plastic shell and wrapping it around in TPU case. Its a same idea as Otterbox Defender where you introduce a cutout in the back plastic panel to accommodate ZL extended battery. A clever improvement of this design was to have a removable back panel to use it with OEM slim battery and to be able to do that without taking inner plastic shell apart. Furthermore, you can also use an extended double-capacity battery with a same setup. The point of being able to go between different battery sizes while keeping inner shell intact is very important. The latches that hold inner shell together will have some finite lifetime, and constant latching/unlatching will compromise its reliability. Being able to go easily between different size batteries has a lot of benefits. We all know 9300 mAh or 6200 mAh extended batteries take longer to charge. Once you run out of juice on 9300 mAh, power down your phone and swap it with another battery very quickly while 9300 mAh can go on one of those "fast" 600 mA wall chargers.
As I mentioned above, inner shell is made out of plastic. I'm sure it will do a good job protecting the phone during a drop, but I found the plastic material used in this design to be brittle and somewhat cheap. I know ZL is trying to keep the cost under a budget, but I wish they would have used plastic material similar to Defender. Outer shell is made out of TPU material identical to TPU case that came bundled with 9300 mAh battery. It does feels a bit slippery on the back, but it's compensated with an improved side grip bumps. Those definitely will come handy since you are dealing with a bigger and heavier bundle. Together with Note 2, ZL 9300mAh battery, and the case I measured it to be 356g with dimensions of 157mm x 87mm x 20mm. The case is actually a bit thicker than Defender. To add to its rugged appeal, all the ports are covered, everything from headphone jack, to s-pen and micro-usb port. And speaking of micro-usb port, that port was not easy to open, something I might consider cutting out moving forward. Another mod which I probably will do around micro-usb port is trying to widen it a bit with dremel tool. The port opening fits Samsung slim OEM micro-usb connector, but it was a problem with most of my other micro-usb cables that have a bigger connectors. I also would like to add that Volume up/down and Power buttons are easy to press with a nice tactile response, much better than original TPU case.
Although promised originally to have built-in screen protector, it was removed before shipment of this case - in my opinion a wise decision. I do use VITREO tempered glass on my phone, and there was no issue with fitment since it's only at the top where extended piece of front bezel is making a contact with my screen protector. I assume that was part of the design for original built-in screen protector support. Another important part of the design is a belt clip with a holster, very similar to Defender. As a matter of fact, Defender case went into this holster like a butter and I was able to securely latch it. The belt clip is easy to rotate for vertical or horizontal position, and as a bonus it latches to form a kickstand. It's a very convenient option since you can put rugged case facing in or out into the holster.
Overall, if you need a rugged case for your Note 2 and Zerolemone 9300 mAh battery, this is the only clear choice for you. Yes, you can try Defender mod but it means irreversible modification of your expensive Otterbox case. If you decide to use fake cheap Defender case, it's rubber outer shell doesn't stretch as well. So in reality you are down to one choice, and for $23 it's a good value. Is this a perfect case? Considering quality of the material and the fact that case doesn't fit the phone 100% tight (there is some noticeable movement when you hold the case with two hands by the opposite sides and try to twist it), there could be room for improvement. But I don't think any of these negative points will compromise rugged protection of Note 2, and you will feel more secure carrying your phone with Zerolemone 9300 mAh battery in comparison to original TPU case.
Here are the pictures.
I can't believe I'm finally reviewing a rugged case for Zerolemon 9300 mAh battery. It was just like yesterday when they announced about rugged case for their extended battery... wait, that yesterday was actually over 6 months ago
But as they say, better later than never. As I understand it correctly, delays had to do with ZL wanting to introducing rugged cases around the same time for their entire line of extended batteries for different phones. With Note 2 we had an additional delay due to uncertainty with Note 3 size right before its introduction where nobody knew if its going to be the same. But either way, case is released, so let's take a closer look at it.It looks like Zerolemon approached the design of this rugged case by basing it on a popular Defender mod. Why reinvent the wheel? You take what already works and improve it. That's exactly what ZL has done, starting with inner plastic shell and wrapping it around in TPU case. Its a same idea as Otterbox Defender where you introduce a cutout in the back plastic panel to accommodate ZL extended battery. A clever improvement of this design was to have a removable back panel to use it with OEM slim battery and to be able to do that without taking inner plastic shell apart. Furthermore, you can also use an extended double-capacity battery with a same setup. The point of being able to go between different battery sizes while keeping inner shell intact is very important. The latches that hold inner shell together will have some finite lifetime, and constant latching/unlatching will compromise its reliability. Being able to go easily between different size batteries has a lot of benefits. We all know 9300 mAh or 6200 mAh extended batteries take longer to charge. Once you run out of juice on 9300 mAh, power down your phone and swap it with another battery very quickly while 9300 mAh can go on one of those "fast" 600 mA wall chargers.
As I mentioned above, inner shell is made out of plastic. I'm sure it will do a good job protecting the phone during a drop, but I found the plastic material used in this design to be brittle and somewhat cheap. I know ZL is trying to keep the cost under a budget, but I wish they would have used plastic material similar to Defender. Outer shell is made out of TPU material identical to TPU case that came bundled with 9300 mAh battery. It does feels a bit slippery on the back, but it's compensated with an improved side grip bumps. Those definitely will come handy since you are dealing with a bigger and heavier bundle. Together with Note 2, ZL 9300mAh battery, and the case I measured it to be 356g with dimensions of 157mm x 87mm x 20mm. The case is actually a bit thicker than Defender. To add to its rugged appeal, all the ports are covered, everything from headphone jack, to s-pen and micro-usb port. And speaking of micro-usb port, that port was not easy to open, something I might consider cutting out moving forward. Another mod which I probably will do around micro-usb port is trying to widen it a bit with dremel tool. The port opening fits Samsung slim OEM micro-usb connector, but it was a problem with most of my other micro-usb cables that have a bigger connectors. I also would like to add that Volume up/down and Power buttons are easy to press with a nice tactile response, much better than original TPU case.
Although promised originally to have built-in screen protector, it was removed before shipment of this case - in my opinion a wise decision. I do use VITREO tempered glass on my phone, and there was no issue with fitment since it's only at the top where extended piece of front bezel is making a contact with my screen protector. I assume that was part of the design for original built-in screen protector support. Another important part of the design is a belt clip with a holster, very similar to Defender. As a matter of fact, Defender case went into this holster like a butter and I was able to securely latch it. The belt clip is easy to rotate for vertical or horizontal position, and as a bonus it latches to form a kickstand. It's a very convenient option since you can put rugged case facing in or out into the holster.
Overall, if you need a rugged case for your Note 2 and Zerolemone 9300 mAh battery, this is the only clear choice for you. Yes, you can try Defender mod but it means irreversible modification of your expensive Otterbox case. If you decide to use fake cheap Defender case, it's rubber outer shell doesn't stretch as well. So in reality you are down to one choice, and for $23 it's a good value. Is this a perfect case? Considering quality of the material and the fact that case doesn't fit the phone 100% tight (there is some noticeable movement when you hold the case with two hands by the opposite sides and try to twist it), there could be room for improvement. But I don't think any of these negative points will compromise rugged protection of Note 2, and you will feel more secure carrying your phone with Zerolemone 9300 mAh battery in comparison to original TPU case.
Here are the pictures.
