Travel Tech: Handmade iPad Case Marries Analog and Digital (Perfect For Valentine’s Day)

Valentine's Day edition Dodocase seen here; photograph courtesy Dodocase

By Contributing Editor Steve Casimiro, editor of Adventure Journal. See more of Casimiro's gear recommendations in our must-have gear gallery >>

When I first slipped my iPad into the hardback Dodocase ($60), I fully expected to remove it after a few days or a week of testing. Percentage-wise, it wasn’t that much bigger, but compared to a naked iPad it seemed so. Apple’s own case slips over the iPad rather condom-like and barely increases the heft. By comparison, the Dodocase felt substantially more…substantial.

But Apple’s case gets dirty and smudgy easily and doesn’t even sport nerd style, let alone the Bay Area bookworm aesthetic. Three months later, the Dodocase still lovingly embraces my iPad. I couldn’t be happier—whatever hesitations I had about size vanished as soon as I felt the wonderful tactile feel of carrying and holding a hardbound book. It was like the perfect marriage of analog and digital, the mashup of a tome and the pixelated portal to the e-world.

Dodocases are handmade in San Francisco using traditional bookbinding technique, and they look and feel almost identical Moleskines, only larger. The iPad nestles into a carved bamboo tray and is held with grippy rubber inserts at the corners. There have been reports of the rubber wearing down over time, but I rarely remove the iPad and so haven’t experienced any issues. My iPad nestles snuggly and seems to be happy in its cradle, with no tendencies to crawl out.

Functionally, if you open the Dodocase and flip the cover back, it will provide a slight tilt for typing. In this, it is inferior to the Apple case—Dodo provides an inch of lift, while Apple gives 2.25 inches. It’s an issue, but far from a deal breaker; simply slip a magazine or two under the case and typing gets a lot more comfortable.

The verdict? I’m calling the Dodocase nearly flawless. It’s worth every penny.