The OnePlus One is a beautifully designed piece of hardware and there are many characteristics that make this phone stand out from the rest, such as the minimal bezel and thin profile. My favorite feature of the OPO design is the Sandstone Black back. The texture is like none other. There is not a design that I have felt to match the quality of One’s back. The texture is like a smooth grade sandpaper that feels amazing to the touch and promotes a nice grip as well. All that said this is the first phone that I have strongly desired not to have a case installed because of how great the back is designed.
However, I have two small kids, work outdoors and I do not have insurance coverage on my devices. Therefore, I need some sort of protection. I usually get at least a Cruzerlite case as my daily driver, but I had ordered an eBay special $2 clear snap-on case to hold me over till I found a rugged style case. Let me tell ya, there is not one rugged case out there for the One as of yet. Trust me I have looked. The most protective case is a Cruzerlite TPU case.
Fortunately, I have a great audience and a viewer linked me a case for the One that resembles the back on the One. The case is the Pelosi Sandstone Black case found over at AliExpress.com. It only costs about $7 with free shipping to the USA. Shipping is the only flaw with this case. It took over a week for it to arrive, which is forever for a guy used to Amazon Prime shipping and not too mention that I was rocking this phone naked for a long time taking the chance of no accidents happening.
As soon as I took the case out of the packaging I knew this was the one, for the One….(yes I did that on purpose). The case feels I’d say about 80% just like the OnePlus One back. It’s smoother but still has a nice grip of the sandpaper texture. The color matches well together and this case is simply a perfect compliment for the One.
This case is in all reality a typical snap-on case that protects against bumps and scrapes on the left and right side edges along with the back plate area. The top and bottom edges are left open but allows for hassle free access to the ports, mics and speakers. Normally I do like to have all edges covered but this is a case that I think is worth the little sacrifice of leaving the top and bottom edges exposed. The case is very slightly raised above the screen of the One. This is because of the screen design of the One. The screen rests on top of the phone’s body. In other other words the silver trim is where the case snaps into place.
One of the things I appreciate about this case is actually the cutouts for the volume and power buttons. I coming from using a Note 3 as a daily driver phone and those buttons are places higher up on the device and that is where I got used to pressing. Even on the One I was still reaching high for the buttons. The buttons are smaller and takes a little to get used to pressing on the One, but with this case it is easy to feel for the placement of the One’s buttons.
I had to write off getting a rugged case for a while. I will get one as soon as one is released, as long as it is more protective than a TPU case. I’d love to get an OtterBox style case for the One for the times I need heavy duty protection. Until then I am completely happy with my inexpensive Sandstone Black case. It is the only case that I feel comfortable have a case installed at this point. Having any plastic material on the One simply makes the One feel cheap and ugly. I highly recommend getting this case for your OnePlus One. If you have not received the One yet, I’d go ahead and order this case and have it ready for the One as soon as it gets to your doorstep.
Product Link: AliExpress
