The Opena Case turns your iPhone 4/4S into a bottle opener

The $40 Opena Case for the iPhone 4/4S is a hard-shell case with an integrated slide-out bottle opener built right into the design. Available in white or black, the Opena Case is more than just a gimmick—it is a fully functional and carefully designed protective case for your iPhone that also happens to be a bottle opener, too.

Installing the Opena Case is easy: just insert the top and bottom corners of your iPhone 4/4S into the left or right side and press down to snap in place. However, removing the case is not as easy, and I feared I’d break the case (or worse, my iPhone) during my first attempt at removal. Opena has a fitting/removing reference guide and video, which walks you through the process, so make sure you use it when removing the case for the first time. It gradually became an easier process each time I installed and removed it.

With the Opena Case, you get the sturdy protection of a hard-shell case, but in a slim profile. I was surprised that the designers were able to create a case that added such little bulk, considering it also houses a stainless steel slide-out bottle opener. You almost forget that the Opena is a bottle opener, lending itself to what the designers appropriately refer to as functional protection.

The Opena Case leaves large openings on the top and bottom of the case for all buttons and ports. The back of the case has openings for the back camera and LED flash without adversely affecting picture quality. The volume and Sleep/Wake buttons are also accessed through openings that are slightly larger then the buttons themselves. You can charge your iPhone in standard style dock-cradle charging accessories without any concerns.

As for the bottle opener portion—yes, it works just as you’d expect it to. I found that the sliding action of the bottle opener became slightly gummed up and resistant to motion if dust and dirt got lodged inside. After repeated trials, my 30-pin dock connector remained dry—a real concern of mine in the outset.

Even if you rarely use the bottle opener, the Opena Case is a quality shell cover that I felt safe keeping on my iPhone. Don’t just take my word for it—enough people liked the idea to help fund its creation through Kickstarter.

[Rob Renk is a displaced Chicago Bears fan currently living near Orlando. When not obsessing about everything Apple, he can usually be found out on a boat monitoring Florida’s natural resources. Follow him on Twitter @Renkman]