Review: The Twig Case is a cool option for protecting your iPhone 5

Twig Case makes a slew of stylish wood and bamboo cases for the iPhone 5, ranging in price from $59 to $79. I looked at two specific cases: It’s Only Mountains in bamboo, and Monster Head in black and blue.

Actually, the Twig Case isn’t quite made of wood. Rather, it’s made from a paper composite called Richlite. A company rep says each iPhone case is a laminate about the equivalent of 100 sheets of stacked paper. Some of the cases, like the It’s Only Mountains case I reviewed, add in bamboo as well.

The cases feel—and look—impressively well-made. The two-piece cases fit the iPhone 5 snugly, with the larger top half and smaller bottom half both easy to slide on.

The designs are excellent, and the wood-like textures involved give the Twig Case a sense of luxury; they feel expensive. The case is a nice combination of thin and substantial: It feels both lightweight and sturdy. The cases are 0.44 inches thick (or 0.46 inches when bamboo is involved), 2.5 inches wide, and 5.1 inches tall. The bezel extends a bit over the screen, which affords a smidgen extra protection for the iPhone’s display in falls where the bezel can absorb the impact.

The cases ship with a stark warning not to push their button overlays without an iPhone inserted in the case. I resisted the temptation. With my iPhone 5 firmly ensconced in the Twig Case, I found the volume and Sleep/Wake buttons easy to press and satisfyingly responsive. There are cutouts for the speaker, microphone, Lightning port, and headphone jack on the bottom of the iPhone. The cutout around the Ring/Silent switch is large enough that I can access that switch with ease.

The cutout around the rear camera is large, and leaf-shaped. Twig Case's website says that Apple recommends case makers go with as large a camera opening as possible for better photos, and that “because Richlite is stronger than wood, we were able to make the keepout larger than any [traditional] wood or bamboo case.”

Twig Case stresses that its cases are meant to protect your iPhone 5 from bumps and scrapes, and that its cases are not indestructible. The website states, “If you are prone to dropping your iPhone on hard surfaces, you might want a different case.”

Bottom line

I like the Twig Case a lot. The designs are very cool, and the cases fit well. They feel good in hand, too. If you’re after a sleek iPhone 5 case and can find a Twig Case that matches your style, it’s a great option.