Studio Proper’s Australian-designed Wallee range extends into bumper cases for professional use, protecting your iPad without a kiddie touch.
Wallee Pro Bumper: On the plus side
Most bumper-style iPad cases tend to come in colourful colours with quite thick padding, and that’s a deliberate statement on the market they’re targeting, namely parents with young children who don’t particularly want a smashed iPad.
Studio Proper, the Australian mob behind the Wallee system already make a case of that type for parents; the Clumsy Case. Take a Clumsy Case into a meeting with you, and unless you happen to work at Play School, people will look at you very strangely.
That’s where the Pro Bumper is meant to fit in. It’s part of Studio Proper’s Wallee system of wall and other area iPad mounting accessories. I’ve reviewed previous parts of the Wallee system elsewhere — here’s the Handstrap, and here’s the Headrest — and the basic setup for the Pro Bumper is no different. You’ve got to have a basic Wallee case on your iPad (or iPad Mini). That then gets squeezed into the black rubber of the Pro Bumper case, which provides a level of shock protection against drops and bumps while out and about — or if you’re simply clumsy.
Fitting the Pro Bumper on is a relatively painless experience. It fits snugly, but not so much that it’s a chore to remove if you wish to use other case, or go without a case at all. The rubber has excellent grip, which further aids protection duties, as you’re less likely to drop it in the first place.
Wallee Pro Bumper: On the minus side
Apple puts a fair amount of work into the design of the iPad, and generally speaking, so does Studio Proper. The Pro Bumper, though, has a rather pedestrian design. There’s little that can be done about the fact that any bulky case is going to be bulky, but the plain black of the Pro Bumper I tested with was very plain indeed.
For the most part ports are easy to access, with one exception, and that’s the headphone socket. If you’ve got headphones with a thick plug, you may have a challenge on your hands getting it to plug into the iPad once it’s nestled within the Pro Bumper.
Wallee Pro Bumper: Pricing
The iPad Mini version of the Pro Bumper costs $19.95 while the iPad version will set you back $24.95. They won’t fit properly if you don’t have a Wallee case already fitted, however.
Wallee Pro Bumper: Fat Duck Verdict
The Pro Bumper is undeniably part of an ecosystem, and it only really makes sense if you’re an existing Wallee user. If you’re not, there’s any number of ruggedised cases that’ll serve the same purpose, and, in some cases, provide even more protection to the front of the iPad itself.
If you do already have a Wallee that you use with other accessories, it’s a solid and well priced protective case, although not one that’ll show off your shiny iPad in its best light.