So I have had my iPhone for a year and a half now and have gone through a number of different cases. That was my first goal when I got the phone, to find an appropriate case. I knew the phone was fragile and probe to break easily so protecting it was of the utmost importance to me.

In my search for the best case, I came across the Otterbox Defender case.  Most people would look at it and think that it would be a great application if you work outside, or in construction, a factory, or any other place where your phone could face the precarious 1 foot fall of death. But, the best part of the Otterbox is that it is practical for any situation. You don’t have to be in the middle of a hurricane to risk dropping your phone. No matter how careful you are, the iPhone is a slippery little fellow and will just jump out of your hands at times. Seems it is almost suicidal. You can be sitting at your kitchen table holding the phone, and it will just jump to the floor and shatter it’s own screen into a million little pieces.

So, I got the Otterbox Defender and put it on my phone. I have the all black one and I like to refer to it as the “Darth Vader Case”. It is in 3 separate parts. 2 plastic pieces that encase the phone. The front piece has a screen protector built into it. Then there is a neoprene skin that goes over that. If you remember the first set of Star Wars movies, there is a scene where Vader is in a pod type thing on the Death Star and it is showing his helmet being put on in 3 different parts…..that is why I call it the Darth Vader Case.

As a testament to the Otterbox Defender, once I put the case on for the first time I bravely threw my iPhone across the room (not suggested) to test it out. Sure enough, no problems at all. It does not guarantee that it will never break. I am sure that if it hit just right in that one obscure spot that you would find cracks on your screen. But, it does lessen the chances quite a bit.

If you are accident prone, clumsy, rough on phones, or in general afraid that you may break it then I highly suggest the Otterbox Defender. It costs a little more than your traditional case, but it is worth it.