In our Enerplex Surfr Review, we’ve discovered that we won’t be a Wall Hugger with this solar iPhone charging case
[toggle title=”Watch the Full Enerplex Surfr Review”][/toggle] Do you hate charging your iPhone? Are you a wall hugger? Than the Enerplex Surfr is the case for you! The spare battery, coupled with the solar charging capability will more than double how long you can use your iPhone without charging. The battery case feels well-built (generally) and allows you to sync your iPhone with the case installed. Enerplex was kind enough to send us a Surfr case to review so we gave it away!
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Design – It’s a simple, fairly well built iPhone case. Sort of…
Size of the Enerplex Surfr
In terms of weight and bulk, the Enerplex Surfr for the iPhone 5 and 5S will double the thickness of your iPhone as well as increase the weight by approx. 80%. Do keep in mind that with the additional bulk and weight, you gain a spare battery and a solar panel. Installing the case is fairly easy as all you do is plug the iPhone into the bottom part of the Surfr and slide the top on. Taking the case apart requires a bit more effort as you had to wedge a fingernail between the gap around the cutout for the camera/flash and pull. The build quality of the case is quite good and the texture is nice BUT during our testing period for our Enerplex Surfr Review, the case did break after dropping it accidentally. The coloured bumper fell off which doesn’t impact the functionality of the case. A bit of glue will fix this problem but it’s still something worth noting. [divider][/divider]
Protection – The Enerplex Surfr will protect your iPhone from daily bumps and little drops
The plastic bumper coming off the Enerplex Surfr
This solar charging iPhone case doesn’t have a built in screen protector but it will allow you to install a 3rd party screen protector. We will re-iterate that the case did come apart after an accidental drop but the piece that broke was really an aesthetic piece that doesn’t add much to the case.
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Functionality – Seriously, no headphone jack extension?
The red LED that tells you the Enerplex Surfr case is charging via solar panel
The only thing that the Enerplex Surfr doesn’t allow you to access easily is the headphone jack. The 1/2 inch hole is pretty deep and is just long enough that it extends past the hardened rubber of Apple’s EarPods. Basically, you put your headphone jack into the hole and press as hard as you can with the hopes that you might be able to install it properly. On the plus side, one of the nice things about this case is the ability to sync your iPhone through the case itself. With the headphone jack extension issues aside, the main features of the Enerplex Surfr is the spare battery and the solar charging capability. The battery provides an extra 100% of battery power and the solar panels provide power for emergency purposes. Now, we did a quick test with the Surfr and left the case out in direct sunlight for 6 hours and the case managed to provide the iPhone with an extra 10% of battery life. Now, on a hot summer day, charging your iPhone in the case will most likely result in the iPhone overheating which is a bit of a hassle so you’ll have to figure out a cycle of taking the iPhone out and charging the case by itself. [divider][/divider]
Have questions about the Enerplex Surfr for the iPhone 5/5s? Please ask them on our Google+ page or on our Facebook page.
