Accessory Review - DS Lite cases

DS Lite Cases Review - By Nintenho

As we all know, your new DS Lite is the god of handheld gaming consoles. Thus, it should be treated as such. The DS Lite should be protected at all times and handled with extreme care; without it you would be spending many lonely days on the bus, in the office, in the classroom…well, you’d basically be bored out of your mind. This is why I find it imperative to introduce to you (majestic trumpet playing in the background), DS Lite Pouches! These handy little holders make protecting and traveling with your DS Lite easy and super fashionable. Just what you’ve all been waiting on bated breath for, I’m sure.

I’ll start with what I have assessed as the less serious of the pouches, the Dragon Docking Pouch. This nifty little holder has cloth on the inside to keep the DS Lite from getting scratched, as well as some plastic substance on the outside that seems easily cleanable and good to propel a little bit of water. There is also a mesh pocket on the outside where you supposedly stick your games, but I would be worried with them just hanging out like that. I’d rather have my games safely tucked away in an inside pocket. The Dragon Docking Pouch also comes complete with a carabiner that you use to hook it nicely to your belt loop. Overall, I would only feel safe with this pouch, however, if I was taking a leisurely stroll around my house. Some of the DS Lite is left exposed while in the pouch and I wouldn’t feel too good about traveling with the Dragon Docking Pouch outdoors or in a bumpy car ride. There’s not enough protection going on here, and thus I give this poor little pouch a 6.0. It just didn’t do it for me.

Thankfully, we can move on to some pouches I feel more comfortable with. The DS Lite Multi Pouch is a soft pouch with an outside that feels like the material a winter coat is made out of—good for protecting against liquid spills—and a soft, felt-like inside material that I wish my bed blankets were made out of. Soooooo nice. Anyway, the overall look is cleaner and more professional, and no part of the DS Lite is left uncovered. What I like most about it is that although it offers the carabiner option for hooking the pouch onto your pants or backpack zipper, it also has a Velcro band that allows you to fasten it to your backpack strap! (Very reminiscent of iPod product designs.) Not only do I think the DS Lite Multi Pouch would look a lot cooler attached here, but I also think it feels a lot more secure as opposed to just hanging out on your belt loop. This product also comes complete with a separate zipper compartment that offers two small pouches for your most coveted games, a pouch for your lucky stylus, and a mesh holder for your extra games or other doo-dads. Unlike the mesh pocket on the Dragon Docking Pouch, this one is safely tucked away in its own zipper secure area. Hooray! 9.0 for you Multi Pouch! You go Multi Pouch! (A little Mean Girls reference there…anyone? Anyone? Lindsay Lohan? Okay moving on…)

Next we have the DS Lite Compact Pouch—a smaller, less cushy version of the DS Lite Multi Pouch. This slightly harder product has a design that is similarly professional and sleek, utilizing the same winter coat material on the outside and soft, loveable felt on the inside. Upon unzipping the pouch, I was pleased to find two pockets explicitly made for games accompanied with an extra large pouch that could be used for a stylus or…I don’t know…a stick of gum. There are also two small straps on the opposite flap of the pouch to hold the DS Lite securely in place. If we move on to the outside of the DS Lite Compact Pouch, we find that there is a mysterious plastic clip and strap on the backside of the product whose function is unknown. I suppose you could strap it to your bag much like the DS Lite Multi Pouch, but the Japenese lettering and pictures on the packaging don’t offer any diagrams to confirm this. (I was relying on these nice little drawings with the other products!) It also seems to offer a ring for a carabiner, although such hardware is apparently sold separately. What I most like about this pouch is that it seems perfect to throw in a purse or backpack and go. Its small size and slightly harder texture make it an easy fit for most any pieces of luggage. This convenient pouch gets a solid 8.5—a rating to be proud of.

Now, speaking of throwing your DS Lite around, there are two similar pouches that I think may be even better for this rough and tumble kind of handling. The Dragon Airfoam Pocket and the Airform Game Pouch are both made from this hard, hollow, foam stuff that you could bang around pretty well. The Dragon comes complete with carabiner (of course) and contains a soft, black felt on the inside to protect your DS Lite from scratching etc. It has straps to hold the DS Lite in place as well as a Velcro sealed mesh pouch to hold games. Its look is pretty simple, but the foam on the outside seems to be easily dirtied. If you’re like me, I always have random pens and such lying around in my bag, so I have a feeling my Dragon Airfoam Pocket might end up looking like a black and blue mess. Considering this downfall and the not so exciting look, I give this piece an 8.0. It may not be pretty, but it does its job well.

The Airform Game Pouch, however, seems a little more resistant to staining and offers some more cushion with a unique layering design on the top of the case. I definitely like the look of this case better, with its large, metal NDS name plate proudly displayed in the middle of pouch. Inside the case itself you will find the same sort of black felt-like material to protect your DS Lite, but with one single, long strap to hold the DS in place instead of two small corner straps. Both styles seem to keep the DS Lite equally as snug. Also unlike the Dragon, however, is the middle flap in the pouch containing three plastic slots for games and straps to hold an extra stylus. Neato! The back flap has an even large mesh pocket for your other goodies and contains a strap that you can attach to your carrying case or the DS Lite itself for easy portability. The Airform Game Pouch receives my highest rating of all the pouches, but only by a slight margin…I christen thee with a whopping 9.2!

Last but not least, I wanted to take about the Silicon Protector for the DS Lite. Although it’s not really a pouch, I think it offers good protection for the DS Lite that you can leave on the console 24/7. It is made of a strong…yes, silicon material…that has holes made to fit the buttons and speakers. This is much like the screen shields you can put on the touch screens—an added form of protection that you can keep on during game play. If you have an awesome color DS Lite and want to show it off, you can get the Crystal White protector that is basically see-through. However, they do offer other colors like Ice Blue and Enamel Navy if you’re feeling a little more adventurous. This protector really is an awesome idea that doesn’t detract from the look of the DS Lite while still making a huge contribution to durability overall. I think everyone could benefit from such a simple product! 9.0 people!

Okay, I’ve said a mouthful and I know your minds are spinning. The bottom line is all these pouches are pretty sweet. They come in a variety of colors and patterns to fit the needs of all you gamers out there, and you can get find them all at Lik-Sang, where they offer a bunch of gaming accessories. The items featured in this review run anywhere from around $7.00 to $20.00 a pop. I think they’re well worth the price, considering how near and dear I’m sure you all are to your wondrous lil’ DS Lites. Overall, it seems that the DS Lite Multi Pouch looks the best while offering some of the nicest features in the pouch itself. And although the Airform Game Pouch isn’t the prettiest, it keeps up with those features while being the sturdiest case I’ve seen thus far. If I had to vote anybody off the island it would be the Dragon Docking Pouch, as after my careful inspection, it appears to fail in both the looks and protection departments.

After all is said and done, only one question remains. Why wouldn’t you buy one of these things? A gamer’s got to accessorize baby!