Payback Products Beadlock

Protection for your iPhone

Written By:

Pete Bengel

As much as I love my iPhone, I do have to question the idea of making a phone out of such breakable materials. Somehow the people at Apple must have much grippier skin than the average off-road magazine editor, and they apparently don’t ever drop their phones. Unless you live in some kind of a bubble, you’re eventually going to drop your phone and it could potentially get a bit ugly. (Read as expensive). It’s a must to have some kind of protection.

After finding my trusty iPhone damaged while under the “care” of one of the top-of-the-line cases, I was looking for something new. Out of chance, I happened to stumble across the Beadlock case by Payback Products, which is distributed through iShock. Payback Products was developed as a way to raise money for various organizations that fight for our sport. In the case of the Beadlock, a portion of the sales go to support The Blue Ribbon Coalition, an organization that fights to keep public lands open to off-road recreation. Obviously a cause that is dear to all of us!

The Beadlock is unlike anything else on the market. The faces of the case are CNC machined, anodized aluminum… available in blue, red, black, or green. Holding the aluminum face and backing together are stainless steel dowels and button head fasteners, and the assembled product does, indeed, look like a beadlock wheel! Very cool! There are flat foam pads in between the aluminum and the phone, and the stainless steel dowels are insulated in clear rubber so your phone has zero contact with any hard surfaces.

Most iPhone damage comes from corner or edge impacts and with the Beadlock, there is very little chance of that happening as all of the edges and corners are protected. The dowels are located strategically to protect all of the corners as well as the side function buttons, and the raised button head screws provide isolation for the aluminum plates as well keeping a barrier between objects and your phone’s front screen. The back of the phone gets a protective plate which can be laser etched with your personalized logo for $25.

In the several months that I’ve been using The Beadlock, I’ve dropped my iPhone a few times on hard surfaces and the only noticeable evidence of any impacts is a few scratches in the aluminum. That’s more than I can say for my previous high-end cover which allowed my rear screen to break. A second thing we’ve noticed about the Beadlock is it gets attention! Everyone notices it and asks questions, usually about whether it is hard on your pockets due to the shape. The answer to that question is.. NO. In fact, The Beadlock is less troublesome in my pocket than many other rubberized phone cases which tend to grip the fabric and make it tough to get them in or out.

While The Beadlock is excellent at protecting your phone from impacts and even contact with other surfaces, it has ZERO waterproofing ability. If you’re the type that tends to get a phone wet you should look elsewhere. If you’re like us however, and impacts have cost you money in the past, it is definitely a wise investment. The Beadlock retails for $79.95 including shipping and usually ships within 24 hours.