The official line:

The DSi Travel Case is designed to keep the Nintendo DSi and its accessories (including power supply) all together and tangle-free in one place. Custom-sized, padded, interior compartments and self-locking zippers keep your gear safe and secure.

• Made from synthetic material that is washable, abrasion-resistant, durable in vibrant, trendy, colors.
• Made from a highly water-resistant poly-blend material
• Washable
• Self-locking zippers
• Soft padded interior pockets, no-scratch

Waterfield Designs’ DSi Travel Case is a soft case for the Nintendo DSi, but the size of the system is so close to that of the DS Lite, it works fine for that as well. The color I received is brown, but it’s also available in blue, red, green, silver, and black. I accept that the colors are vibrant and very appealing, but not being very up on trends, I can’t really speak to that. It’s forward-thinking of them to offer so many colors, as DS Lite and DSi systems cover just about every color you can imagine. The material definitely feels very heavy duty, and is easily the strongest soft case for an electronic device I’ve used. Washability is nice, but you’re going to want to make sure you take everything out first. Waterfield’s rep says she usually spot cleans hers with diluted surface cleaners, but both cases are machine washable. The fact that the case is animal-free is likely to appeal to those who are concerned about such things. Those of us with more of an ethic toward local products will appreciate the fact that these cases come from San Francisco, California, rather than overseas.

A locking zipper, if you don’t know, is a zipper that will not travel when the pull tab is folded down. The official line calls this a self-locking zipper, but it’s also known as a semi-automatic zipper, which sounds far more appropriate for mowing down rival gangs than protecting your DSi, but there it is. The zipper can be locked in a slightly open position, which means hooking headphones to your DSi for listening to music on the go (because it wants to be an iPod) is easy. There’s the full-length zipper at the top, and three distinct compartments inside, one of which is divided into two smaller compartments. The center compartment holds the DSi, and the outer compartments can be used for other loose items, such as an extra stylus or games. There’s plenty of room for these accessories inside the case, because the spaces are soft and flexible, unlike in hard cases which are formed to specific shapes for specific items. Note that if you have one of the folding magnetic cases for games that are available through Club Nintendo, those are too long to fit inside this case. The hard plastic clamshell cases with Nintendo characters are smaller, and fit well.

One problem I had with the interior pockets is that, since they are so soft, some amount of manipulation was necessary to get everything to fit properly. The dividers between compartments have a tendency to bunch up while loading things.

The black rubbery surface on the case covers the ends and bottom, and this is covered with tiny bumps, creating a kind of non-skid effect as well as reinforcing the parts of the case which will take the most impact in a fall. The rest of the exterior is smooth fabric in a strong, tight weave.

It’s definitely a bit of a premium product at a price point just shy of 40 dollars, compared to the average Nintendo-branded case at 10 to 15. I personally am a strong proponent of buying a high quality case in order to avoid having to spend money on replacing it, so this is right up my alley. The option of buying a case that was made in the US is a strong selling point for me as well.

I give the DSi Travel Case four out of five. Despite the somewhat intimidating price point, this is a very functional case that genuinely feels like it could repel a bullet, and there’s quite a bit to be said for that when handheld game systems can set you back several hundred dollars. Warning, this case is unlikely to actually repel a bullet.

The official line:

The DSi Suede Jacket is a minimalist form-fitting case made from soft, washable Ultrasuede™ that protects the DSi from bumps and scratches. It can also double as a screen cleaner.

Moving on to the Suede Jacket, this is a much more low-key affair than the Travel Case, but is still impressive when considering the lower class of the product. This is the $15 model, which also has the optional accessory pocket. Stuffing this full of a game and some earphones makes the whole affair very lumpy, and not very pocket friendly, but I don’t know who would carry their DSi in their pocket anyway. Further, Aeropause does not condone the ownership of Spyro the Dragon video games as in this product image. The plastic clamshell game card holder mentioned above fits nicely into the Suede Jacket’s pocket, meaning solid protection can be provided to as many as six games while carrying your DSi this way.

The Jacket is made of Ultrasuede®, which unlike standard cow suede is 100% animal free. It’s very strong but soft, and can actually be used as a screen cleaner for your system as well, which is a great bit of multitasking that actually makes lots of sense. My DS, in fact, had a very dirty screen thanks to Chinatown Wars, and the Suede Jacket did a great job of clearing that up.

Slipping the DSi inside the Suede Jacket, you’ll see there’s a little bit of clearance on the outer edge. The Jacket is deep enough to provide some slack at the end of the system, which should prevent that end from getting banged up. However, as this slips on the narrow end of the system, the headphone jack is concealed, and the system cannot be listened to while in the Suede Jacket.

I give the Suede Jacket three and a half out of five. It’s a great light protection for the system when placed in a larger bag. The pocket is nice and stretchy, but may not provide adequate protection to small items, like game cards, without additional hardware.

You’ll find the DS cases at this location on the site. Waterfield Designs has a catalog of cases and sleeves for all kinds of devices at their website, including several other cases for game systems, including the leather and ballistic nylon DSi Case mentioned in a recent press release and a case for PSP called the PSP Gear Pouch and PSP Mini Gear Pouch.