Various Zumo XT cases
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2022 8:43 pm
After 14 years my old Zumo 500 finally gave up the ghost, so I bought a new Zumo XT. Here are my thoughts on various cases that I've tried.
If you want the short version: the winner is this Hama 2.5" hard disk case.
I started with the obvious option, the official Garmin case. It's expensive, but nicely made, hard outer shell with a good layer of soft padding inside, embossed Garmin logo... but it's too big! The Zumo XT rattles around loosely in all 3 directions.
I then tried the ebay cases mentioned here. I wasn't completely happy with these either. The smaller case I found to be slightly too small. You can zip it up, but the zip is hard against the corners of the Zumo so you don't have good impact protection at the most vulnerable points. The larger case is the only one I tried that will fit the Zumo with a 3D-printed bumper installed (shown with just the bumper in it in the picture). It's maybe 10mm longer than it needs to be to fit the Zumo with bumper, but spot-on for width and thickness.
The other thing I didn't like so much about these cases is they're made of a very rigid material and have no soft padding layer, so impact protection won't be quite as good.
My winner: a Hama case for 2.5" external hard drives, model number 00095521 https://uk.hama.com/i/00095521/hama-e-v ... -2-5-black. It fits like a glove. This case also has no soft padding layer, but the hard shell material is a bit softer and more compressible, so it feels like it will soak up knocks better.
I also tried a Hama "Black Bird" soft case for 2.5" hard drives https://uk.hama.com/084127/hama-black-b ... -2-5-black
It fits, but again it's slightly too snug so the padding is squished round the corners. But as a case just to prevent scratches, it works, and when empty it's easier to squash into a pocket than a hard case.
If you want the short version: the winner is this Hama 2.5" hard disk case.
I started with the obvious option, the official Garmin case. It's expensive, but nicely made, hard outer shell with a good layer of soft padding inside, embossed Garmin logo... but it's too big! The Zumo XT rattles around loosely in all 3 directions.
- ZumoCase01.jpg (108.65 KiB) Viewed 1723 times
The other thing I didn't like so much about these cases is they're made of a very rigid material and have no soft padding layer, so impact protection won't be quite as good.
- ZumoCase02.jpg (241.51 KiB) Viewed 1723 times
- ZumoCase03.jpg (137.7 KiB) Viewed 1723 times
- ZumoCase04.jpg (154.2 KiB) Viewed 1723 times
It fits, but again it's slightly too snug so the padding is squished round the corners. But as a case just to prevent scratches, it works, and when empty it's easier to squash into a pocket than a hard case.
- ZumoCase05.jpg (132.63 KiB) Viewed 1723 times
- ZumoCase06.jpg (221.72 KiB) Viewed 1723 times
