The ItzKitz answer to toting your Treo safely is to surround it with a leather sleeve and park the sleeve in a pouch - namely their “Combo” case for the Treo 650 or 700’s. It’s a double whammy approach to protection that should get you through almost any situation, even in hostile territory.

Made of thin, supple leather, the inside sleeve has hemmed cutouts for screen, keyboard, LED, and plugs, plus metal mesh-covered openings for the front and back speakers. The mesh serves no purpose, other than cosmetics, but it’s a tradition in loudspeakers for stereos, so might as well add it to a phone.

The leather outside pouch includes a matching cutout, also covered in a square of mesh, which lets sound out so you can hear the phone if it rings - although it also has the potential for letting moisture in.

The Combo’s inside sleeve cushions its treasure with a soft felt lining, and the metal mesh is recessed from the inside and outside surfaces, so it won’t abrade either you or the Treo. A leather flap with a smart magnetic catch secures the phone in the sleeve. The company says the flap prevents the Treo’s SD Card from popping out. It does. Covers up the IR port, too, but leaves enough of the ring/vibrate button showing to keep it useable without flipping the flap.

Overall, the two parts of the case are well made of quality materials. The outside pouch is neater, and its lining is a cool gray suede, rather than felt. The inside sleeve’s stitching could be neater in places, but it’s the same color as the leather, so not much of an issue.

Outside the box

The Combo’s outside pouch adds considerable bulk to the equation, along with the convenience of a non-removable, rotating belt clip and additional padding. However, its large horizontal flap comes equipped with a rather weak magnet. The product arrives in a plastic bubble with the inner sleeve peeking out of the outer pouch, flap open flat. That’s part of the problem. Untrained to stay closed, it defaults to popping up, and the weak magnet initially isn’t enough to convince it otherwise.

To reduce the problem, simply weight the flap closed for a day with something heavy - a solid gold statuette of your favorite movie star or whatever you have handy. I used books. After this treatment the flap defaulted to closed, and the magnet was (barely!) enough to keep it closed. Really, the company should use a much stronger magnet.

Lined with soft felt, the outside case has cutouts for the Treo’s antenna, plus a convenient center cutout so you can nudge the inside case with the tips of your fingers to retrieve it. This works well. The fit is snug enough that the phone won’t go flying, even if the flap flops open.

Usability

In use, the Combo case is convenient, even with a weak magnet. The inside sleeve, well fitted to the keyboard, buttons and controls, is by far the best part of the deal. It even has raised “pockets” for the volume control buttons, plus another one for the Treo’s side button. Nice.

The case comes in two models, one for Treo 650, and another for Treo 700p, w, wx. (The company’s Treo 600 case kits come in red, but the Combo case is available in black only.) The phone models are slightly different in shape and placement of controls - so close-fitting as the Combo case is, the models aren’t interchangeable. My 650 Combo case fits my 700p adequately, however, notwithstanding minor misalignment with the charge connector that doesn’t interfere with its usability. Purists will want the correct model for the phone.

For all three Treos in my collection, I tested the inner (Model 650) case for usability on a cradle, using my Seidio Inno-dock Review|Buy, and all worked perfectly. Nestled in the outer case, of course, there’s no way. There’s scant room for an earphone cord to listen to music or callers on the go, though there are openings for the cord. Looks like a job for BlueTooth to me.

Protection

If you travel with trepidation for your Treo’s safety, the Combo case offers outstanding protection from flying objects, scrapes, scratches and bumps. The inner sleeve by itself will keep some harm away, but with no screen protection it won’t fend off scratches to that most precious of parts. The outer case solves the problem by encasing the sleeve in a pouch. This protects everything, and excellently.

The Combo’s case-in-case approach won’t keep your Treo from getting wet if dunked, but the phone should stay dry in a rain (unless you use it upside down), even an El Niño downpour. I tested this in a serious rain, but not for long. The case had no problem, and my Treo stayed dry.

Accidentally, I assure you, I also performed a drop test –- table to carpet, one small bounce. Both cases survived with no damage, and I’m happy to report that my Treo 650 did too. I’m swearing off drop tests forever, I hope. Too scary.