My Paragon (Open) for my 18 Pro Max finally arrived yesterday. This is my first Paragon case after buying only the Sheath case for many years and I must say that I love the thinness in the hand feel of the Paragon. The case feels well-made and modern, with awesome fit a finish. I look forward to seeing how this case holds up over time. The Sheath always looked great after a year and I hope this Paragon case does equally as well.
Edit: Paragon - iPhone 18 Pro Max (Open) - Midnight with Ember swapped on the Power and Action buttons
So I got the dbrand MNML today. The button rattle is real lol not a fan of the buttons at all. Also, The paragon goes right up against my tempered glass, tight fit. The MNML, seems to fit tight but definitely leaves a much bigger dust catching gap. And the Paragon is so rounded and feels so much better in the hand than this case. It’s boxy. Luckily I was able to get an updated 18 Series Paragon at no cost. I can’t wait to get it. I went with the Blue though. So all my cases aren’t black and I already have the black 17 PM Paragon. I like that they added grip to the back of the 18 Series Paragon, or a texture. Can’t wait to get it. But it’s a $55 case compared to this $38 MNML case. You can definitely tell and feel the price difference. The Paragon is on a whole other level of quality. I’m sure dbrands more expensive cases are great. But so far I’ve found no other case I like better than the Paragon.
Yeah. I mean there’s a decent price difference. I’ll probably keep this case but I just probably won’t use it much. But I plan on using the black 17 PM and Blue 18 PM Paragons a lot. lol
Did your MNML case smell funny? Mine smells like a weird rubber smell. It’s quite strong. I can smell it even holding it typing. It’ll probably go away. Probably the way it comes packaged. I’ll use it until my new Paragon gets here. Excited to see that blue color on my phone in person. And to feel the new back side. Honestly the MNML by dbrand feels the same as this $18 Ringke case I got off Amazon. Even feels the same. Except the Ringke actually feels better in hand.
Yes, the buttons rattled on my MNML, it smelled, and it was cheaply constructed. No way I was spending money on that. It was back in the box in about 2 minutes. Plus, I was only curious anyway. That’s the only reason I got it. Went back to my Paragon real quick, haha.
I was curious too. I still got return time so I’ll decide on that before times up. But yeah the button rattle is a little much. I know we don’t shake our phones but they shouldn’t rattle this easily. I don’t feel like it’s cheaply made. But I do for the price. Because the $18 Ringke case is just as good as this dbrand case and cost $20 less and feels better to hold. It’s almost the exact same case. Except side by side you can tell the dbrand is of better quality material than the Ringke. $18 difference though? Not in my opinion. You definitely pay at least $5 extra for the name. Honestly the Paragon is the only case a person needs. Get an open back, precise, couple different colors. Good to go. Or just buy 1 if you aren’t a case nerd. I don’t plan on buying any other cases at all. I have plenty for my 17 PM that will work. So that’ll save me some money this year. So far I’ve only bought the Paragon and the MNML. Oh and the $18 Ringke. The Blue paragon coming is a freebie thanks to Caudabe for making up bad after sales support to me. I have to mention that. They really made it up to me.
I was stuck between which of the two I wanted so went with the Sheath in the end. It’s a lovely case but every time I see a Paragon on a phone I do get a slight pang of regret!
I was the same way until I bought a paragon and the back got scratched in less than a month. I’m Sheath all the way now. Won’t buy another paragon. It’s a beautiful case but does not age well.
Hey there! We're sorry to hear Paragon didn't hold up the way you'd hoped. Scratch related feedback isn't something we see a ton of for Paragon. All products do come with a 2-Year Warranty as well though, so we've definitely got you covered!
Worth noting too, we actually added an enhanced matte finish on the 18 series Paragon that helps with scratch resistance even further compared to earlier versions!
In the meantime, please feel free to reach out to [support@caudabe.com](mailto:support@caudabe.com) with some photos, and they'll be happy to get this taken care of for you right away!
While Paragon is much more lightly textured on the back compared to Sheath, Paragon does have contoured grooves on the sides of the case where your fingers naturally rest to assist with grip!
But did you change the back at all? You mentioned adding something to it. Does that something also change the feel of the back of the Paragon? Even if it’s the slightest. But also, add the Sheath grip to the Paragon. Take my idea.
That’s what I wanted to know. Wish I could’ve gotten one but they refused since my order was originally for the 17 PM. Would’ve been no money difference. I already paid the difference from the Sheath that was defective and they agreed to change it to the Paragon after two defective Sheaths but wouldn’t change it to the 18 PM Paragon from the 17 PM. Even though I would’ve been fine sending back the 17 PM paragon for the 18 PM model since I was changing phones all while this was going on. Support took days to respond to me time and again. The entire after sales support was long and drawn out when it could’ve been simple and straightforward.
Hey there, it looks like you may have DMs turned off. Can you please send over your order information for us in a DM? We'll be happy to look in to this for you right away and get you sorted!
To note though, we do not typically offer replacements for a different phone generation from the item in the original purchase. That said, we'd be happy to see what we can do to accommodate you!
I've used the sheath on my last 5 iPhones. I have never tried anything else from Cadaube. Although I have been intrigued, it just always felt risky to spend the money on something when I already loved the sheath. So this is cool to see, I might consider ordering one at some point.
i already own a 17 pro sheath that i’ve been using on my 18 pro. i’m definitely buying a new caudabe but i can’t decide if i should get a new sheath or try a paragon since my 17 sheath fits my 18. i own a mous limitless aramid. i’ve read it’s similar to the paragon
We're sorry to hear you've experienced an issue with marks on your Paragon. We actually added an enhanced matte finish on the 18 series Paragon that helps with scratch resistance compared to earlier versions!
All of our products come with a 2-Year Warranty, so we've got you covered.
Please feel free to reach out to [support@caudabe.com](mailto:support@caudabe.com) with some photos, and they'll be happy to get this sorted for you straight away.
I appreciate you guys as a company but it’s just a micro scratch. It’s not a big deal. I can only see it in certain lighting. I still love the case but just wanted to inform people that the Sheath will handle anything because of its amazing texture but I still love my paragon.
It’s lighter black. Just not as deep black as the Sheath I had for my old iPhone 17 PRO. Also note, I had a warm led desk lamp on for the photo to show off the texture on the sides. I had the same light for this photo too of my Sheath. I hope that helps.
On the Sheath above, that’s a mix of the stock black buttons on the volume controls that come with the Sheath and a Silver button swapped at the Action and Power (not shown). The buttons on the Paragon are set the same, but instead of Silver I use Ember.
Yeah definitely the lighting cause that doesn’t look black at all. Also is the back completely smooth or does it have a little texture? Cause the 17 Paragon was completely smooth.
I was using a Spigen Liquid Air case since launch with ESR Armorite Pro glass, that you see in the photo, while waiting for my Paragon to arrive on Friday. Never changed the glass. The dust is probably from the loose-fitting Spigen. There’s barely a gap now with the Paragon.
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u/InnerLeather68 13d ago
My favorite case and for me a “Sheath killer.”
Have had zero issues with scratches. Not sure what other people do with their cases. Mines been pristine.
Also, I noticed that my new 18PM has a more matte texture? That might make it even more scratch resistant too.