iSkin has consistently produced some of the best cases for Apple's iPods, so it came as no surprise to us when we demoed the eVo3 case for the 5G iPod and came away impressed.

iSkin eVo3

Like other silicone cases from iSkin, the eVo3 is perfectly constructed with plenty of thoughtful extras. Take the lightly textured surface of the silicone, for example, which both feels good in hand and provides extra grip, or the built-in dock connector cover for protecting your iPod's life-line from errant particles in your pocket or bag. Even the headphone cut-out is perfectly sized to show off the thin white trim around the port but none of the polished alumnium around it.

The eVo3 sports iSkin's typical and first-rate belt-clip, constructed of durable hard plastic that can rotate nearly 180 degrees (and stay locked at whatever position you desire) and is fully removable with no tools in about two seconds.

The front of the eVo3 sports a large clear plastic peice that covers the screen and more, with a large cut-out for the click-wheel (which itself remains fully covered by silicone). This approach is more secure than simple plastic inserts for protecting screens, like Speck uses, but it's trickier to get correctly inserted and aligned. The actual design touch of this plastic piece is also debatable; we found it detracted from the simple appearance and proportions of the iPod, and bordered on looking a little cheap and tacky, but tastes differ.

The Bottom Line

The eVo3 is an excellent iPod case, delivering first-class performance, even if it comes at the expense of second-class design (assuming you share our lack of the enthusiasm for the clear plastic front). Wrap your iPod in an eVo3 and you'll feel totally secure knowing your iPod stands little chance of picking up nary a scratch if dropped. Meanwhile, the screen remains completely visible and clear while the click-wheel loses not a hair of sensitivity. iSkin has done it again.

The iSkin eVo3 is available in several colors: Atomic (Vibrant Green) , Sonic (Vibrant Blue), Blaze (Exciting Red), Arctic (Clear frosted), Eclipse (Solid black), and Blush (Fashion Pink). There are specific eVo3 skins for 30GB and 60GB iPods; order accordingly