Nerf DS Armor damages

[glynnahab]

Hey guys. I'm creating this thread with the hopes to inform everyone of the issues I've had with the Nerf DS cases made by Pelican Performance under Hasbro.

Last year for Christmas, I bought my son a gold Zelda-themed DS. My kid is only 6 years old, so I also purchased the case under the assumption that the Nerf case would protect the handheld from drops and any other abuse that could come from a 6 year old. (Not to mention a LONG explanation to my kid of the importance of the proper treatment of valuable electronics... yadda yadda yadda) Since then, he's done a pretty good job taking care of his DS...

Within the past month or two, however, I've noticed that the hinges of the DS became very loose - to the point where the DS no longer "snaps" closed. In addition to this, the top screen display is now scrambled to the point where the DS is pretty much unusable. I carefully removed the case from the handheld, but the problems were still there. I personally believe that the weight of the case is what caused the hinges to become loose.



To prove that I'm not starting a thread simply to shit on the people who made this product:

I have contacted the company who makes this product. Thus far, they have been very easy to deal with. There were a few steps I had to take - contacting Hasbro, who directed me to Pelican Performance. I sent a typed letter to the latter company with pictures of the damages (which are very obvious).

Under their direction, I have sent them my DS in the mail in order for them to determine if their product is indeed responsible for the damages to the DS. The customer service rep who contacted me stated that they have had this issue in the past. They must determine upon the receipt of my DS if it must be repaired or replaced. <crosses fingers>

I haven't heard anything on the forums about the Nerf DS Armor, so I figured I'd post a thread about my experiences with them. I know lots of you guys have children, so I'm wondering if anyone else here has used this product.

I'll update this thread as the situation progresses.

[IcKy99]

man thats unfortunate, i've always thought about using those things, but never have. Personally i think they make the system an eyesore and too bulky, plus im a grown man who can take care of electronics, but even when i was a kid with a big fatty gameboy i kept it in good condition.

[Ack]

I don't know about the cases, but my girlfriend and I have had positive experiences with the Nerf stylus. For one, it's easier to grip, and easier to find when we lose one.

[jp1]

I like the nerf cases. The only problem I have had was with some dirt or something getting between the case and the ds and scratching it up, which is unfortunate. The reason it doesn't make me mad though is because the case was on my 6 year old son's DS and he has dropped it on several occasions. Once on the concrete outside/several times on kitchen tile/and once from a shopping cart. I'm confident that any one of these falls would have done more damage to the DS than the nerf case did. I doubt that any other case would have provided significant impact resistance to survive the grocery cart incident.

My son is rough with his electronics and save from the few scratches on the outer casing that I mentioned his DS works just as good as the day I bought it. The nerf case however had to be retired because he got in the habit of picking the nerf material off. Now he has an aluminium over plastic case that I am far less pleased with.

I should point out also that he has fallen asleed on top of the DS on many occasions and the hinges are still in good condition. I don't even see a way for the case to damage the hinges or top screen. Unless perhaps during removal of the case which is pretty difficult and could potentially damage something.

[jp1]

My 9 year old just switched from a psp to a DS. I put this case on his:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sponge-Game-Case-Po ... 2ea810ab37

It's OK, but it isn't made as good as the Nerf case.

[glynnahab]

I don't even see a way for the case to damage the hinges or top screen. Unless perhaps during removal of the case which is pretty difficult and could potentially damage something.

I'm almost positive that the hinges became loose due to the weight of the Nerf case attached to the top part of the DS. I'm no expert on electronics, but I'm assuming that the looseness of the hinges has some kind of effect on the top screen.

I was also very careful during the removal of the case because I had read before about the difficulty of its removal. Aside from that, there's not a scratch on the DS or any cosmetic damage - aside from the loose hinges which cause the DS to swing open by about a 1/2 in. on its own.

Like I said before, the customer service rep said that they've had similar issues in the past, so I'm crossing my fingers that it will get fixed...