Pelican Face Armor & Disc Jackets for PSP Review

Every once in a while, you can find a jem at the Wal-Mart check out counter. Such is the case with Pelican Accessories' Face Armor & Disc Jackets for PSP. The Face Armor is one of the first entries into a new category of PSP accessories: face protectors. These are different from the many screen protectors in that they are hard plastic or metal and are not translucent — they are meant to supplement or replace a normal case.

The blister-pack packaging holds the Face Armor face protector and four Disk Jackets, designed to hold and protect UMDs. As a side note, we here at PSPworld really value good packaging design. Opening a new product or gadget should be a pleasant, fun experience. Blister-pack plastic packaging removes any "fun" that may have been present in the moment. To accessory manufacturers: Packaging your products in blister-pack, no matter how cheap, is not a good way to build your brand image.

Face Armor

Pelican's Face Armor is a piece of hard, shiny black plastic with a hinge attatched so it can open and close to cover the PSPs face. The "lid," or the part that covers the PSPs face, is padded with foam on the inside to protect the Face Armor from directly coming into contact with the screen, thus removing any possibility of scratching. The hinge section screws into the two holes on the top of the PSP, making the Face Armor feel very secure and sturdy, despite its plastic construction.

Aesthetically, the Face Armor looks great on the PSP. The shiny black plastic matches the PSP's finish perfectly, and the fit is great — the most bulk the Armor adds to the PSP is the screws and hinge sticking out of the top about 1/4 of an inch. The only concern we have after testing is the ease with which it opens. If left in a bag or an overfull pocket, the likelihood of the Armor opening and allowing a foreign object, such as a coin, to get in and scratch the screen is just a little greater than we'd hoped for.

Disc Jackets

The Disc Jackets are small plastic protectors for UMDs. Inserting a UMD into a Jacket is similar to sliding one into the PSP — you simply line it up and push. Once clipped on, the clear plastic Jacket is barely noticable, yet does an excellent job of keeping anything from contacting the opening on the UMD's backside. They add practically no bulk to the UMD, and stay quite secure while travelling. Since they are clear, they neither deter nor add to the visual appearance of the UMD.

Normally, I like to buy my accessories separately. If bought in a package, there is normally at least one component that doesn't live up to expectations. This isn't really the case with this Pelican pack. For less than ten dollars, we believe the UMD cases would have been a fair buy on their own. When bundled with the better-than-expected Face Armor, they create a great value for those looking for PSP protection on the cheap.