If my parents had only known how I’d turn out they would have made my middle name “Frugal”. Let’s just say I didn’t join the text message revolution until a few months ago.

But when my Motorola MotoQ crapped out on me I saw a window of opportunity to upgrade both my phone and my plan. So now, I’m sporting a BlackBerry Curve with an unlimited text plan, putting those $0.20/text charges to bed forever. Dang, I’m so rogue.

The Curve comes with a leather pouch that makes slipping the phone into your pocket fairly easy. It’s removing the phone from the pouch over and over that gets old.

Looking for a better protection setup, I turned to a brand I had used before, Seidio. My MotoQ was once wrapped in their black Innocase Surface case which I loved - until a couple of clips broke that held the two sides together and rendered it useless. Nonetheless, the surface the product name eludes to is spectacular. It provides just the right amount of grip.

As pictured above, I outfitted my Curve 8330 with the Innocase Hybrid case. As the name suggests, Seidio combines a “Crystal” front plate with a black Innocase Surface back-plate.

I chose the hybrid model to retain a visible front while receiving the grip that I mentioned earlier from the back. This case has an excellent snug fit which protects all areas while only increasing the size of phone by a minuscule amount.

I received the case as a Christmas gift, but the $29.95 price tag is well worth it if you’re looking for a durable product that will protect your cellphone investment.