Customer Reviews

Creative 3-In-1 Skin Pack for Creative Zen (Red/Blue/Black)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The Creative ZEN 3-in-1 Skin pack includes 3 silicon cases to protect your Zen media player. This is probably the best overall value in cases for your Creative Zen.

Creative has another silicon skin that includes an integrated "wire Management" pouch on the back of the skin to hold your headphone wires while not in use. If that is a feature you crave, look into that case.
ZEN Skin with Wire Management (Black)

These cases come in red, blue and black, and all three look good. There is also an included belt clip for the cases.

These skins fit your Zen nicely and allows you to access the controls through a thinner area. The banding around the edges will give you a little more confidence if you accidentally drop your player. Another advantage of the silicon cases is that they have a little more "grip" to them. They tend to be easier to hold in your hand than the clear plastic case, which can accidentally slip out of your hand.

One other nice thing about this set is that you get 3 different cases for the same price as one of the others. That makes these little cases a nice value. Be aware these are not made from the thickest silicon out there. That's why it's nice to have a few of them, though none have ripped on me yet.

If you don't like the feel of silicon you may want to explore the leather and clear plastic cases available from Creative. Each of those cases has integrated stands for easier video viewing.
ZEN Leather Case (Black)
ZEN Clear Case

Please note you will still have to buy a screen protector for your player. The screen is left open so that you can slide your player into it.

Enjoy!

After realizing that I couldn't just leave my Zen in my pocket without risking damage to it, I decided to try the Zen silicone skin packs. This seemed like a decent deal because it came with three colors and looked like it would be useful. Unfortunately, the products themselves have numerous problems that keep them from being worth their price tag.

For one thing, the Zen skin has an overly cheap feeling to it. When you slide the skin over the player, it feels as if it will rip any second. And since there is no way to reach the soft reset button on the back of the player without first taking off the skin, I'm concerned that too many instances of removing and reapplying the skin will lead to permanent damage to it.

Secondly, the skin is HORRIBLY prone to dust. This product might be more effective as a duster to sweep around the house considering how much it attracts it. Once the skin has become littered with dust, it becomes overly difficult to clean and remove.

The last issue has to do with the total lack of screen protection. It would have cost a fraction more in production to add a small screen protector that could have further kept the system safe, but instead it stays fully unexposed unless you purchase a screen protector separately.

I would have given this one star if the skin didn't at least offer minor protection to the player--which it thankfully does (emphasis on the "minor"). Besides that however, positives are hard to find. Maybe they got lost amongst all of those dust particles.

A few days after I received my 16gb Creative Zen, I realized that it would be best to get some kind of protection to minimize any damage. One big reason I chose the 3-in-1 Skin Pack was because my sister also owns a 4gb Creative Zen. With the 3-in-1 pack, we could each have our own skin and then have an extra skin.

As an initial impression, the skins feel like they're made of a cheap material. The feel is a bit deceptive because the skins are actually pretty solid. Also, they fit the Creative Zen perfectly, leaving little loose space. Applying the skin is simple because you just slip it on. In addition, the silicon provides a better grip. The skin's surface is smooth and easy to hold. The added belt clip on each skin also came in handy. I initially planned to take belt clip off seeing as I never planned to use it. I was concerned that the added thickness of the belt clip would cause discomfort while in my pocket. I was surprised at how thin the belt clip was. I don't even feel the metal belt clip while it is in my pocket. Also, I've found it convenient to clip the Zen to my sleeve. I don't even worry about it falling off because the clip attaches securely.

For the most part, the skin doesn't hinder any functionality. One complaint I have in terms of getting in the way is the fact that the skin covers the reset button. Fortunately, I've only had to reset the Zen once since I got the skins. Having to remove the skin to reset the Zen, however, was a minor hassle. Another complaint I have is the fact that the skin provides no protection for the screen. I was disappointed to find that the skin just leaves a hole that keeps the player's screen exposed. It wasn't a big problem since Creative also sells screen protectors that come in a 3-in-1 package. It just would have been nice if the screen protectors came with the skins. The skins themselves also seem to attract dust. Often times I find the skin covered in dust as if I had left it out for weeks. It isn't hard to just wipe off or blow off the dust. One last, minor complaint I have is the fact that the skin covers the flashy Zen design. Although the skins aren't bad in terms of aesthetics, the Creative Zen's design without the skin definitely looks better.

As a whole, these skins do a decent job at protecting the Zen. It is made of a good material that doesn't cause too much bulkiness. However, if you are looking for a protective case that will give 100% protection for the Zen, I suggest looking at one of the several other cases that Creative has to offer. It'll be a bit of a compromise, however, since more protection generally means added bulkiness. As far as I'm concerned, these skins combined with the screen protectors provide sufficient protection for my Creative Zen.

Silicone skins are my protection of choice for my hand held devices. I like the no-slip grip, the choice of colors, and that it adds just enough size to make it feel just right without bulk. While I normally do not buy manufacturer brand skins, I gladly purchased the Creative skin pack for my Zen and haven't regretted it.

The Zen 3-in-1 skin pack delivers what I need with a bit of color variety to boot. They fit perfect, deliver great tactile feel to the buttons (I enjoy being able to find the buttons I need to push without having to look at it), and adds a little color to my life. The skin is soft and flexible, easy to slip and off, fits perfect and stays on snug, and is not bulky.

The metal belt clip is very basic yet strong and works well. It securely attaches to the skin without have any metal come with actual contact with the Zen itself. It removes easily if you don't want to use it.

The skin also provides a "loop hold" to attach your own lanyard (or similar) if you want.

In regards to some previous comments, at first I did notice a bit of a dust problem for the skins, but it didn't last for long. The more I handled my Zen, the less dust became attracted to it. I think our body oils season the skins to become less prone to dust with normal use while feeling like they're getting silkier to the touch.

The choice of colors are not exactly chic or wild, but it does provide variety without being show-off. I didn't think I would want or need a 3-pack of skins (one would have been enough for me) but I found myself now wanting to swap colors and can do so easily without fuss.

The Zen skin pack provides basic protection for everyday use and touch. However, it is not the perfect protection for storage. Because there isn't anything to protect the screen, it's necessary to find another way to protect the Zen while not in use. When I don't use my Zen, I store it away (with the skin on) in a knitted pouch I made for it. This helps me to provide screen protection for it when I stow it away in my purse or bag.

These skins fit the new Zen quite well, and allow for easy operation of all of the control buttons underneath. The belt clips are flexible and they're very good at protecting the body of the Zen. The only thing I noticed was that you had to take the skin off to get to the reset hole in the MP3 player. The skins have a molded in opening for everything else, including the SD card slot. However, this is a relatively minor omission, and I assume it was intentional to keep people from restting their Zen. Otherwise, I would heartily recommend these items for the new Creative Zen.

Molded to perfectly fit your Zen, comes in a 3 pack. Face it, this is made by Creative, not some 3rd world nation knock off. It does attract a bit of dust, but thats no big deal, as all virgin silicon does.

To clean it off, remove the zen and put on one of the other 3 colors it comes with. Take the dirty one and just wash it with mild soap and water, let dry completely before next use. Like brand new again:)

I highly suggest for an actual screen protector you combine this with the invisishield from ZAGG.com, you wont be dissapointed.

The entire purpose of a skin is to provide protection. The screen is left hanging in the wind like the proverbial "ARS". There is no clear cover affixed to the skin to protect the screen. You must be kidding!

I was hoping to order only 1 skin, but by no fault of my own I got the 3-in-1 Skin Pack. The skins themselves are great although I thought it was a pretty thin material. They slip on fairly easily but once on fit snug. I'm really happy with the belt clip as all the reviews I read about the armband were dismal. The belt clip is sturdy metal & at first I was amazed that it was attached to the skin. It almost looks like it would rip right through...but after over a month of use...there's no sign of wear. And i use it a lot at the gym, walking my dog, etc...so it gets pulled & tugged at quite a bit. I definitely recommend purchasing this product for added protection to the player.

I put in on my zen for one day before removing it. It does fit well and looks OK, but it collects dust and hair like crazy making the player look very messy. More trouble cleaning it constently that its worth.

When I read that these covers attract dust and so forth, I figured, meh, can't be that bad. Well, it is. I bought the cover pretty much exclusively for the belt clip and I'm contemplating ripping out the clip and super-gluing it to the back of my player. If i put the player in my pocket, the case turns whatever color the pocket was it collects so much lint. And it doesn't seem to come off very easily. I would suggest you give something else a try.