Yes, I know my hot dog phone case is thicc; no, it doesn’t have a battery inside

Weird Phone Case of the Month is a monthly series in which we live with, and subsequently review, our time with a phone case. Phone cases are one of our only ways to express individuality with our smartphones, so what do our phone case choices say about us?

For my birthday this year, my girl and colleague Dami Lee bought me a hot dog phone case. I love hot dogs, which I wouldn’t expect you to know unless you’ve read my Tinder bio, or have somehow picked up on a subconscious hot dog bias in my work. Anyway, thank you, Dami, for the thoughtful gift.

As far as cases go, this hot dog case adds heft to my iPhone 6S. That might be a good thing, because it keeps it protected and adds bounce if I ever drop it. I always appreciate an extra safety feature. But as helmets have showed us, safety isn’t always great aesthetically. I don’t want an extra two inches of thickness on my phone. Look at this side by side. It’s crazy:

Most people ask me if a battery is tucked inside. I regrettably have to tell them, “no, there isn’t.” This case might be better if it had a battery inside. On the bright side, at least I can always find my phone in my bag.

Now as far as the actual hot dog look of this case, it’s unmistakably a hot dog. It’s even got a little bite taken out of it near the camera. No one mixes the hot dog up with other food or is confused as to what it is. Maybe this sounds like an odd review criteria but seriously, people often have a hard time figuring out what something is. My friend has a tattoo of a diamond on her finger, and a barista thought it was a sail boat, for example, which seems like a projection.

As I mentioned in my review of a glitter phone case, I tend to fidget with my stuff. I constantly play with my cases, whether that means flipping them over to see glitter fall or picking at their rubber relish. This time, I actually broke the case by peeling it apart. The glue wasn’t very strong.

Ultimately, carrying a hot dog around delighted me. I especially enjoyed repping one of my favorite foods. But unfortunately, the execution wasn’t perfect. The case itself is thick and sort of fell apart. At least the designers nailed the look of a hot dog, though. Kudos to them.