I'm glad this shell that protects sufficiently iphone 5s especially at this price, but it is not a must. The soft shell is easy to set up and fits well, the rigid shell provides additional protection and feel is nice. Personally at the grip I was expecting better and it's true that the side end of the 5S quickly becomes clumsy with that thick shell. The colors in the photo amazon correspond to reality. In purpose hull seems sound and relatively well protected iphone but handling is average.