This unusual $15 case is the best Kindle upgrade I ever made

I’ve been reading ebooks on Kindles for close to 15 years now, swapping them out every so often when newer and better versions come out. Throughout that time, I’ve tried all sorts of Kindle cases to protect my precious. But it wasn’t until last year that my reading experience got leveled up in an entirely new way with one simple $15 buy.

I’m talking about a Kindle case with a built-in elastic hand strap. Yes, yes, I know—it sounds unremarkable. Trust me, I was skeptical of it for a long time myself. But once I gave it a try, suddenly all of my “reading yoga” became a lot easier. No matter what weird position I ended up in, I could still grip my Kindle and read comfortable.

Gabriela Vatu / Foundry

Sometimes I put my whole hand through the strap, other times I just hook a finger through it. Either way, it works. The beauty of this case’s design is that the strap goes straight down the middle, so I can use either left or right hand without issue. I’ve seen other cases where the strap is off to one side, but I like the flexibility in switching hands when I want to.

Honestly, of the many Kindle cases I’ve tried over the years, they mainly focus on protecting the screen than maximizing my comfort as a reader. And guess who ends up dropping her Kindle on her face more often than she’d like to admit? Me, that’s who. The built-in hand strap seems like a small thing, but the impact has been huge for me.

Okay, so why not use a clip-on elastic hand strap that you can put on and take off on demand? How is a case with a built-in strap better? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s an example of one such grip belt that I’ve used with my Kindle before:

Gabriela Vatu / Foundry

These are actually pretty great! You can position them however you want, whether diagonally across the device or down the middle. But in order for the straps to stay in place, they need tension, right? What I noticed is that when I put my hand through it, the hooks press into the sides of my Kindle, and even though they’re only plastic, they caused marks and imprints—not acceptable to me, especially with a pristine device.

I also want to mention that there are Kindle cases with built-in kickstands AND hand straps, but I don’t like them for two reasons. First, the kickstand usually adds extra weight and that’s more of a net-negative to my reading comfort. Second, the kickstand usually pushes the strap to one side or the other, whereas I prefer my strap down the middle.

So, I think I’ve found my ideal Kindle case—and it only cost me $15 on Amazon. It’s one of the best Kindle upgrades I’ve ever made, and it has transformed my reading comfort more than I ever expected. If holding your Kindle while you read is a pain, try out this case!