Special thanks to:

For providing the Dragon Airfoam Pocket for this DS Database review.

- Introduction -

Dragon is a somewhat well known company that has been ushering out huge amounts of DS accessories for an incredibly cheap price.  They have had styluses, pouches, cases, guard masks, and screen protectors.

It seems that users really like the idea of protecting their DS Lite consoles.  Some of the more effective ways cover the DS Lite completely, but what is the point of protecting your DS Lite if you can’t show it off?  The Dragon Airfoam Pocket is Dragon’s solution.  It looks likes a fairly standard pouch that you can place your DS Lite in.

The packaging is really standard, it looks really standard, what makes this different from the rest?

- Build Quality -

For this review, I received a Enamel Navy Dragon Airfoam Pocket, however, our sponsor KickGaming.com offers Dragon Airfoam Pockets in five colors, black, enamel navy, ice blue, pink and white.  I can imagine that some of the other colors would look great.  One of the problems with enamel navy is that it is the darkest color that still uses the black NDS Lite logo.  It makes the logo a little hard to see.  The black Dragon Airfoam Pocket has a white logo which looks like it works very well.


Sure it looks great under white light, but when it is slightly darker, you just can't see the DS Lite logo at all.

The actual build quality of the Dragon Airfoam Pocket is quite good.  The outer case was very nice and solid, but soft at the same time.  The inside is actually just a piece of cloth over the material used to make the outer case, but even so, it feels like it will protect the DS Lite pretty well.  The zipper doesn’t feel like it will snap and the grips at the back are rock solid.  The teal carabiner is quite solid as well and is attached to the Airfoam Pocket with a thick rubber ring, and feels solid enough even for rock climbing.

High quality, full metal parts are always a good sign.

- Usefulness -

The Dragon Airfoam Pocket is a nice and simple case for the DS Lite that holds the DS Lite as well as a few games.

A nice pouch that is hidden away in the top section is quite useful for storing games.

With the Dragon Airfoam Pocket, I can carry around my DS Lite along with a few games maybe a stylus or two in the top pouch.  I think other than that, there isn’t much more the Dragon Airfoam Pocket does.

It does have a strap at the back to hook up to a belt, it also has a carabiner to strap on to key chains or to strap key chains onto the case.  Either way, they are nice to have because one of the things I found lacking in the Hori Compact Pouch is that it is quite useless if you simply hold on to it, because you can just hold on to the DS Lite itself.  The Dragon Airfoam Pocket has a few solutions for you, strapping on to various parts.  The other great thing about this feature is that they are relatively flat, you can rest it on a table without it wobbling around like the Hori Compact Pouch.

The back of the case is quite flat because the buckles and belts are all sunken into the foam.

- Ease of Use -

The Airfoam Pocket is fairly easy to use, you just place your DS Lite inside and zip up the zipper.  However, there are these straps inside to hold on to your DS Lite, there is no real point to it, but it is there for extra stability.  It is so incredibly short that it is somewhat hard to strap on.

Even if it is a useless feature, you have to make it easy to use if you decided to implement it.

The zipper also gets confusing as well because the case is designed to fit the DS Lite so perfectly that even with the DS Lite alone, it is a little hard to zip up, let alone the fact that there is a pouch to store extra games which adds even more thickness.

- Functionality –

The Dragon Airfoam Pocket, if used just to store your DS Lite works great.  All the parts work perfectly, and it is designed to hold the DS Lite perfectly.

However, that is exactly what makes the Dragon Airfoam Pocket unusable for many users.  Even the slightest change in thickness in any direction renders the Dragon Airfoam Pocket’s zippers useless.  If you have a silicone case or a guard mask, forget the Dragon Airfoam Pocket, you won’t even be able to close it.

A tight fit can be a good thing, or a bad thing.

Also, putting in a few DS games and a few styluses is ok, the case becomes harder to close, but still possible.  Unfortunately, even though the pictures on the back of the box suggest it, GBA games simply do not fit, the case will no longer close with a GBA game inserted into the Dragon Airfoam Pocket.

Any more, and it just won't close.


It is ridiculous, the back of the packaging has a picture of a GBA game in the pouch, and now it doesn't close.

- Conclusion -

If you have a DS Lite and a single flash cart or game, maybe two, then the Dragon Airfoam Pocket is for you.  For a mere $11, you can get one at KickGaming.com.  It is easily the best case for its value.  However, if you wish to use it with a GBA game or a silicone case, then the Dragon Airfoam Pocket is just unsuitable for you.

What a nice pouch! Too bad some of its designs make it unusable for a portion of DS users.

- Score -

Build Quality – 5/5
Usefulness – 4.5/5
Ease of Use – 5/5
Functionality – 4/5
Tilt – 5/5
Overall – 23.5/25

Get your own Dragon Airfoam Pocket at: