Which is a better material for a case?

Hi, I'm getting the new iphone and considering the price I want to give it plenty of protection
Which case is the better at absorbing impact force and energy and preventing damage?
A hard Durable plastic case? Or a Silicone gel Case?

If you drop something on a hard concrete floor it develops about 3000 G's. Bare wire bonds in IC packages can get broken with those forces, to say nothing of plastic and glass. Resilient rubber spreads that sharp shock impulse over a few milliseconds, which reduces the G forces greatly. Hard plastic just transmits it into the innards, but it's stronger. The ideal would be a combination rubber outside, hard plastic inside. But the case is already pretty strong, so I'd go with the silicone outside.