I currently keep my iPhone in a Lifeproof Nuud case and, while paddling, within a waterproof soft plastic case. I’m just wondering what peoples experiences are with the Nuud case, for good or bad, as it would give me more options about where to store (e.g., in my PFD pocket) without the plastic case. Is my redundancy overkill?
I believe in the belt and suspenders theory too. I use the Fre case which has the enclosed screen and an Aquapac. I suppose it depends on your odds of immersion(by swim, splash or rain) but I view the extra security measure as sound insurance to keep my phone alive as having it die due to carelessness would be lousy.
See you on the water,
Marshall
The Connection, Inc.
Hyde Park, NY
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845-242-4731 mobile
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I had a Lifeproof case… The phone does not float even with it on… That was enough to tell me that either the phone needed to go in a floaty case or get left home… Engaging its use while upset in rocky seas seemed to be more complicated than activating a PLB ( and mine floats)
I agree its best to wear it… In Maine we learned the tragic consequences of not wearing your communications device this summer.
I carried my iphone in a Lifeproof case in my shirt pocket beneath my PFD or, while maneuvering for a photo, between my teeth.
It won’t float. I got rained on lots but never immersed. I’m talking gulf coast swamp 2 inches per hour rain. It gets saltwater spray on it and I rinse it off under running water. Same phone for about 4 or 5 years now, it’s a 4S.
Carrying a lifeproofe case in the same pocket with car keys will tear up the rubber around the screen cover, which then eventually tears away and the cover falls off.
You can buy a life ring to go around the case which makes it the size of a brick but it floats, I’ve never had one of those.
I’ve been using the lifeproof case for a season now. While kayaking, I put it into a little phone bag. It’s the belt and suspenders thing, plus it will float. One downside I discovered is that the phone reads water drops flying off my greenland paddle as finger touches, so you can’t just leave the phone out on the deck (unless it is locked). I’m using an iPhone 6, which employs fingerprint ID. I’m only able to get my thumbprint to unlock the phone about half the time. The Lifeproof case interferes with it big time.
I stay a lot dryer in the canoe and tend to just stick the phone in a pocket of the PFD, without the bag. Risky, I suppose, but so far so good.
Was out walking in the woods the other night and was crossing a stream on a log when I slipped off the log. The phone was in my pants pocket and, fortunately, the water was not quite nads deep, So, I thought it was gonna be a test of the lifeproof, but instead it was just a lesson in hiking a mile and a half home with soaked shoes in wet, cotton clothes on a 33F degree day. Uncomfortable, squish, squish, but highly survivable. It does point out that it is good to have a waterproof case–one never knows in what drink the phone may end up!
~~Chip
I have had good luck with the Lifeproof Nuud. If you want it to float you have to put the lifeproof lifejacket over the Nuud
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/lifeproof--lifejacket-float-for-iphone-6-orange--16799173. It is a bit pillowy … but you can use your phone for a PFD
No experience with iPhone or Lifeproof case. So why am I replying, you ask? Because when my Samsung Galaxy SII finally died on me a year or two ago (yes, I was already behind the times) I did some extensive looking for a good phone for paddling and tripping.
Enter the Kyocera Brigadier (and similar family members). It’s not the most glamorous phone, nor the fastest, nor the sharpest resolution, nor … whatever. It does have a saffire screen (VERY difficult to scratch) and a massive battery (that lasts much longer because it isn’t running the latest processor flat out). It also has a nifty feature that allows you to use the touch screen quite effectively while wet and/or wearing thick gloves. I have little trouble using my 2mm (maybe 3?) neoprene gloves on the screen.
I’ve always just tethered it to my PFD (via the lanyard attachment point) and put it in the pocket of my PFD. No case, no bag, no hassles. People that paddle with me know that I spend a good portion of my time upside down in my kayak, and swimming for self-rescue practice. The phone has yet to let me down.
From what I can tell, phone makers have all been moving more in this direction with their phones. The point of this reply is to suggest that you seek out a phone that fits your life rather than try to protect the phone you have from what your life throws at it - or immerses it into.
I had not heard of that phone. Nice idea.
The Brigadier has been replaced with the DuraForce PRO, which looks quite nice. I’d be strongly considering this one, if I hadn’t just upgraded to the Iphone 6 last year.
I use the Fre a couple times a week and have no complaints. I’ve rolled with it and it did it’s job. It will not float if dropped, so I keep my phone in a zipped pocket in my PFD. I purchased (or maybe it came with – cannot recall) a cord that screws into the earphones jack. The design ensures that the case remains waterproof with the cord attached. I’ve used this a bunch to listen to music while getting my laps in.
I had one instance in which a grommet that is fitted into the slot used to join the front and back of the case dislodged as I pulled the case apart. It took a bit of wrangling to refit it securely, but has since not come loose again.