iPhone 6 Case for Backcountry Use?

my Lifeproof case for my iphone 6 has been through hell and back the last two years- dropped several times on rocks; through chest deep fords (kept in a pants side pocket); pouring rain and heavy snow- still ticking nicely for me.  it’s one of the lighter (and thinner) cases out there- didn’t want to take away too much from the sleek design of the iphone, but wanted to protect my investment (a buddy ruined his phone wading across a deep ford this year on the Bob Open- had it in a ziplock)

iPhone 6 Lifeproof cases are about $35 right now, thats about half what they used to be. I picked one up last month and am satisfied with it so far. Its a full 2oz lighter than my old Otterbox. One thing though is when I have speaker on or playing music through it, it has an odd vibration distortion on the backside.

I’ve owned the iPhone 3, 4, 5, and 6.  The 6 is by far the buggiest phone I’ve owned to date and I’m on my second one.  I’ve dropped its predecessors a few times each, and sometimes without any case at all.  After having one 6 fry on me, I decided that my days of gorilla testing phones without a case on were over and I bought the Lifeproof Fre Power for it which has an additional 2600 mAh back up battery for it.

One con I’ve found thus far is that it makes a large phone much larger.  If I were to stay within the Apple ecosystem, I’d get the SE next time around as I had a lifeproof case for the 5s and 4s and didn’t find them to be too cumbersome with the case on it.  Alas, it appears the Fre Power is not available for that phone.

Another design feature that I don’t much care for but is important for the waterproofness is that you need a screw in adapter to use wired ear buds.  I solve this in the front country by switching to bluetooth earbuds and for my vehicle.  I’ve stopped carrying earbuds when hiking as I never care to use them but I realize that many people do.  From viewing Lifeproof’s website, I notice that they show what appears to be Apple headphones connected without an adapter, but this is something I’ve yet to explore.  All I know is that none of my headphones fit.  Edit: I found a pair of apple earbuds lying around and they do indeed fit without an adapter.

One noticeable improvement is that the screen protector is much better than the previous generations.  The thumb print ID thingy works fine and I really don’t notice a difference to how responsive the phone is when it’s on or off.  I’ve purchased a Lifeproof case for both my 4 and 5, but typically left it off the phone except for when I was hiking as the screen protector on these previous generations made the phone a PITA to use day in day out.

Of the things I carry hiking that go zap, all but my iPhone uses a micro usb port to recharge.  The lifeproof fre power has a micro usb jack which is nice for me as I can now leave my iPhone cable at home.  Most of my trips are less than a week, so I rarely need to top my phone off, but this is still convenient for me.  I’ve encountered no issues with data transfer so the micro USB to iPhone lightning jack interface appears seamless to me.

One accessory I use quite a bit, and you could mount on many non-Lifeproof cases, is their Quickmount accessory.  It’s been on my phone for a few months now and is pretty solid.  For those who like to use Strava when biking and mount your phone on the handlebar, this is an option.

I’m getting ready to hit the trail this weekend and we’re expecting at least one gnarly river ford, rain, and snow.  I’ll report back if I experience any issues with this case but I plan on keeping it in my front zippered pocket throughout the hike.

(I’m too fat to be sponsored by anyone)

“(I’m too fat to be sponsored by anyone)”

Perhaps you should try backpacking food vendors…

^ I tried that- no dice :)

I have two lifeproof cases for iphone 4. I can tell you that they are not lifeproof. Maybe at first they are, but after a while the rubber bits crumble. One is pretty much held together with duct tape. Fortunately I found a replacement online (it’s hard to find accessories for older phones). I like the lifeproof cases, but they do have a shelf life. If you’re going to be somewhere really extreme, have a backup plan.