In my opinion, the ever-invasive cell phone is perhaps the most valuable EDC asset you have. Yup. I’m sure I’ll catch some flak for this as plenty of people feel you shouldn’t have any reliance on electronics during an emergency. Personally, I say be able to make use of any and all tools at your disposal and to NEVER rely solely on any one item.
With this in mind, a cell phone is a potentially great tool for disasters. No doubt the most obvious use is the ability to reach out for help either by calling or by text (usually the better option) but that means the cell towers must still function to some degree and that your call/text can get through when the lines are probably overloaded. These are both huge unknowns.
Moreover, I won’t try to lay out more potential reasons why a cell phone is still super useful for an emergency but, suffice-it-to-say that smartphones are more useful during an emergency than most people realize. This is with the understanding that you should be ready to deal with an emergency without it too.
This post is really about protecting your cell phone with an appropriate case and other tools to ensure it’s there when you need it most…
Considering that most people have smartphones, specifically an iPhone, we’ll focus on those. Now, my wife has had a iPhone for years whereas I’ve only recently upgraded. But beware that not all phone cases will work to protect your phone when you need it to the most. We know this first-hand. For instance, my wife once dropped her phone at just the right wrong angle and cracked the screen which we had to replace (that DIY fix sucks by the way).
She was using an inferior case–can’t remember what it is right now–and had since then upgraded to the Otterbox which is a solid case for the price and even comes in different colors:
The above is for a iPhone 4 case which is what we have but they certainly make Otterbox iPhone 5 Cases as well. You apparently do need to pay attention to your iPhone 5 model with the Otterbox for some reason or another. And if you have a Samsung Galaxy they make cases for those too.
As much of a fan of the Otterbox cases for protection as we are, I was recently introduced to a new PureGear DualTek Extreme Terrain iPhone 5 Case to review but since neither my wife nor I own one, I shipped it off to my brother-in-law who had some good things to say about it:
First note that this case is the upgraded “extreme terrain” one. They make a significantly less expensive model if you prefer and, again, they come in multiple colors; depending on the color you can get a real bargain. The “extreme terrain” model appears to only come in two colors: black and blue.
FYI, here’s a few facts from Amazon about the extreme terrain case:
- CERTIFIED IP65 RATING FOR DUSTPROOF AND WATER RESISTANCE
- BUILT-IN SCREEN SHIELD
- SHOCK ABSORBING CORNER IMPACT PROTECTION
- SECURE AND COMFORTABLE GRIP
- MILITARY STANDARD APPROVED
It’s designed to REALLY protect your phone! This is certainly a good thing in everyday life, particularly if you’re prone to dropping it, but definitely during an emergency situation. So here’s some things he mentioned that I remembered:
- He liked the feel a lot. In fact, it looked an awful lot like my Otterbox case and may have been a bit slimer too. Considering that phones just get bigger and bigger (and so do cases) that would be a nice benefit.
- The case comes with a built-in screen protector. This means no more messing around trying to get those silly bubbles out of the screen protectors. 🙂 I would have loved that! Apparently, he did as well.
- For some reason he says that the case makes it easier to press (actually, I think you just touch it like the screen) the large home button at the bottom of the phone. I can’t see why that would be the case but that’s what he said.
- He’s dropped it multiple times and never a problem. This would be a HUGE benefit to know your phone is going to be safe because if there’s ever a time when you’re likely to drop it, you’ll be in a hurry… or talking on it over the toilet. 😉
Apparently, the PureGear DualTek Extreme Terrain iPhone 5 Case is a quality solution and one that my brother-in-law liked a lot.
I also want to briefly mention the Kenu Security Leash which I was also sent to review but can’t and so I sent it to my sister-in-law. The idea is that it’s basically a bungeed case that can be tied to something like a zipper or belt loop.
I liked the thought and if the Kenu Leash were something that could be attached to other cases I would certainly recommend it but since you have to use the provided Kenu case, which I doubt compares in protection with the Otterbox or Dualtek for sure, I can’t.
Remember that you need to think about these types of things now. You may have never dropped your phone or feel that your case is “good enough” because you didn’t want to spend more money that you had to. I get it. We’ve been there. But also remember that when you need one of your most valuable EDC assets to be there when you really need it, you’ll be glad you bought a quality case.
I should also point out that the MOST likely “disaster” is the personal kind where something happens ONLY to you and not the entire grid. Something like getting a flat tire late at night on a desolate road, for example, would necessitate reaching out for help. I can almost guarantee that this when you’re going to drop your phone. 😉
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