[Closed] Tough iPhone case

Otterbox Defender from eBay. Use on both mine and work's iPhone 5.

How much?!?!
o_O

Colleague of known clumsiness was given his company iPhone in a Griffin Survivor (about £20), which was just as well, as he left it on his car roof, it fell off & he drove over it. Lived to make another call...
Also Otterbox have a good rep.

I have a Lifeproof case on my 4S and it's generally good, but it wont' stop the screen from getting broken. Waterproof, rustproof, neat and low profile, fully functional in the case.

The Lunatik Taktik case is tougher, has Gorilla Glass over the screen, but it's expensive and bulky and while it's water resistant, for some reason best known to Lunatik, it ain't actually fully waterproof, though you'd probably need to immerse it to realise. That said, I got moisure inside the case from it sitting in a windproof jacket back pocket on the road - just vapour from sweat was enough to get inside it.

Lifedge is worth a look too, though I've not used one.

With both Lifeproof and the Lunatik case, eBay is overrun with fakes, so be careful who you buy from.

Lifeproof all the way. Had one on my 4S since it was new, no regrets. I work in forestry and the phone takes an absolute beating, i never remove it from the case. I'm also fairly confident that my phone is brand new inside the case.

Jumping in to promote the business my wife works for. LIFEDGE
They've recently launched their own waterproof case for iPhone 5 and 5s. Matches the lifeproof for spec, but way nicer materials and better performance. Designed AND made in the UK, so that's groovy and matches lifeproof for cost I think.

Www.Lifedge.could.uk

Whoops. Damn predictive text
Www.Lifedge.co.uk

They have nice bike mount that let's you film while riding as well.

I had a Lifeproof for my 4s. Can't get one just yet for my 5c so I got a Griffin Survivor. Used then many times and good cases. Just more bulky than Lifeproof and not submersible.

Shame no lifedge 5c case ....

Thanks all. Shall take a look at those links when I've finished dredging our pond 🙁

As for Lifedge 5c case. Very true. But they are only a surprisingly small company and the amount of money tooling for this sort of thing costs is quite frightening (for a small company!)

It's a shame as they look good and I'd much rather support a UK company, but I've got very used to the fingerprint auth...

julioflo - What chance a Galaxy S3 case?

I used to have an Otterbox, middle of the range type, commuter I think. it was very good, when I got a new phone a got an Otterbox Defender and I don't like it. Good protection but the outer rubber case has gone baggy.

I was thinking of getting the Lifeproof one.

Lifeproof.

[img] [/img]

The Lunatik Taktik case is tougher, has Gorilla Glass over the screen, but it's expensive and bulky and while it's water resistant, for some reason best known to Lunatik, it ain't actually fully waterproof, though you'd probably need to immerse it to realise. That said, I got moisure inside the case from it sitting in a windproof jacket back pocket on the road - just vapour from sweat was enough to get inside it.

I've just had a good look at the Lifedge case, and I really like the look of those, nice to see it's made in Totnes, too, I holiday not too far from there in South Devon, South Hams in fact.
One question, can a lanyard be attached to it? I use one all the time on my TakTik, partly security when it's in my pocket, partly ease of use when I'm using it to take photos, 'cos I hang it round my neck, or tuck it into a top pocket.

Count zero.
Yep it's from good old totnes!
Yes a lanyard can be attached. They even have a floaty lanyard wrist attachment available...

Got a lifeproof which is great but interested in the lifeedge. Work in Totnes at another underwater company...

Yay! Thanks, julioflo, that's great. I now know what case I'll be getting when I upgrade later this year.
It's really good to find a British company making quality stuff like this, and I'm more than happy to support them. Thanks, and I've bookmarked the site, ready for when a suitable case is available.
When I first got the 5, it was a while before the TakTik case was available, so I had a basic plastic case on mine. The need for a good one was brought home walking down a very steep lane, (down to Hallsands, as it happens), and I fumbled the phone putting it back in my pocket. I watched in horror as it cartwheeled end over end half a dozen times down the Tarmac before coming to rest. Fortunately it sustained one tiny little ding in the bottom plate by a speaker.
The phone was less than a month old...

If the Lifedge is actually moulded in the UK I'm impressed and would deffo look at buying one

Frankers - yes all parts moulded, assembled and packaged in the UK.

I used to have an Otterbox, middle of the range type, commuter I think. it was very good, when I got a new phone a got an Otterbox Defender and I don't like it. Good protection but the outer rubber case has gone baggy.

Otterbox have got the best warranty replacement of any company I have ever dealt with, I have a defender on my note 2, work s3 and I pad and everytime I have had an issue, they were replace within the week.

I have had a few go baggy and one where the screen cover split (my fault) and there was no queries.

I

Just wanted to resurrect this thread. I've been perusing the Lifedge, Lifeproof and Otterbox offerings and can't make my mind up. At the moment I use a sandwich bag which is great at keeping sweaty condensation out and for most typical ride functions I don't need to take it out. The main limitation is taking pictures, which does require taking the phone out of the bag.

Main requirements are therefore water-proof, ability to use camera, touch screen and make/hear calls with mucky gloves/fingers, some shock protection (but not the priority) and preferably not too bulky.

I'm leaning towards the Lifeproof Fre at the moment purely because it is slimmer than the Otterbox Preserver. I'm not sold on the Otterbox Defender because I don't think it would be water proof enough. The Lifedge is an unknown quantity but I'm happy to test one for a discount 🙂

My old Otterbox defender or similar gave up the ghost a little while back, and I've had some problems with dirt, or water I think getting in the dock connector.

So looking at the options, ended up with another Otterbox, this time a Commuter - stick-on screen protector but otherwise similar, slimmer / neater than the defender too. Glad to have some protection of the headphone / dock jacks.

stick-on screen protector

I should have added, another requirement is a case that is easy to take the phone in and out of. I will only use the case for outdoor activities so don't want something fiddly to remove.

I've been looking recently too as my sandwich bag is getting a bit shabby. I'm a bit stuck between Lifeedge and Lifeproof, veering towards lifeedge as it looks nicer and is made in the UK. Case and bike mount is £20 more expensive than the lifeproof equivalent, however that UK made thing is surely worth it....?

Been talking to the sales lady over email - your wife julioflo?

the defender had a screen protector that was part of the case - but a bit fiddly to remove - maybe with practice it was OK, but the stretching eventually did for the rubber outer and it split in several places.

i use an otterbox two piece slip on jobbie day to day, and an armour when i'm in the workshop or playing. really good cases. the defender is also good but not waterproof. so if thats not a need its a good call too.

Recently got one of the Griffin Survivor cases for my 5 and seems decent for me. I'm not dunking it or going swimming with it but I've tested it's waterproofness as recommended in the instructions and it was as tight as a tight thing so all happy!

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00BFRWXUW/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lifeproof - chucked mine down the stairs (by accident) 3 flights onto hard surface and phone and case fine, also ran it over in mud filled puddle whilst following the FoD enduro course on Outdoors App, rinsed it off (with personal mobile warm water supply) to keep using it, then fresh cold water later and all ok. No worries until I lost the earphone plug and the dock cover snapped off - still great with dropping, just no longer waterproof but am too cheap to replace

Just got a couple of new iPhones for our buisness.
We're in construction so they need protecting well,
So we splashed out and got a couple of lifeproof cases
And so far so good.

After spotting the Lifeproof for the right side of £50 at John Lewis I've ordered one of them. I'll report back after a bit of a play...

Some of those cases cost the same as my phone! 😯

(Which, incidently, is 7yrs old and unscratched)
8)

^ lol

Some of our phones cost considerably more than yours and are worth protecting 😉

sbob - Member
Some of those cases cost the same as my phone!

(Which, incidently, is 7yrs old and unscratched)

stilltortoise - Member

Some of our phones cost considerably more than yours and are worth protecting

Day four of a music festival and you'd be surprised how much an old phone with three-quarters battery life left is worth. 😉

Fleeced those "smartphone" users for a mint! 😆

CountZero - Member

Yeah, well, your average sixty quid dumbphone isn't likely to get the sort of use that a six hundred quid smartphone is likely to get

I'm [i]fairly[/i] sure in the seven or eight years I've had my phone it has had more use than an Apple phone that was released less than six months ago.

what with being used as a camera, navigation device, etc

What, you don't use your phone as a nutcracker? 😆

which is why it's worth putting on a case that cost a tenth of the price of the phone.

My disbelief was at the need to spend so much additional money on such an already expensive item to make it functional. 💡

Which Lifeproof model are folk using?

I got a Nuud for my 5s and it completely muffled the microphone - no one could hear me on a call.

Had to send it back. Apparently quite common.

Apart from that it was a very good case...

Dorset_knob, I guess that any case designed to be waterproof is going to impact audio quality to some extent. I'm certainly interested in finding out by how much, but I hope it's better than my current "case" which is a sandwich bag.

My disbelief was at the need to spend so much additional money on such an already expensive item to make it functional.

Do you copy and paste this [s]troll[/s] response into the threads about suspension, dropper posts, disc brakes and all the other stuff that us mountain bikers don't really need for our already functional bikes?

😆

I got a Nuud for my 5s and it completely muffled the microphone - no one could hear me on a call.

Just a thought. Where did you buy it from? Whilst doing my research it became abundantly apparent that such cases are often fakes on sites like Amazon, so maybe yours was not a genuine case. I'm not sure how you can tell they're copies until you get them into your hands, which is why I was pleased I could buy mine at a reasonable price from somewhere less likely to be selling fakes.

It wasn't a fake - bought from authorised dealer etc. I think the fakes don't have all the usual packaging, stickers and build quality etc. I think you'd know if you had one.

I'm not sure how you can make a waterproof phone without muffling the mic a little, at least - but then I'm not paid to design such things either. I got someone to call me from the phone, and I could literally hear nothing even when I knew the caller was shouting. Shame because the case looked really cool and I loved the idea of not needing to worry about the phone.

I've used www.M-Techdesigns.com cases for a while now both on 4 and 5 iPhones as have a few of my friends. Lots of drops and no damaged phones.

Not waterproof though but lovely looking and great protection. Oh and my parents make em 🙂

Are lifedge doing cases for the Samsung S4? I'd rather buy british...

UPDATE
got my lifeproof fre yesterday so thought I'd give some initial feedback:

Pros
- Slim and lightweight. For a waterproof, shockproof case it really is neat and adds surprisingly little bulk
- Doesn't noticeably affect call quality at my end and the other caller made no comments so assume ok at their end too
- All buttons/ports accessible and usable, although headphone jack needs unscrewing and optional adaptor added (included)
- Main bit of screen is very responsive considering

Cons
- even at a reduced price of £50 it feels over-priced. Still, if it does the job it's worth it
- The home button and the edges of the screen are not as responsive as I'd hoped. I can see why they have created the Nuud version