Crunch, Drop, Drown: We Test "Rugged" Smartphone Cases

[Guest]

We took 5 smartphone cases and showed them a rough time: sand, water, dropping onto concrete, and crunching with an iron weight. Which one wins?

Crunch, Drop, Drown: We Test "Rugged" Smartphone Cases : Read more

 

[Stealth42o]

Ummm, I see the Otterbox Defender, and I see the Griffin Survivor, however I do not see a Griffen Defender. Furthermore the Griffin Defender is 49.95 not 26.95 (Anyone proof read these?)

 

[robd007]

" Thicker than a couple of the others, but that could be because it actually has four layers – a hard inner case/screen protector, a softer silicone shell to absorb shock, a clip-on super-tough."

great! i love clipon super tough's!

 

[Stealth42o]

[citation][nom]robd007[/nom]" Thicker than a couple of the others, but that could be because it actually has four layers – a hard inner case/screen protector, a softer silicone shell to absorb shock, a clip-on super-tough."great! i love clipon super tough's![/citation]
[citation][nom]Stealth42o[/nom]Ummm, I see the Otterbox Defender, and I see the Griffin Survivor, however I do not see a Griffen Defender. Furthermore the Griffin Survivor is 49.95 not 26.95 (Anyone proof read these?)[/citation]

 

[robd007]

hahah i didnt even realize the 'winner' is a combo of both names....thx for pointing that out stealth

 

[silverblue]

I think it would've been more sensible to title this article Crunch, Drop, Drown: We Test "Rugged" iPhone Cases.

 

[thebigt42]

[citation][nom]Stealth42o[/nom]Ummm, I see the Otterbox Defender, and I see the Griffin Survivor, however I do not see a Griffen Defender. Furthermore the Griffin Defender is 49.95 not 26.95 (Anyone proof read these?)[/citation]
You sold my thunder...I read that a said hey wait a minute...that was not on the list..I guess the editor need to do a little editing!

 

[dallaswits]

My Evo 4G had a ton of cases to chose from.

 

[11796pcs]

Is it just me or do people who are really protective of their phones buy these types of cases- which totally takes away the point of owning one.

 

[c4v3man]

Hmmm... spend $50 on a case that keeps the phone from getting damaged from MOST accidents, possibly protecting data integrity better,
OR
Spend $50 for a year's worth of insurance, ensuring that replacement expenses are kept low ($50-80) in the event that ANYTHING happens to my phone including losing it. Obviously you stand a greater chance of destroying your data by having an unprotected phone, but having a small, svelte phone as opposed to a rubber brick sounds like a better option to me. With the anti-scratch coatings on nearly all new smartphones, cases/screen protectors are largely useless.

 

[jasonpwns]

[citation][nom]Stealth42o[/nom]Ummm, I see the Otterbox Defender, and I see the Griffin Survivor, however I do not see a Griffen Defender. Furthermore the Griffin Defender is 49.95 not 26.95 (Anyone proof read these?)[/citation]

http/www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&q=Griffin+survivor&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=7410992210717975520&sa=X&ei=0_ikTc6GLMfr0gH60Yj9CA&ved=0CDgQ8wIwAw#

Because you cannot read can you?

 

[adamboy64]

This is half the reason I'm still on a featurephone. Smartphones really don't work in particular industries - too fragile.

Good article though, cheers.

 

[toughbook]

Very Interesting article indeed. Instead of a piece of wood in place of an actual phone I would have had several pieces of glass cut to the size of the iPhone to better show the real protection abilities. But hey, that's just my opinion.

I have a bad habit of buying rugged cases for my iPhone.... I am an automotive technician and a rugged case is a must have, believe me!

I have the Otterbox Defender, Griffin, and the Ballistic. I find the Otterbox being to much of a square and not very comfortable either in my hand, pocket and the clip digs into your side if you bend down or such. My least used case of them all.
I really like the Griffin for many reasons including the feel and dexterity of the outside rubber. The only downside I have experienced with the Griffin is the phone will pop out, fall out of the clip. It just clips on the top and bottom without much clamping force.
The Ballistic is a very nice case as well. Outside rubber is nice like the Griffin, and I find that it has the best clip of the 3 I have.
The only downside to any type of ruggedized case is they do not slip in your pocket very well at all for obvious reasons and they mostly are not meant too so I can't really knock em for that. Sometimes if you don't have a belt or wearing shorts I like to slip it into my pocket which is difficult. I have a couple of cheap plastic slip on cases for times when I know I don't need protection for awhile.

Bottom line from my usuage, which too me is the best test in my opinion is that I find myself using the Griffin and ballistic the most. I have not used the Otterbox except for the 1st 2 weeks after I got it and that's it. I really liked the 3G iPhone Otterbox much better, wish they could have stayed with that same style and material. I see that they have anew model coming out or maybe it's already out.

 

[Guest]

I have the Otter Defender for my 3Gs and it's an absolute fantastic case. By comparison, my wife has the Otter Defender for her 4s, and it's an absolute flimsy POS.

 

[Kalvan81230]

The next time I need to protect a block of wood, I'll come back and check out this article.

I recently dropped a Nexus 5 in a "bump" case from waist height. There was no scuffing, no scratching, no obvious damage. However, half my screen was blank, and the touch screen did not work correctly.

Honestly, smart phones are much too fragile, but tests like this one really don't help.

How about running a drop test on every phone you test? Waist height and ear height would answer most of our questions. And then, rate any phone that doesn't survive as "unacceptable". When looking at cases, why not look at their warranty. If they don't put phone replacement into their warranty, rate the case "unacceptable" - I mean, if they won't stand behind the one reason for having a case, why should we buy that case?