UKC

Keen to get people’s views on which smartphone can withstand outdoor use. Am fed up with my flimsy iphone’s inability to survive day to day life let alone the outdoors.

I am particularly interested in the experiences of outdoor professionals who can offer wise advice rather than “put it in a waterproof bag and don’t drop” type of advice!

Anyone with experience of the Cat S30?

Thanks.

Bought a Samsung A5 not for its durability but for it's camera... so also bought a 'LOVEMEI' aluminum phone case due to its built in attachment point  - it isn't getting dropped off any crags any time soon(used with some cord and a mailon)... Quite bulky but its taken a few decent knocks already.

I'm not a professional, so don't know if that makes my opinion worthless, but why not just get a hard wearing case? I must dropped my Motorola G model about 50 times and it's still fine. And seriously, just put it in a dry bag if there's risk of wet conditions. What is the above phone seriously going to offer in addition? Waterproofing to 30m depth seems overkill. 

Rugged iphone cases aren’t up to it and I do put it in a waterproof bag. I’m looking for a robust phone.

Thanks will have a look at the alum case.

I've been using a Samsung Xcover 3 around for the last couple of years. It's been dropped, frozen and spent several hours submerged in a rucksack after a bladder split and it still looks like new.

Probably not the greatest phone - the camera is fairly rubbish but it does everything I need it to and I see no reason to change it.  There is now an Xcover 4 which bizarrely seems to be cheaper than the older model. 

As a farmer I work outside in all weathers and manage to knock my phone about more frequently than I would like. It also gets abused whilst climbing and running.

My secondhand Samsung Galaxy S5 is still going strong after over 2 years of abuse.

I work as a landscape gardener which can be fairly tough on phones. My boss has had one of the cat phones for a few years now and likes it. It's the only phone that's lasted more than 6 months for him!

I've found that combining a waterproof (IP68) phone with a tough case and a decent screen protector has worked for me. I've dropped it regularly and only had to change the case or screen protector occasionally.

I chose a Sony Xperia z3 a few years back but there are more phones with that ip rating to choose from now. It's nice to just not worry about it when it starts raining and dry bags only work if you don't need to use the phone!

Not an outdoor professional, but bought a Doogee S60 a few months ago and have been very happy.  V. good spec for the price, and available from amazon rather than iffy online only Chinese stores like a lot of un-usual brands.  Gets good reviews on techradar.

Performance doesn't match the slickness of Samsung Galaxy or latest i-Phones, but certainly good enough for my use.  Battery lasts 2-3 days with gps, wireless and bluetooth enabled comfortably, wireless charging so you don't have to worry about knackering waterproof closures.  I use it with viewranger and works well.

Little bloatware (better than my old Sony X3 compact) but irritating news app that I can't get rid off, and a weird cat on a rope thing that leads you to an options menu that appears from time to time but other than that.....

Cheers!

Stu

Good question, one I've been looking at having smashed a couple of phones. In the market for a new not too expensive rugged/waterproof (or at least hard wearing) phone that has a decent spec and costs less then £200, and can be used unlocked, and isn't full of unwanted bloatware (I probably only use a dozen apps maximum).

Ulefone Armor/Armor 2 looks good (Chinese and ordered off the internet) and a friend that has one is happy and I've had a quick look at theirs and it seems good so I might go for that.

There's a couple of others like that about that don't seem as great, and then there's the option of a Motorola that has been mentioned that seems pretty hard-wearing, especially if you add an OK case in with it.

There's the new Land rover phone that looks promising. Brand new so no long term reviews at the moment but seems to tick all your boxes.

I use a rugged case supplemented with a waterproof bag when it's really wet for my iPhone. It's seen some big bangs, downpours and general crap treatment and still works fine. What are you doing to your phone that this doesn't cut it?!?!?!!?!

Like I think he said I think it's as much about day-to-day usage. My phone has been broken in daily use rather than outdoors use. I want a rugged phone to stop that happening daily and not have the faf with a case and a bag.

Iphones seem particularly bad when it comes to durability, given most of the cracked screens that I see are iphones. Aluminium cased phones and those with screens that wrap around the edges also look flash but do F all to attenuate shock if the phone is dropped. My Moto G1 literally just got replaced with a G5 due to it becoming too slow but I dropped it no end. The G5 seems just as robust and cheap by comparison. With a PU case fitted it is essentially the same as all these Android phones that market themselves for robustness, minus the full waterproofing. A PU/plastic shell is a PU/plastic shell however you market it. I think I've demonstrated well enough to myself that you get enough shock attenuation from a fitted case. 

My three year old phone case has saved my phone many many times.  There is a lot to be said for a good shell with a shock absorbing inner.

Admittedly I don't work "on the hill" but I do work outside from time to time and my phone has been dropped from 1.5m a few times.

Have you considered a Nokia 3310?

Re: ulefone armor 2, I think there's an even newer one too. Great specs on paper, and seemed good, but after a while mine would randomly reboot, and would also randomly not connect to the mobile internet network. And, even if it did it would take a long time to connect after reboot or exiting airplane mode.

Usually when I travel I rely heavily on my mobile, things like: tickets, travel connections, walking directions, etc. If it takes half an hour and a whole bunch of reboots to connect, that doesn't work for me.

Unfortunately their customer service sucked, and finally I got fed up and bought a sony xz2 compact wiht protective cover.

So, I heavily recommend against purchasing a ulefone. The likes of Samsung and Sony have huge teams of engineers working to make the phone perform well, these small companies haven't got the money for that, so when things go wrong, they really go wrong.

As an aside, I still haven't found a phone that performs well with sweaty fingers (when I'm out for a run) or in the rain.

Thanks, that's useful to know and will probably stop me getting one.

Surely there's a market for a medium sized medium priced simple rugged phone with no bloatware that runs well?

I threw (dropped) my iPhone off the top of the Roaches sans case and it improved it's performance. It had been taking a bit of wiggling to get it to charge but now it works every time. 

Otterbox cases are well known for their superior protection. It's available for all the popular smart phones. They do look chunky but very reasonable compared to it's competitors...beyond dust and water resistance, I don't think any phone is particularly 'rugged' in it's build.

I've haven't cracked a screen or broken  an IPhone ever. My 3gs lasted 4 years before the battery would only last a couple of hours and it was too slow to run new apps. My 4s is still going after 3 years, the only protection it normally has is one of those knitted socks, its even survived in my rucksack back pocket when I  crashed off my mountain bike and landed on my back on rocky ground. If its wet I've got a wahoo fitness rigid waterproof case, which makes it nigh on indestructible.

I've come to the conclusion that all these people with broken screens are just careless, and treat their phones as disposable because they'll be getting a new one on contract every 12 months.

I don't faff around with changing the case though (as I'm sure nobody else does either) so all and the same.

My S5, without a case, put up with three years of drowning and dropping before it finally died. I got an S8 and it cracked in the first week while it was in my pocket. hold on tight to that S5! 

 I'd like to know this too. My research led my to the Ulefone Armour 2 but it doesn't have 3.5mm jack which rules it out for me.

Why do they sell phones that require everyone to immediately put them inside cases (sold separately)? They could build the "case" into the chassis of the phone and it would be more durable, smaller and lighter. It's like buying a car that comes without rust proof paint or a windscreen. 

Samsung S7 in a Lifeproof Fre case.  The case is waterproof-ish, the phone is waterproof, and I'm a great experiment for impact protection features because I drop my phone.  A lot.  I've had this set-up for a year and a half and while the case looks a bit worn out, the phone inside it is in mint condition.  The screen also works when it's wet, so you can use your phone in the rain. 

I had one of those cheap Chinese rugged phones before I got the Samsung -- total waste of money.  It was sluggish, buggy, and the glue that attached the rubber casing to the rest of the phone eventually melted and the rubber detatched itself.

I bought a dooge s60 from china, its been really good so far (I've had it about 8 months), and it is pretty cheap given the specs. 

I'm a landscape gardener and I've had this phone https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01LXVMAVQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=... for the best part of 2 years now. Its been dusty, wet (soaked) and dropped multiple times but still looks and works fine. The camera takes OK photos and the battery life is pretty good. Its chunky compared to an iPhone but its designed to be robust. All in all I've been pretty pleased with it.

Before this Phone I had one of the Cat S something phones, which I was also quite happy with (although on balance I probably prefer my current phone), bud sadly the screen didn't take too well to having a 600x900 council paving slab dropped on it!

I read up on the Land Rover phone. It sounds really good so I went to my provider to see if I can get a deal going. 

Was about to say that. I break a phone almost weekly. You can get shock proof cases that absorb impacts, and they've worked the best for me