Rugged smartphone

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 bouldery bits 05 May 2022

Hello!

My venerable, old Gen1 Landrover phone is reaching the end of it's life (it doesn't want to charge which makes it, well, not very useful.) 

What're people using as a tough, waterproof, droppable, sort of capable telecommunications device these days? Android please! 

I don't fancy a normal phone and case combo as this has never quite worked for me in the past. Thank you though! 

BB

 nathan79 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

I've currently got an Ulefone Armor 8. Decent spec and performance. Camera isn't amazing but not terrible. I've got this one in October 2020 so a newer versions is likely available. 

 girlymonkey 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Another Ulefone armor user here. Weighs a ton, needs a wheelbarrow to carry around, but is waterproof and shockproof!

 a crap climber 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Got a Blackview 6300 pro. It was the most compact one I could find, it's still the biggest and heaviest phone I've had but not as brick like as some of the others out there.

Not sure if I'd have one again, the touch screen went a bit temperamental though is mostly ok now. Not much customer support in the UK 

 Marek 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Ulefone X7 here. A bit heavy, but well protected and the battery lasts ages (I use it as a bike satnav not as a phone and can get a day's continual use out of it on one charge).

 Durbs 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Personally I have a normal phone (OnePlus 7t) but put it in a UAG case - caveat that this particular phone isn't waterproof, but my wife's Pixel 6 is - and also uses a UAG case, and recently bounced 3-time on a hard stone floor before falling into a (very cold!) swimming pool and sinking to 1.4m. 

When this hero retrieved it from said freezing pool, it worked perfectly fine - a message came up saying it detected water in the usb port, but this cleared after 10 minutes.

Both our phones are regularly dropped and chewed by a baby and older children - so pretty tough, without sacrificing the actual phone.

[Edit: Just seen your last sentence about not wanting a phone+case combo, sorry!]

Post edited at 09:45
 EdS 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

my Huawei P9 pro is still going strong (5 years or so) and is SWMBO's Samsung S20

Both have been climbing, kayaking and as a cameras on numberous caving trips

 ExiledScot 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Don't rule out a normal phone and something like an otter box, they are better than any case I've had before. 

 David Bowler 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Catphone S42 works for me.

 grectangle 06 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

I've had a BV7000 pro for a few years, 150 quid new on eBay.  It's been on a 6 week long walk around Scotland and fell out of my pocket nearly topping out on a 15 m climb, no issues.  Battery life is good, camera is good.  It was my first smartphone and have nothing to compare it to, but I think it does the all the smartphone things.

 Niall_H 07 May 2022
In reply to nathan79:

Does the Armor still need a funny charging cable?  I had an earlier one, and having a non-standard USB lead (it needed the plastic housing on the plug to be narrower than most, so as to fit through the exterior plastic) was a significant pain.

 deepsoup 07 May 2022
In reply to Niall_H:

I was about to add a +1 to nathan79's post, I have an Armor8 too and like it very much.  It takes a standard USB-C connector, and I've never tried one that didn't fit.

It is a chunk though.  I ended up keeping my much smaller old phone for regular use, and because I couldn't be arsed swapping a SIM back and forth got a cheap PAYG sim for the Ulefone.  That's worked out well, I like my old phone as it's nice and small and the Ulefone has extended it's life by allowing me to ditch a load of apps off it that I don't need on both.  It's nice leaving the regular phone behind when I go outdoors and getting a sense of being 'off grid', but still having a phone that can be used for emergencies (and as a GPS device).

 Marek 07 May 2022
In reply to Niall_H:

> Does the Armor still need a funny charging cable? 

My Armor X7 has a totally standard micro usb connector. Any cable works.

 Niall_H 07 May 2022
In reply to Marek:

Cool!  Cheers for the info!

 nathan79 07 May 2022
In reply to Niall_H:

No. Mine is a standard USB-C

I had a similar issue with a previous rugged phones. The Micro USB-B cable it came with was twice the length of a regular one .

 JohnnyW 07 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

On my second Ulefone Armor, this time a 7E. The first one was mega tough, with a great battery life, but the camera was poor, so I changed it. This one is a 48mp camera, and with a 5000mah battery. Yes, it is bigger than I would have chosen, but once I got used to it, it's the dogs.

I am a full-time leader, so it gets some serious battering in all weathers, and still looks in better nick than my wife's!

OP bouldery bits 07 May 2022
In reply to bouldery bits:

Thank you all!

Lots of knowledge here. I'm giving the Ulefone Armor X10 pro a go. Let's see!


New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...