[pct-l] Protective phone case

[Jim Marco]

Ya' know,	
	One of the things I did for my wife was to purchase a separate phone for the trail. It was fairly expensive but had all the newest wizbangs and a good battery(about a 450hour life, depending) with GPS and a good 16gig card. I believe you can get 32 gig cards relatively cheaply these days. It was completely ruggedized(MIL spec) and waterproof. I believe I used it maybe a 8-10 times during a 1000 mile trip, it lasted about 1/3 of the way so I only needed to charge it twice on that trip over the couple months I was out. On the NFCT it did worse for battery, but I got turned around on one of the lake crossings and was on the wrong creek...perhaps the ONLY time I liked the GPS (I would normally continue on to the next landmark, not finding it, double back to my last known good position.) I rarely use it because I do not believe being outdoors should eliminate your risk, nor should it spot you everywhere you go. Where is the fun in not getting lost or no risk? Hell, that's why people still climb a rock or two. Anyway, ignoring philosophy, you don't need a case. And it comes with a soft rubber coating to survive drops and falls. The wife has the other phone at home. Like any other item on the trail, it needs to be robust enough to handle an occasional drop on the rocks or squeezing into a ditty bag. 
	Corse, this was a few years ago. I am not sure what you can get, today. As a piece of backpack gear, it has lasted about 5 years, so it still functioned as a phone, but doesn't have a touch screen or all the niceties of a smart phone. Except on a peak, most phones do not work on the trail. Satphones do. But even these can be disrupted by heavy forest or in ravines/valleys. I believe that the Backpacking Light site just published a set of articles about Satphones, but you have to sign up for a subscription to read them. Anyway, again, I am not sure what they are offering, these days. Mostly, you do not need special boxes and stuff, you just need the correct tool for the job at hand. 
	My thoughts only . . .
		jdm