Blue_Bulldog

Before I get going, if this degenerates into an iPhone vs Android cage match, I'll lose faith in the world.

Ok, so I love my iPhone. He's named Jonas. Yeah, I named him. Anyway, I kept him zipped up in the inside pocket of my windbreaker the other day, and we got caught in a rain storm. I thought he'd be protected in there, but I was fifty seven varieties of wrong. Super rain damage, ended up having to open him up and do the bag of rice trick. He was ok for a bit but then, he succumbed to his injuries. RIP Jonas.

Ok, so an iPhone isn't the problem. Like every cop movie ever, he went down in the line of duty with 3 days till retirement. I have a new iPhone 5s being shipped to me. (Yay!!) Ok, here's the thing... how do you guys deal with the whole "Rain vs Phone" thing?

I don't use a case, because I find them cumbersome. I'm also unaware of waterproof cases. I don't think my backpacks are hardcore waterproof, and with a brand new phone thats so advanced the sucker reads fingerprints... I wanna protect him. I was thinking ziplock baggie...? But I'm not 100% about that. I'm always gonna ride in the rain if it's raining, because I'm not a....you know what.

How do you guys protect your mobile look at devices?

I-Like-To-Bike

I use a plastic bag to protect anything I carry in my gym bag while cycling that needs protection from rain.
Works fine, even for my $10 LG TracPhone.

Blue_Bulldog

Do you ever run your earbuds out through it?

ThermionicScott 

+1. A lot of handwringing in here when a simple Ziploc (or generic) bag would have done the job. Convenient way to carry one's ID/credit cards and spare TP, too.

I-Like-To-Bike

I don't use ear buds, but rather head phones and an mp3 player on a neck strap to listen to audio books while I ride. If the rain becomes heavy I either put the mp3 player in a sandwich bag then into a pocket, or take it off and put the mp3 player in the plastic bag in the gym bag.

The Dumb Tracphone stays in my gym bag and is seldom even turned on; bring it along only for emergencies and luckily have never needed it for that purpose. About the only time I use it is to call my wife if I will be late for dinner.

chriskmurray

Let me tell you why android is better.....




Actually, I could care less about the android vs Iphone debate. One thing I do like is with Casio makes a phone called the commando that uses the droid system and it is waterproof. It is as thin as any other phone and considering how many times my 3 year old has thrown it, spilled drinks on it, etc. It has been more than worth it.

Before this phone, the ziplock bag always seemed to do the trick. My backpack has a spot that claims to be waterproof for phones/ipods but they lie so I use a baggy for my not so waterproof electronics.

2manybikes

Sandwich bag. Cut off the zip lock part if it has them, and then pull tight over the front and tape it in back. One can talk and hear right through the bag.

wolfchild

I use zip lock bag, it has never failed to keep my cell phone dry during very heavy rain...or I can just keep my phone inside my messenger bag which is 100% waterproof.

wahoonc

Lifeproof cases are water proof. I know for a fact, my wife has tested hers several times by dropping it in the toilet. I use Android. Ziplock bags are cheaper than new phones, in many cases, depending on your carrier they may not cover water damage, read the fine print. I have had quite a few mil-spec phones in the past, they were great, unfortunately iPhone doesn't make one. Casio G'Zone is one of the best Android versions out there.

Aaron

1nterceptor

I just use whatever plastic bag I find to put my phone and wallet in, sometimes I might
use two bags just in case. Sometimes I might run my earphones from the bag stuffed in
my jersey pockets; up my back to my ears.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PHgafMCE7I

bragi

I live in Seattle, so I've actually put a little thought into this very subject:

1. I have really good rain gear that I sometimes wear over my regular clothes while riding. Anything that happens to be in my pockets, such as my Windows phone, is automatically safe. (No, I don't work for Microsoft; I just happen to like their phone. Stop laughing.)
2. In the event that I get caught out without my rain gear, or it's just too warm to wear rain gear while riding (wool is awesome), I also have waterproof panniers (Ortlieb). If I'm not in rain gear, my phone goes into a pannier. Nothing in my waterproof panniers, even in downpours, has ever gotten damp, let alone wet.

koolerb

I bought a Survivor+Catalyst waterproof case a few months ago. Its nice and compact, $50 from Amazon. The only downside is speakerphone now sounds like I'm talking from under water on the other end.

daihard 

Ive lost faith in you.

Blue_Bulldog

Yeah well, you know us latte sipping hipsters with our Apple devices. Always gotta get the word in there somehow.


Sounds to me like general consensus is ziplock baggie.

I wasn't too worried about my iPhone this time, because he was 3 days from retirement. Had it been normal circumstances, "devastated" is the word we're looking for here. Once my new 5s is here, I went ahead and ponied up the ten clams a month for Total Mobile Protection. This way, I'm more covered than just a ziplock and happy thoughts.

Also, I'm starting to think during the colder, rainier times here in Eastern NC... the mesh pocket on the side of my backpack may not be the best place to tuck an iPhone. Just top of my head, here.....

kingsqueak

If it is in a baggie zipped up to the headphone cable and inside a pocket of a jacket or pack it will likely be OK in rain. Your headphones may not survive driving water exposure though.

The ZipLoc Freezer bags are heavier plastic and zips. Better for reusing.

gerv 

I have a cheapo T-Mobile pay-as-you-go phone. It doesn't have a name and I rarely use it.

Fits nicely in a bag inside my pannier.

Roody

My cell phone is my only phone and I use it quite a bit. So, after years with tracfone, I switched to Metro PCS... $25 a month for unlimited talk and text.

Bug Shield

I tuck mine in some of the clothing I'm carrying anyway and that's inside an Ortlieb pannier. Works for me however I'm not trying to listen music on it and will make no effort to answer if I hear it ringing in there.

I wonder if the cable to your headphones didn't lead water down the wire right to your phone? Maybe you need a drip loop in the wire or better yet a bluetooth speaker/headphone?

MyBikeGotStolen

Like many others, I use a ziploc for my phone, and it has never failed me.

eja_ bottecchia

Communist!

roka

I live in Phoenix, what's this "rain" stuff? Actually this is a topic of concern for me too. We do, of course, get rain here. But it tends to come all at once during the monsoon storms. My solution is a Ziplock bag combined with a water resistant bag I bought at Wally World in the camping section. They came in a pack of 3 with each being a different size. The small one easily holds my iPhone and wallet. They're labeled as "water resistant" rather than "water proof." My system got a good test this past summer. My wife and I were out hiking on a day that promised 0% chance of rain. We were several miles out from the trailhead when the skies opened up! We hiked for an hour in a steady, fairly heavy rain. My iPhone and wallet were completely dry when to rain quit.

dcrowell

The ziplock is the easiest, cheapest, and simple to always have with you. Pack one in your bag, even when it's not raining.

I also bought a small waterproof plastic box during a canoe trip. My phone was in that, and I ended up submerged several times (I'm not a great canoeist). The phone never got damp. I'm sure it could handle a little rain. Then again, it cost $20 - a ziplock is much cheaper.

JReade

Ziploc has worked pretty well for me, I do have a smaller waterproof otterbox for when I'm on the boat, which I have used on longer rides when I have a bag and questionable weather.



There are a variety of waterproof cases, or if you don't like that, they have smaller waterproof bags that fit phones too..

https://www.basspro.com/DryCASE-Water...=1210020518342

this one has a headphone port as well.

I've also used saran wrap when I was stuck somewhere and it was raining and I had no bag, just wrap the heck out of it and it'll hold off water for you to get home.

LexKing

+1^This, then watch the nuud video.

tim24k

I keep my iphone in my Ortlieb waterproof panniers and in a ziplock bag. I know this is a overkill but I live in the rainy NW. It is the first generation iphone so it's about five years old and still going strong.