Leashing my iPhone

October 2, 2009 2:31 PM

I am looking for an iPhone lanyard for using in situations where dropping my phone would mean losing my phone. I need to be able to text and call while lanyard is attached to the inside of a pocket.

I spend a LOT of time on my snowboard. I use my phone to rendezvous with other people, which usually means texting from the lift. It is pretty common to lose your phone while texting with cold hands, and I have participated in more than one mad dash from the top of the mountain for phone recovery. On a big powder day, dropped items are lost completely. I don't want Pratt-case style nylon - ideally case is robust and made of rubber or some other material that holds up to elements and provides a small amount of protection. Phone usually sits in my front left pants pocket. Got any ideas?

posted by chuke to shopping (6 comments total)

I don't know about a case for this, but I have seen lanyards that are extendable which would be good so you don't have a ton of cord bundled in your pocket. You could get one like people who have carded entry to a building would use, and clip that onto whatever case you find.
posted by Pomo at 2:34 PM on October 2

Have you looked at anything OtterBox makes?... They have this one... its rugged and includes a lanyard (if its to short, maybe you could remove it and use the same hole to install a longer one yourself?)
posted by jmnugent at 2:56 PM on October 2

totally not what you're asking for, but I have these and they work great. North Face e-tip gloves. You can use the iphone without taking your gloves off.
posted by muscat at 3:00 PM on October 2

I don't think there are any waterproof iPhone play-through cases, I've looked. The Otterbox Defender tries the hardest, by covering up all the ports. You can always stick the thing in a ziplock bag, or a purpose-built solution.

You can probably attach a retractable security tether to it. Don't use the drugstore ones sold for ID badges and the like, I've broken them on a regular basis, they don't retract very far or powerfully, and the clips and will break before the cord does. Use the ones for screwdrivers and hammers.

Regardless, it's going to be hard to keep the phone attached if it's 5 feet dragging behind you in the snow, so you need to make sure it's somewhere semi-secure before you head down.

I've done the lost iPhone dance before. I've thankful someone turned it into lost and found. I'm not sure if locking it with a passcode was a help or hindrance.
posted by meowzilla at 11:23 PM on October 2

The Sealine bag or another dry bag was my first instinct, but they are actually pretty bulky, don't fit into the front pants pocket well (this is important as it has been a great location for the phone during crashes/impacts, for some reason, the phone never gets hit in that pocket) and aren't that great when you need to use the phone - you can do it, but the screen has a hard time responding to touch.

The Defender is an option, but also pretty bulky and no lanyard. I would have to drill a hole in the back of the case and find a way to attach a cord, which is a possibility, but my first look at it seemed to indicate that the cord-mount and the phone wouldn't fit inside together. A regular otterbox is no-go - you have to remove the phone to use the phone, which means I still have the same problem.

Ideally, I would find something like this but heavier duty with a bomber place to attach a length of 3 mil accessory cord (trying to avoid any sort of lanyard with plastic bits or clips as that stuff seems to break when sitting at 6 degrees). Might have to keep looking or tool-dip my phone, I guess ;-)
posted by chuke at 8:15 AM on October 3

I had an artisan make me a case. It wasn't that expensive and gave me the three things I wanted:
-room for my phone with the Mophie Air Juice battery attached
-a lanyard attachment, and
-my name stamped on it.
If he can make it in leather, he can probably make it in rubber or vinyl. Email me for details.
posted by flowerofhighrank at 12:01 AM on October 7