Waterproof phone pouch?

July 6, 2022 12:14 PM

My iPhone is theoretically waterproof (iPhone 13 Pro), but please recommend me some kind of secure, reliably waterproof bag or phone pouch with a strap that I can wear while going down a water slide or chasing my kid in the waves at the beach?

Bonus points if I can use the phone while it remains inside.

Bonus points if the strap is wide and flat, rather than a thin string or rope.

Extra extra bonus points if the whole thing floats.

I've been looking at this this, but love the durability of the Pelican cases that I've used in the past for camera equipment, so have been eying this. I'm also open to a solution that involves a Spibelt and their waterproof pouch, if folks have experience with that.

posted by joyceanmachine to Technology (8 answers total)

Those seem nice, but maybe also overkill? I use one like this $9.99 one and it has served me well on kayaks, on boat trips, and at the beach. I can absolutely use my phone through it. Not sure if it floats, though, as I've never taken it off or had reason to dunk it. It does have a flat neck strap instead of a string. It being so lightweight made the process of wearing it much less annoying.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:17 PM on July 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

There are many products like the ones that D.O.T. links to. We picked up a couple at Eddie Bauer for like ten bucks. They have a piece of foam inside to make sure they "bulk up" and hold on to enough air to be buoyant. If they leak, they both flood and sink. :7(

A friend who had just been to the same area said they worked fine, but we had an inexpensive action cam for actually going underwater, and one of us was always dry when we were above the surface -- so ultimately we didn't need ours. Our buddy said they are great at keeping the water out, though they can result in slightly blurry pictures.
posted by wenestvedt at 12:27 PM on July 6, 2022

The sweet spot between DirtyOldTown's link and the products you mention might be the Nite Ize RunOff waterproof pocket. I've never used one myself, but one of my hiking buddies swears by hers.
posted by box at 12:27 PM on July 6, 2022

Pelican has a less intense version. I have one and it fits in a (large) swim trunks pocket, does fine underwater, and floats very confidently. Using the phone (Pixel 4? 5?) through it is a little finicky because it's poofy enough that the side button is hard to press and some screen precision is lost, but it's fine for checking the time or taking a photo.
posted by teremala at 12:42 PM on July 6, 2022

I used to have a fancier (more expensive) waterproof case with an older phone and bought this cheap one from Amazon (hate to link Amazon, but couldn’t find it elsewhere) for the summer so I don’t worry about my (not waterproof) iPhone so much at the beach and pool. I’ve had it about a month and love it. The case seems to have all features as the past fancy waterproof case.

Oh, it’s my regular phone case, so it’s still easy to use! The strap isn’t exactly what you described, but it could also be swapped out
posted by raccoon409 at 12:44 PM on July 6, 2022 [1 favorite]

I use the cheap ones, because I lose them. I always just test them in the sink with a folded paper towel inside and something heavy on top so it's forced underwater when I first get them, or if they've been through something that might have damaged the seal or pouch.

If I'm taking it INTO water and not just near it, I clip it on a floating keychain.
posted by Lyn Never at 3:04 PM on July 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

I have used these when we went river hiking in the narrows in Zion NP.The pictures and videos came out great.the cover was secure and tight.I’m not sure about the float feature. The straps were wider when we bought few years ago too.It’s still good.
posted by SunPower at 7:12 AM on July 7, 2022

I used a Stash7 Waterpocket for my recent vacation. Spent about 1.5hrs floating down a river and had the pocket tucked in my life vest or bobbing in the water. It fit my gigantic phone perfectly and I didn't have any issues using the phone while it was sealed inside. I'm sure you could attach your own strap.
posted by healthytext at 6:24 AM on July 29, 2022