Who's Got a Bomber Cell Phone They Love?

[BreezyD]

I am in the market for a new cell phone that can stand up to the challenges of the outdoors. Here's my wish list:

 

1) Won't shatter if dropped

2) Won't fritz if dropped in snow or gets slightly wet

2) Has a solid standby time/can keep a charge for days(I'll keep it on my body)

3) Can deal well with cold temps

 

I am on AT&T and am looking at the Motorola V365. According to the two AT&T folks I have talked to, it is the most durable phone in their line but unbiased reviews online are less than stellar.

 

Anyone know of any other good options out there?

 

Thanks!

 

Brianna

[BreezyD]

Bump.

 

No one has a cell phone they think performs well in the outdoors?

 

B

[kurthicks]

My phone is fits your #1 & 2 requests. It's durable (thus heavy), but does not perform well in terms of reception or battery life (if you take the batteries out when not in use, however, it's pretty good). Basically, it sucks but they will try to sell it to you for your 'outdoor lifestyle'.

 

It's a Casio/Verizon G'Zone. there is now a smaller model.

 

[Hugh Conway]

Brick phones >>> flip phones.

 

Nokia 1600 is the standard

[markwebster]

a friend of mine, aussie on this board, has the gzone mentioned above. To demonstrate how tough it was, he used it as a hackysack at the gym, repeatedly dropping it on the carpet. Says he likes it a lot. A great place to read cell phone reviews is http://www.phonescoop.com

 

I personally have a cingular 3125 which is one of the few flip phones with the windows operating system. I love it, but it would not fullfill all of your requirements as it's antenna is not as good as some phones, though that might be partly the att/cingular network.

 

If you just want safety in the mountains, as opposed to being able to take calls out there, rei sells those little walkie talkie radios (in pairs) that have a 25 mile range, and I think they are 5 watts. I've read about people using those to get rescued from up to 30 miles back in the hills, though it depends on ...line of sight?

 

there are much more expensive options out there depending on how badly you need this: satellite phones that can be rented for a weekend and portable ham radios being 2. One of my buddies used to bring his ham radio along, they are pretty amazing up high, and very light, though you have to take a test to get a license, but it's fairly easy.

 

Just remember, people were climbing out there long before cell phones arrived on the scene. Many climbers hate cell phones and love being "off the grid".

[BreezyD]

Thanks for the feedback all!

 

B

 

 

 

[fenderfour]

The Nokia candybar phones are nearly indestructible and cheap. I've been beating on my work phone for a few years and it still works great. The battery life is also really good since there aren't a bunch of fancy applications to run.

[summerprophet]

My work phone is a motorola i560.

 

Flip phone, rubberized exterior, water resistant, tough tough tough.

 

Nor sure about the cold though.

 

It is discontinued, so you can either find it on the net, or spend the big bucks on its replacement, which can withstand being driven over.

 

 

[Mountainstyle]

I have an old-ass nokia 6263i. It isn't a flip-phone. It's been dropped (a lot), taken out on many an alpine climb, gotten wet and it still works. It got seriously wet once but not submerged, it took a couple of days to dry out and everything worked fine after that. The battey life is pretty good, as long as you turn it off when not in use. I have had it last up to four days in the mountains.

[chucK]

I've got an old Kyocera 2325 Brick phone. It seems pretty sturdy. Problem with the brick phone is the tendency to get turned on in a pack, then it runs out of battery search for non-existent signal.

 

A bit of a hijack, but does anybody have an old Kyocera 2325, or similar Kyocera model just laying around? I need a back battery cover for mine (the little tab that holds it in is busted). I'll give you a six-pack (or similar compensation if you don't prefer to drink or are legally prohibited from doing so). I'll take the battery too, if you don't want it.

 

Here's what the housing looks like