FROM TAKING PHOTOS and navigation to sharing your adventures through social media, phones can do a lot for us in the great outdoors – although it’s up to us to decide how connected we want to be. Simpler apps like OS Locate can add a surprisingly large margin of safety. Mapping apps are convenient and quick to use when navigating. And even if you don’t Instagram every step of your hike, there’s satisfaction in posting a picture or two for others to enjoy. But can the phone you carry in your pocket the rest of the time also perform in the mountains?
Now that most phones are waterproof and have long battery life, it’s arguable that the dedicated rugged outdoor phone is less important than it once was. A regular phone with a tough case and screen protector will stand up to general mountain use, and conserving power (keeping the phone in airplane mode when out of signal, for example) can extend battery life for several days. A power bank can extend battery life even further for long-distance backpacking.
However, most phones have a screen that will crack or smash when dropped on a rock – Gorilla Glass can only do so much. And many
