Welcome to my Cyber Monday series of travel gifts for active travelers.  Until Christmas, I will be providing product reviews and recommendation on some of my favorite travel items.

Today, I am featuring the only reason I haven’t cracked or ruined my smartphone.  I was a late bloomer in the smartphone age.  I didn’t get one until my senior year of college.  I am rather hard on cell phones so I immediately invested in a FRE LifeProof Waterproof Case for at the time iPhone 5.

I choose the LifeProof over OtterBox due to the slimmer profile of the LifeProof Case.  The LifeProof is an all weather case.  It is fully submersible up to 6.6ft as well as protected from rain or snow.  In addition to being waterproof, it sealed from dust and sand.  The case protects from 6.6 ft falls and comes with a touchscreen protector to prevent scratches.

Over the next year and a half, the case never left my phone.  It protected my phone from being knocked off a table.  Falling out of my pocket (several times).  Dropped while carrying it.  Being rained on (at least 10 times).  A trip into the swimming pool.  Taking photos in the ocean. Dropped in the ocean.  Dropped in the snow.  These are just a handful of the thinks I can remember happening to my phone.  The LifeProof case could handle almost anything I could throw at it.

I had to replace the case while working offshore in West Africa.  The case was not drilling mud proof.  One of the additives in the mud ate partway through the case.  I was worried that the damage would affect the structural integrity of the case so I order a LifeProof NÜÜD as a replacement. The NÜÜD has basically the same features except it doesn’t have a built-in screen protector.  It has a watertight seal around the edge of the screen so use of the screen protector is optional.

I like the NÜÜD even more than the FRE.  The case feels sturdier and the headphone port cover has a small holder that keeps the plug attached to the phone.  I have had the NÜÜD for over a year and it has survived pool parties in the UAE, snowstorms and hot springs in Iceland, backpacking in Colombia, and a trip bouncing down the stairs in England.  The screen protector has keep the screen protected and unscratched.

I am pretty sure I would have been through several smartphones without my LifeProof Waterproof Case.  The $80.00 cost is an investment in the life o my phone.

Disclaimer:  I was in no way compensated by LifeProof for this post. However, it does contain several Amazon Affiliate links.