Recent activities included a trip to the ocean with a bunch of kids and some four-wheeling. My phone spends most of its life in the Speck SmartFlex Card case, but gets moved into the Otterbox Defender when it needs a little more protection.

But sometimes I want a waterproof case*. Bought the Otterbox Armor because, hello, Otterbox. I didn’t like the way it closed and it’s ridiculously bulky. Next up, the Incipio Atlas. The plastic feels cheap, but it has a glass screen cover. I’d tell you if that’s a pro or a con except, by the time I managed to get the case open so I could retrieve the direction sheet that tells you how to open the case, I was so frustrated I threw it in the phone case basket and haven’t used it yet.

So…the Survivor + Catalyst Waterproof case. This is the one I used at the ocean and out on the trails, which were alternately dusty or muddy. Mother Nature thought it would be nice if she alternated 90+ degree temps and swamp-air humidity with holy-deluge-Batman rainstorms. Every. Single. Day.

The Survivor + Catalyst is not what I’d consider an every day case. But it didn’t interfere with the touch screen and the one or two calls I made while I was in ocean mode weren’t too muffled. (There’s no cell at camp, so calls being muffled is a non-factor.) One thing I liked a lot—unlike the other waterproof cases, you don’t need a degree in engineering to install and/or remove the phone. Pop it in, do your thing, then pop it out and put it back in its everyday case. And my phone survived being used as a camera in pouring rain, mud spray, ocean spray and dust.

This is the one I’ll reach for when I think my phone might need some extra protection from the elements.

* Disclaimer: Waterproof to me means I can use it in the rain or it can be splashed or it’ll be a little more resistant to trail dust. There isn’t a case or Ziplock bag made that will ever convince me to actually put my phone underwater. So your mileage may vary.