“Well, I think this is the one guys,” I announced to a small riding group one Saturday morning. “After five months of use, I’m pretty sure this is the best all-around waterproof iPhone case on the market.” For six years, I had been loyal to LifeProof cases; besides being unflappably waterproof, they were tough and protected my phone from the inevitable drops, impacts and rollovers that come with keeping a smartphone in your pocket while working in the garage.
Yet, while being “life proof” I found that LifeProof cases weren’t very “Kevin proof,” and deteriorated after about a year-and-a-half. The rubberized seal always split, begin to peel away and sprout leaks – add to that two instances of the hinges that seal the headphone/charging port breaking and I was buying a new iPhone case every 18 months. And considering each case was roughly $80 and the expenses started to add up. It was about this time that I started looking for another manufacturer.
OtterBox has a solid reputation, but few offerings are waterproof – and that feature is quite the premium. Plus, OtterBoxes are ginormous and stepping up from an iPhone6S to an iPhone8 had already had me grappling with a far larger phone in my pocket. A little homework and some online reviews pointed me towards upstart manufacturer Hitcase and its Splash for iPhone 7/8. This waterproof iPhone8 case was remarkably slim, surprisingly so, and even more surprising, was its $69.99 asking price.
The two part case is comprised of an ultra-flat woven-fiber screen on both the front-and-back; the rear film permitting the iPhone to be charged wirelessly, which is a plus. The tactile thumb reader is just as responsive through the protective screen as without it. A waterproof diaphragm permits clear, unmuffled sound that comes in clear. So to is talking; the LifeProof almost always needed to be removed for clear communications. No so with the Hitcase. Also, the two-piece clam shell case makes for super-fast installation/removal as well.
Of course, the big draw is the Splash’s durability and water protection. Wrapped in a DuroSoft TPU exterior rubber, the iPhone is easy-to-grip, never slick or oily (as other rubberized coatings can be), features a REDi Shutter Button for quick picture taking, a twist-style mute knob, and of course, has an impressive MIL-SPEC Shock rating, drop-proof up to 6-feet, and a IP68 waterproof rating of up to 10-feet. And if you’re looking to take a lot of underwater video, Hitcase also has waterproof TrueLUX iPhone Lenses available.
For those paying close attention to The Watercraft Journal, my iPhone8 has served mainly as the tool for up close photographs inside of watercraft, video recording for both our YouTube channel and Facebook page, and nearly every single Facebook Live broadcast. All done with the Hitcase Splash iPhone 7/8 case installed. I am interested to give one of their attachment lenses a try in the near future, particularly as we’ve been doing so much video for YouTube.
Somehow I’ve found an iPhone case that I can regularly beat up, drop tools on, roll over on top of, splash with caustic chemicals (more than once, ask me how), and of course, use freely in the water – and all for $10 less than what I was paying every year-and-a-half. Thus far, I haven’t seen much in the way of wear-and-tear; even the rubberized plug for the charging port hasn’t cracked or frayed! The only maintenance I’ve done is a thorough cleaning every 8-10 weeks. Other than that, the Hitcase is a true winner for the PWC enthusiast who brings their phone with them everywhere.
Very important for a PWC user that likes to use a cell phone — does it have the means to attach a lanyard/tether? That waterproofing isn’t very useful if the phone is sitting 80 feet at the bottom of the lake. Some people like to use a lanyard and some like to attach a (fairly large) floaty to their phone. Neither this article nor the vendor’s website show an answer to my question from what I can find.
It certainly does have a point for a tether! It’s on the bottom left-hand corner.
[…] and try to distract the buyer with other albeit flashier bits and pieces. I suppose that’s why I enjoyed Hitcase’s waterproof Splash case for the iPhone 7/8 so much. Heck, I even listed Hitcase as a video sponsor for most of 2020 although I paid for the case […]