When technology meets mud and rocks, guess what usually wins? When used solely for an emergency, cellphones can be a great addition to backcountry and adventure activities, no matter what kill-joys may tell you about making the outdoors impersonal. I've literally had to ride for help when a riding buddy was injured on the trail above Los Angeles, and could have summoned rescue ten minutes faster if I had a cellphone with me at the time.

Leave it off until you need it, but having a phone can be a real time- and life-saver in summer or winter wilderness situations. Snow, mud, water and shock would like to prevent such battery-operated conveniences, however, as Mother Nature is a known luddite.

Enter one solution for mixing your delicate phone with your indelicate sporting life. Ortlieb has designed a cool little device called the Boxit 5.0, a mobile phone case designed for cell phone users who work or play hard in all weather and environmental conditions. With accordion-type construction and easy-to-change lids, the Boxit works with many popular mobile phones on the market.

The completely watertight and shockproof case protects your mobile phone from moisture, dust and dirt. If dropped into the water, the case will remain floating on the surface. The transparent and dial-through front enables the phone to be used in dirty or moist conditions. A Gore acoustic membrane over the earpiece area allows you to hear right through the case.

The case, manufactured from durable polyurethane plastic, withstands large temperature fluctuations. Boxit 5.0's water resistance has been tested for 30 minutes at a depth of one meter and carries an IP67 classification. The package includes the standard body, belt clip, two lids and an antenna cap.

We also received a bike mounting kit for our Boxit, but to be honest we'd feel a bit geeky mounting our phone on the handlebars, and would like to see a frame-mounting solution for the seat-tube of our bike. But with several mounting options, you can use your phone in an open boat, snowmobile, convertible. . . or to order pizza whilst kite surfing.

We like this little accessory, and it turned us on to Ortlieb's many other cool products, most of which are waterproof and well-made. All of their products are manufactured in Germany using exclusive construction methodology, quality European and US fabrics and top grade unbreakable hardware. Ortlieb USA is the exclusive distributor of Ortlieb products in the U.S.

Material: Polyurethane / Polycarbonate
Outside dimensions 130 - 170 (depending on cap) x 72 x 42 mm
Inside dimensions 128 - 168(depending on cap) x 52 x 27 mm
Weight 65 - 72 g (depending on cap)
Ability to float With small lid max. 135 gm phone
With big lid max. 160 gm phone

$US35
www.ortliebusa.com // 253-833-3939

— Reviewed & Written by Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Gear & News Editor