I’ve learned my lesson. I will bring a waterproof Aquapac case on ALL trips, from now on.
When packing up for our recent trip to Colorado and Missouri, I debated whether to bring our Aquapac waterproof phone case. We had previously packed it for several beach trips and for a couple river floating tours, but on this trip we were really only planning to explore some cities, do a few hikes and go to a friend’s wedding. No need for waterproof protection, right?
Over and over again I was proved wrong.
Wishing I Had My Aquapac Cell Phone Case in Boulder
When in Boulder, my wife and I decided to take an adventure up to Chautauqua Park just above the city to hike the Flat Irons. We biked from our hotel through the University of Colorado campus up through the neighborhoods, and stopped just below Chautauqua Park. We walked through the last couple of blocks up to the park and could tell that rain was coming. Once at the park, we checked the trail map and talked to the park ranger. She let us know that the Flat Irons Loop hike should only take 1.5 - 2 hours and that the rain was “at least a couple hours away.”
About 1 mile into the roughly 3 mile hike, the skies opened up and just started pouring! We scrambled to protect our valuables. Thankfully, we didn’t have our DSLR camera, but we still needed to protect our phones from the downpour. We grabbed the spare sweatshirt packed in our daypack and buried the phone deep in the sweatshirt and then jammed it into the bottom of the backpack. It poured for at least half an hour as we trudged our way back down to the ranger station. The trail flooded and a river of brown dirt flowed down into the park. After a bit of rain, we were further punished with quarter-sized hail. There was basically no shelter on the trail and we just hugged our bags tight to our chest to try and protect our gear.
When we finally made it back to the ranger station we were soaked completely through. We held our breath as we opened up our bag expecting to find everything inside equally wet.
We dodged a bullet though. Everything inside of our roll top packable daypack was completely dry! The Chrome Packable Daypack is not marketed as waterproof, but in this case it did the job perfectly. Even though we had managed to help our phones survive through the ordeal, we weren’t able to take pictures of the rain pouring down on the trail, the unreal view of the mountain side shrouded in pouring rain, or video our hilarious squeaks of pain from being pelted with hail. A small waterproof pouch could have allowed us to continue on the hike, catching all of the misery and fun as we went and photograph the rainbow that popped up over the Flat Irons after the downpour.
Caught Without My Waterproof Phone Pouch Again
But that wasn’t the only time I was kicking myself for not bringing my Aquapac cell phone case for waterproof protection. Just a few days later on the trip we discovered that Boulder has a large reservoir just north of town that is publicly available. Given its location we were hopeful of getting some pristine views of the Front Range from the water, so we booked a one hour stand up paddle boarding rental.
Once we arrived at the Reservoir, we realized the views would be better than we had imagined. As we checked in for our rentals we were trying to decide who would have the immense responsibility of keeping a phone in the pocket and not ruining it. That would mean you could not fall under any circumstances, couldn’t dip in the reservoir, and better be extra careful getting on and off the board not to let the water come up to your hip. The rental company overheard our debate and let us know that waterproof phone pouches were available for rental! We were ecstatic until we realized they were $10 a piece for just an hour rental! We begrudgingly rented one and continued kicking ourselves for not bringing our Aquapac mini waterproof phone case.
You Never Know When You Might Need Waterproof Protection
You’d think that was enough punishment for one trip, but when visiting Silverthorne that weekend, we were again punished for not bringing our waterproof phone pouch. After a quick hike, our group discovered an amazing spot for a picnic right on the river. There was a giant boulder right in the center of the river surrounded by natural beauty. My wife and I set out to picnic on the boulder, but had to cross a quick, but treacherous little rock path in order to make it up onto the rock.
We debated bringing our gear and really setting up shop or just hopping out quickly to enjoy the view before coming back to the shore. My wife, ever the adventurer, was confident in her step and determined to bring our things so that we could spend more time on the rock. I know our phones were in her pack so I was holding my breath as she picked her way through the smaller stepping stones up to the rock. On her last step before the boulder she stepped on a large tree trunk sitting in the river, but it wasn’t stable. My heart leapt as I saw her thrown off her balance and feared for the small Ori pack on her back. Her athleticism saved us though, as she was able to absorb the jarring landing on the boulder and stay perched on top of it. Safe.
From Now On, I Will ALWAYS Travel With My Aquapac Case
These 3 instances in just 5 days have convinced me that I will ALWAYS travel with our waterproof travel pouch. Our Aquapac mini waterproof phone case is a perfect size for our phones, and rolls up to easily fit into any travel backpack, daypack or suitcase. If you’re traveling or headed to the beach with a tablet in addition to your phone, check out the Aquapac large waterproof pouch.
Just having a waterproof pouch with us would have provided the piece of mind to confidently bring our phones out on the reservoir and the river knowing our gear was safe from the elements, and given us the ability to operate our phones in the pouring rain, catching great photographs, hilarious videos and navigating our way home in the downpour.
The Aquapac isn’t the only option in waterproof protection. Overboard is known for their excellent waterproof protection across their product line and offers the Overboard multipurpose waterproof case, Overboard waterproof camera bag and multiple sizes of Overboard dry bag tubes to protect your gear in any scenario.
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About the Author
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Stephen Gary is the co-founder of Flashpacker Co. He’s been a digital nomad for the past 5 years traveling all across the globe exploring new cities, languages and new passions. Find more from him over on our travel blog. |