"We tied the lanyards to a piece of reinforced concrete
against which waves were breaking and waited. The boxes took quite a battering
but all remained bone dry inside and unmarked outside."
| Canoe & Kayak |
October 2001 |
"They also suggested that we tie them behind a kayak and
drag them down some whitewater!" "The Otter[box] passed with flying
colors and the phone [inside the box] stayed dry and in one piece."
| Clear 3500 Modified for Camera Use Under Water |
Sunday April 7, 2002 - 7:33 AM CST - By Mark Hall |
Ever wonder whether an Otter Box Clear Case could be
used under water as an Under Water Camera Case. Well a Watertight
Storage Case Co. customer has used some ingenuity and inexpensive
supplies to house his Sony DCR-PC 5 camcorder. Ray from Peachtree City, Georgia
used $40 worth of supplies including the 3500 Series watertight case,
three hours of installation time, and some unspecified dreaming time
to invent a very portable and watertight under water camera case.
Ray's supplies included acrylic cement, 1/8" acrylic sheet for his
non-distorting camera portholes, 1/4" stainless channel for shelving, PVC pipe,
epoxy, 1/4" plywood, PVC holders, and replacement stainless steel case latches. He said for
his second case he'll use 1/4" PVC channel versus stainless.
| Otter Box
3000 |
Thursday April 20, 2000 - 12:08 AM EST - By James
Hromadka |
Do you want to be able to take it all with you when
you are outside and not worry about the weather? Sometimes it is
necessary to take your Visor where electronic devices, much less
Visors, are not meant to be. If you want to carry your Visor and
a non-standard Springboard module, the Otter Box 3000 (OB3000) is
just the right size for you. It is essentially an Otter Box 2000
that is a little longer.
The Otter Box 3000 is made with a fiberglass reinforced
ABS resin that is almost crush-proof, and it is waterproof up to
a depth of 100 ft. This case also floats in water, which means that
is should be harder to lose and easier to find in the event that
it is lost in an aquatic environment, such as a lake or river. The
manufacturer has a lifetime warranty on the OB3000, so in the unlikely
event you damage it, they will replace it for free!
The OB3000 comes in fourteen different colors (including
clear). You can have an OB3000 that is either one solid color, half-clear/half-color,
or completely clear (although the solid clear model isn't waterproof).
The clear side is made of a polycarbonite. Inside the color half
is a thin layer of foam, which provides extra shock absorption.
There are two clamps that securely close the case and prevent anything
from getting inside; there's also a strap to use for carrying or
attaching the case to a backpack.
If you plan on "roughing it," you may want
to go with a brighter color so the case is easier to see in case
you lose it.
 Usability
The OB3000 offers the same protection from water that
the Otter Box 2000 does. When I tested the OB3000 in a sink, it
protected the Visor wonderfully. As I said earlier the OB3000 is
waterproof up to 100 ft. I have no qualms about taking my Visor
inside the OB3000 next time I go to Peracto headquarters and there
is another downpour.
I then tested how protective the Otter Box was. We put a Visor Deluxe
inside the OB3000 and dropped it four feet onto a thin carpet floor.
The case protected the Visor beautifully and really gives the impression
that it will take whatever you throw at it. The manufacturer has
reported that there has been reports where people had accidentally
ran over their Otter Box and the case didn't even have a scratch
on it!
The OB3000 is great for carrying your Visor and a non-standard size
module. I can carry my Visor and the Handspring Modem perfectly
inside the OB3000. I haven't tested it yet, but the HandyGPS module
should also fit inside the OB3000, although whether or not the HandyGPS
will be able to function while in the OB3000 remains to be determined
because of how sensitive GPS is.
The Visor isn't held by anything but gravity, and you will need
to hold the case from the top when using the Visor or take it out
of the case when in use. The clips don't lend themselves to quickly
pulling out your Visor to look up someone's number either. This
isn't the kind of case that you would take to a board meeting, but
then again a Slipper Visor isn't going to do much for you when you
are canoeing. This is a case for use outside in the elements where
your Visor needs protection the most.
Conclusion
The Otter Box 3000 offers some of the best protection
for your Visor when you need to also carry a non-standard size Springboard
module, at a price that won't break the bank. It isn't a case for
the office unless of course your office is the great outdoors :)
Top of Page
| Otter
Box offers PDA protection |
By Steve Niles |
If you're into boating or diving, there are probably
countless ways you could imagine your Palm device coming in handy.
Or maybe you like to relax poolside while still getting some work
done on your trusty handheld. The only thing stopping you, however,
is the risk of water damage to your machine. What you need is some
way to keep your Palm device dry and protected.
I covered this topic in the May issue of PalmPower
magazine when I reviewed SCUBA Resources for the PalmPilot as our
Site of the Month. Since then, a new product has been brought to
my attention. It's called an Otter Box and it's offered by Otter
Products.
Multi-purpose storage
Otter Products puts out an extensive line of Otter Boxes in
a variety of sizes and colors, as you can see in Figure A.
FIGURE A
Otter Boxes come in many shapes, sizes, and colors to fit almost
any purpose.
The design you choose depends on what you plan to
keep in your Otter Box, whether it's a cell phone, a pager, your
wallet, a camera, a video recorder, etc. Of course, what we're interested
in here is whether or not an Otter Box will keep your Palm device
safe, secure, and dry.
Otter Box 2000
Greg Ward at Otter Products was kind enough to send me a sample
of the 2000 Series Otter Box, the perfect size to fit a PDA, as
you can see in Figure B.
FIGURE B
The 2000 Series Otter Box is the perfect size for a Palm device.
I tend to keep my PalmPilot's plastic slipcase on
when I place it into the Otter Box. This makes the fit quite snug
and secure. However, I did notice that when the cover is removed,
the device has a tendency to slide around inside the box. This would
especially be true for owners of newer, smaller Palm devices, like
the Palm V. Most Otter Box designs have a foam liner that will keep
it from banging around too hard, but it might be a good idea to
put something else foamy in the box to secure the Palm device in
place.
Lifetime guarantee
The manufacturers of the Otter Boxes are so confident in their
products, they give all of them a lifetime guarantee. This is impressive,
considering the standards to which they hold the boxes. Otter Products
makes two bold claims about the boxes. They are unfailingly watertight,
and they are crush proof to a depth of 100 feet.
That's what their press kits say, anyhow. As an independent
reviewer, I can't simply take them at their word before passing
the information on to you. It is my obligation to put their claims
to the test.
Watertight
Otter Boxes were designed to be watertight in order to keep
your valuables dry. According to Otter Products, "The closed
cell neoprene o-ring creates a positive seal which does not allow
water in." That sounds good, but does it work? I aimed to find
out.
Top of Page
| PDA Protection
Review from MaxiumPDA.com |
By Daniel Mitler,
Affiliate Editor from PDA Center, 01/19/2001 |
You're riding down a busy street on a bicycle, taking
with you your PDA. Uh-oh! Watch out for that car! Screech! Crash.
Luckily, you're ok, which is more than could be said about your
PDA.
You're walking along the beach holding your PDA. It's
warm, sunny; the waves are gently lapping at your feet. You look
away for a moment, and oops, your PDA slips. It falls in the water,
destroyed.
Either of those situations sound familiar or likely
to happen to you? Then you should look at the Otter Box(tm) by Otter
Products(tm) LLC. It is crush proof and waterproof (down to 100ft.).
According to Otter Products, you could put a car on
the box, and the box's contents will remain ok.
The Otter Box is made out of tough plastic. Best of
all, it's affordable. Costing between $15-$20, it's much cheaper
than other ones.
I got a 3000 Series; fluorescent green one, which
is big enough for a Compaq Aero 1550. Need a different size? Want
a different color? No problem. The Otter Box comes in all shapes
and sizes.
Inside the Otter Box is a sturdy foam liner to cushion
the contents. Also inside, sandwiched in between the outside plastic
and another inside layer of plastic is foam like weather stripping.
So it's make-up is, from outside to inside: hard plastic, weather
stripping-like foam, hard plastic, flexible, sturdy foam.
The choice is yours. Buy a titanium case for $100
that is shock proof, or buy an Otter Box for $15 that is shockproof,
crush proof, and waterproof.
Top of Page
| Otter Box Series 2000 |
Review from PDABuyersBuide.com |
Cases for you PDA
From indestructible to stylish and slim
Otter Box - Palm-Tec hard and soft cases - Palm V
Hard Case and Slim Leather Carrying Case
Otter Box
No doubt about it-- PDA cases are popping up as quickly as weeds
in a summer yard. But which one is for you? The cases we'll examine
here run from the hard and nearly indestructible to slim leather
covers. Which one is for you? That depends on what kind of punishment
your PDA must withstand: do you go hiking with your digital assistant
in your back pocket, or do you simply need a soft case to protect
it from the wilds of your purse or briefcase?
 The
Otter Box is probably the most durable line of cases available
today. They're made with a fiberglass reinforced ABS resin that
is virtually indestructible, according to the manufacturer. The
various sizes have been pressure tested to depths beyond 100 feet
(they float!). Some of the boxes have been placed under the wheels
of vehicles with no effect to the box whatsoever, or so says the
Otter Box website. They do offer a lifetime guarantee on each box,
so if you run one over with a Jeep and it cracks, send it back :-)
They're available in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors, with
models suitable for palm sized PDAs as well as keyboarded models
such as Psions and WinCE HPC computers like the HP Jornada 690.
They're also among the cheapest cases out there- a real steal at
$14.50 for the 2000 series and $19.95 for the 3000 series.
Otter Box 2000 series
We've tested the 2000 series, designed for Palm Pilots
and Pocket PCs; as well as the 3000 series, intended for keyboarded
PDAs such as the Psion 5mx.The cases have a techo-tough look that's
pretty cool. The array of colors is impressive. But how well does
it protect your PDA? Well, it floated in the bathtub, protecting
a Palm VII perfectly. The rubber gasket that seals the top and bottom
of the unit does such a good job that it actually takes a little
effort to open the case! Needless to say, it did a fine job of keeping
water out. Will it seal to 100 feet below the water? We didn't have
any divers on hand to test that claim. We then proceeded to stand
on top of the Series 3000 case, and it didn't dent or crack. Not
bad! How about the fit? You'll find that a HP Jornada 545 Pocket
PC has a little extra room inside, so you might want to put a tissue
or some other soft padding inside to stop it from sliding a bit.
The Palm VII is a perfect fit. The Casio E-115 Pocket PC fits very
snugly, due to its larger size. How about the 3000 series? A Psion
has a bit of extra space, as does the Jornada 690. If your PDA does
slide a bit, it will be protected by the soft neoprene rubber (at
least it seems like neoprene) padding that clads the inside surface
of the case.
Top of Page
| TORI MURDEN ROWS ACROSS THE
ATLANTIC WITH OTTER BOXES ON BOARD! |
(Testimonial from OtterBox.com
http://www.otterbox.com/press.html), November 5 |
These seas remain a bit high for comfortable rowing.
I would guess they are 8-12 feet. Twelve feet may not seem very
high, and it isn't really, but the waves are steep and the boat
does a penguin waddle through the swells.
I made the very pleasant discovery that the spare
video camera that I had stored in a bulky Rubbermaid container,
inside a dry-bag, fits perfectly into one of my Otter Boxes. Otter
Boxes are the best new item on board. Had I known about Otter Boxes
on my last journey, I might not have lost communications eight days
from shore. They are rugged watertight containers. The standard
in this type of container is the "Pelican Case." I used
several Pelican Cases on my last trip. Pelican cases are great if
you plan to let a herd of hippopotami play water polo with your
gear. For my purposes they are far too heavy, and with sore hands
from rowing, the latches on a Pelican Case can be immensely difficult
to pry open. Otter Boxes are much lighter, the latches are easier
to manage, and they come in smaller sizes, which are more fitting
to my uses aboard.
Almost every item of delicate electronic equipment
is stored in an Otter Box. The Iridium Telephone and its charging
cable fit perfectly into a larger Otter Box. My little Epson Digital
Camera fits snugly into a smaller case. My video film is in an Otter
Box, as is my still picture film. The video camera fits in a case
that I had spare batteries stored in. I am delighted. This means
I will be able to keep the camera on deck, close at hand, without
fear of it becoming wet if a wave splashes over a gunwale. Before
the Otter Box, I'd decided that grocery store Rubbermaid was as
good as it gets for lightweight watertight protection.
(The Zip-Lock bag on the other hand is not to be trusted
with anything that might come remotely close to water. Last year
I had a digital camera double bagged in Zip-Locks. Yes, I WAS careful
to zip them all the way to their ends. When water got into the electronics
hold, all those Zip-Locks did was keep the water IN the baggies.)
As ever,
Tori
Top of Page
| Review of Otter Boxes on a
Crush Test from PocketNow.com |
Review by: Jared Miniman |
Here are a few comments about Otter Box cases:
INTRODUCTION
Think your beautifully-crafted leather PDA case will offer ANY
protection whatsoever should you drop it? Think again! Back in the
day (actually, last year) I owned a Freestyle P/PC, and I always
carried it around with a nice leather-like slipcase. While it felt
quite rigid, it offered very little practical protection--one day
I went to retrieve it from a backpack, and I saw that there were
two nice full-screen cracks on the screen. What a disappointment!
The incident certainly annoyed me, but it also got me thinking,
"Where the heck is a case for PDAs that allows you to basically
send it to hell and back without in any way damaging the PDA inside?"
I can gleefully say that I have found that case, the virtually indestructible
Otter Box series.
PRODUCT FEATURES
Let's see if your executive PDA travel case has these features!
All Otter Boxes have a neoprene "o-ring" positive seal
that keeps the contents of the box free from any moisture in depths
of up to 100 feet (though Otter has reported water-free results
past 110 feet!), a fiberglass reinforced ABS resin shell, and a
complete lifetime warranty against failure. It is important to note
that the model that I have been using the most, the Otter Box 2000,
is NOT designed for just Pocket PCs. In fact, many devices are supported.
Check here for a full list of compatible products. I was also sent
the Otter Box 3000, slightly larger, but just as amazingly strong.
For comparison sake, here are the dimensions of the two box types
I received:
2000 series: 6 1/2" x 3 7/8" x 1 5/8"
outside; 6" x 3 3/8" x 1 1/4" inside
3000 series: 8 3/8" x 4 3/8" x 1 7/8" outside; 7
7/8" x 3 13/16" x 1 1/2" inside
THE TEST!
Let me stop complimenting these boxes for a moment, and speak
of a bunch of tests I performed with a few of my peers, to prove
once and for all how ridiculously strong and watertight they are.
First test: the crush test. The procedure was quite simple. We took
a 3100 pound 1990 Honda Accord EX, and ran right over the 2000 and
3000 models.
After impact. Solitaire is still running, but all
the cards you need are still hidden! Absolutely no damage to the
box, aside from the tire tracks (around high-rigidity perimeter).
The next test is to see how tight the seal of the box truly is.
To be honest, we did not have the patience to submerge the box to
the bottom of Beebe Lake here in beautiful Ithaca, NY (we figured
the local police would be more than curious), but we did soak the
box under water for over an hour. We used a bunch of tissues as
the contents this time, as they would do a good job of showing any
absorbed moisture.
After soakage, the tissues came out perfectly dry.
The only moisture shown in this plane is from a little water getting
into the clasps, but of course the cabin is totally separate from
the clasps.
OVERALL FEEL
I'm not going to lie to you--if you need to conserve as much
weight as possible at all times, you will notice the weight of the
Otter Boxes, but of course you would expect that from such a rugged
device! The construction, as you would expect, is top-notch.
The hinge has a solid metal bar, and the clasps are
made of a strong resin. Another thing to note: the clasps are a
bit difficult to use at first, since you'll likely be expecting
them to easily open and close. Remember, those clasps are there
to protect your PDA from being crushed, so get used to them!
USEFULNESS
Let's expand this conversation a bit to include other technology
products. It's clear that many times it would be important to have
such a case, such as during a camping trip, a river rafting trip,
hiking, mountain biking, or any other time where you might not be
able to lovingly cradle the case in your arms. Fact of the matter
is that I have broken my screen by pure accident, and I am sure
that you or someone you know has broken a device because of either
dropping it without thinking or because it was damaged by moisture.
No longer must you be concerned! Put your cell phone, calculator,
or PDA in an Otter Box and breathe freely.
HOPE TO SEE IN NEXT VERSION
I can't honestly say that I'm looking for anything else in this
case design. Sure it would be nice if it fit my iPAQ without me
needing to have the device sit on bubble wrap so that it does not
move around inside, but then I would be asking that they make a
less versatile case. The design is outstanding and has totally impressed
me. Even as I was walking out to our test vehicle, I was truly doubting
that a little plastic case could be crushed without any damage!
PURCHASING INFORMATION
The Otter Box case comes in many shapes and sizes and holds
anything from a PDA to a lantern. Best of all, these cases are very
affordable and range in price from $10.00 US to $25.00 for the larger
model. Click here to order your watertight
case.
PROS
- Outstanding strength
- Waterproof unless your revisiting the titanic
- A great way to prevent screen cracking
CONS
- Slightly heavy
- Clasps a little stiff
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Overall, I love my Otter Box and have no problem casting my
luxurious leather PDA cases aside, realizing that some day I will
drop my iPAQ, and I want to be able to continue using the device
after that inevitable event. I certainly recommend that you give
the Otter Box a try (and crush one, just for fun!).
THIS PRODUCT IS RATED:
|
P.O Box 706
