Sunday, May 16, 2010

Harmony Waterproof Cell Phone / Pager Dryflex Case Review

Cell Phone Case Review, PDA Case Review, Waterproof Case Review, Dry Bag Review
In today's world, you probably carry a cell phone everywhere you go.  If you are in the younger crowd, you may also have an MP3 player or other electrical device.  If you are into canoeing, kayaking, boating, hunting, fishing, outdoor sports, the beach, or anything else that may put you near water or in the rain unexpectedly, you need to prepare for the worst.  Harmony has some products that can protect your electonics in those situations.  The Harmony website is directed more towards kayaking and canoeing, but their dry storage bags can be used for any situation where water poses a threat.  This review is for the Waterproof Cell Phone / Pager Case.  You can buy it from the Harmony site for $25.99 plus S&H.

When you purchase the Waterproof Cell Phone / Pager Case, it comes as shown in the photos below.  You can click on a photo and it will bring up a higher resolution of the photo.




You can see that the case has sculpted foam on the inside to protect your device if dropped.  That also helps maintain an air space for flotation.


The next two photos are of the advertising card inside of the case.


The back page shows directions on how to roll up the top to make the case waterproof.  Also notice that the back of the card say "not intended for prolonged submersion".  During my review I put this to the test.


The next two photos show the case with the top unrolled.  To seal the case, basically you press the two peices together the roll the top down three times then clip the buckle together.


For my first test, I decided to see how waterproof this case may be.  I filled the sink about 1/2 full and placed a napkin inside the case.  I then sealed the case per the instructions and placed the case in the water.  Next I placed one of my dive weights on the case to keep it submerged at about 4" deep and let it stay there for 10 minutes.  I figured that if the napkin comes out dry, then this is a worst case test of what may happen with a flip of a canoe, or similar situation.  After 10 minutes, the napkin was dry as a bone.


With this confidence behind me, I put my cell phone inside and headed to the swimming pool.  I tossed it in, then pushed it under the water.  It popped back to the surface and floated without a problem.  Just as before, my cell phone was completely dry when I removed it from the case.


Next was to test how well a phone would work inside the bag.  I had my daughter put her phone in the bag and then I called her.  I didn't have any problem hearing her while she was talking through the case and she could hear me as well.  Overall the case didn't hurt the communication aspects of the phone, but it did muffle the speaker on the phone slightly.  My daughter also checked out the touch screen usage through the case and was able to use the screen without a problem.


The last thing I did was checkout the weight of the case.  It weighed in at 2.9 ounces.  In the big scheme of things, this is a very low weight penalty for the protection you get.


Bottom Line:
I'm impressed with Harmony Waterproof Cell Phone / Pager Case.  The price you pay for the case is nothing compared to the price you may pay for a ruined cell phone or PDA.  If I were to say anything negative, it would be that the case is a little bulky.  The advantage to this is that you could place two phones inside if needed.

5 comments:

  1. I'm gonna try it with my GPS receiver when I ride horseback. Size is right and it can clip to the saddle D-ring or my belt.

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  2. Harmony Bags Junk.
    I have bought lots of other brand name waterproof bags, and have had years of no problems, but Harmony Bags are as worthless as a paper bag.
    Don't buy. It's a scam. They are not waterproof.
    I ruined a $400.00 cell phone using the bag, and it wasn't even under water. Apparently it had 3 holes in it right out of the sealed package. The bag wasn't even submerged all the way in the water and it fill up the bag and phone with water. Now who is going to replace the phone. Not Harmony for sure. They don't want to know about.

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  3. bought a Harmony bag and it leaked and ruined a new phone.

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  4. I don't doubt that any product can have a defect, but the one I tested above was under water for 10 minutes. This brings up a good point. Before I put my phone in the pool during the review, I did a quick test in the sink with paper towels. I would reccomend this on any waterproof case that is used for electronics. I reccomend putting the phone in a container with dry rice and leave it there a couple of days. It has a good chance of drying out and working. I have already saved two cell phones and an Ipod of my kids using this method. Good Luck

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  5. Great tip on testing waterproof bags in the sink with paper inside. Why wait until you use it to find out there is a problem. Thanks.

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