Mophie Outride: Wide Angle Waterproof iPhone Case
Outride by Mophie, Wide Angle iPhone Case: $150
The Good: High quality wide-angle lens, solid case construction, substantial protection, excellent quality video from a standard iPhone 4s.
The Bad: Poor placement of the record button, somewhat fragile hinges, slick case finish has no grip, no tactile screen function with waterproof case in place.
The Ugly: Exposing the naked phone to the elements when I had to take a call, that’s a cracked screen waiting to happen!
In a world of instant media, the iPhone has become an exceptional piece of communication tech. Uploads are instant to Social media, blogs, and the wild world of YouTube. But a downside to bringing such a delicate piece of tech into the wild is that nature doesn’t go easy on phones. The only way your amazing smartphone will survive out there is in a beefy case. The Outride by Mophie is designed to provide waterproof and shock protection to the iPhone while adding a larger wide-angle field of view to capture all the action.
The Outride kit features plenty of mounting hardware, a case front with the wide-angle lens, and two backs – one fully waterproof that doesn’t allow touch screen functionality, and another that seals against the phone for water resistance that allows for use of the touch screen. The two backs are interchangeable at the hinge which is a bit fragile and seems like a weak point of this case. There is one external button located on the bottom of the case to start and stop recording when the Outride app is open.
Mophie created an app dedicated to the Outride community where users can record and share photos and videos with other adventurers. The app has categories like water, snow, moto and sky so users can find videos they like. Mammoth, Vans, Volcom and other big names have dedicated areas with followers and featured videos taken using the Outride. Mammoth ski resort has actually partnered up with Mophie to provide a posh cutting room where customers can borrow a case then come back and edit/upload their footage with professional software and staff to help polish it up.
The Outride went along for some night skiing on Mt. Shasta during a substantial storm with the water-resistant back, it was bolted to a pole and held out above and front while riding, then strapped to my helmet for some POV video. It was also secured to a helmet and used when longboarding around Redding, Ca, and thrown into both a pool and the Sacramento river to test it’s waterproof back. The phone recorded excellent video under water, in the powder, and when carving up the asphalt. However, a very substantial downside to using an iPhone for recording is the limited available memory and battery life. My phone only lasted an hour or so, and captured less then 30 minutes of video before filling up and powering down. The flat and wide profile of the case was difficult to get used to as a helmet cam, and is better suited for other mounting options.
So if using your current piece of tech to record your adventure sounds like something you’re up for, the Outride is a great option. But keep in mind at this price, a Contour ROAM 2 is only another 50 bones ($199) and can be found even cheaper with some searching. This POV camera would provide expandable memory, a durable housing, and a low profile. So go out and explore your world and remember – pictures or it didn’t happen, right?
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Tags: case, iphone, iphone case, Mophie, Outride, POV camera, waterproof, waterproof case, waterproof iPhone case
Author: David Skinner
