Waterproof cover for phone!

[presta]

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Have you sealed the hole around the neck of the mount? I think wind blown rain will run down the back of the bag and in through the hole if not.

Bizarre discussion.

Of course it's entirely possible to navigate without a GPS. Most of us have done it by bike, on foot, by car for decades. Some more decades than others.

Personally, I don't want to go back to those ways. I love my GPS/satnav. But there's no denying that paper map navigation worked ok (ish). Other people, as you would expect, take a different view and have stuck with what they know. Which is fair enough.

I have a walker's GPS that I bought during my fellwalking days, but I quickly came to regard it as a nuisance and a faff, and relegated it to the position of emergency backup if map & compass failed me.

Yes and what happens if you are out on the mountains and something happens to your phone and you haven't got or map or cant map read?

I've had this argument with fellwalkers:
If your map reading fails, a backup GPS will find you, but if you use it as primary navigation and don't notice you're already lost until the battery dies, a compass won't find you except in the unlikely event that the mist lifts so that you can see landmarks, in which case, you likely don't need compass or GPS.

 

[Tenkaykev]

Bizarre discussion.

Of course it's entirely possible to navigate without a GPS. Most of us have done it by bike, on foot, by car for decades. Some more decades than others.

Personally, I don't want to go back to those ways. I love my GPS/satnav. But there's no denying that paper map navigation worked ok (ish). Other people, as you would expect, take a different view and have stuck with what they know. Which is fair enough.

SWCP was a doddle, as long as the sea was on my right I knew that I'd eventually arrive back home in Poole 😁

 

[Dogtrousers]

SWCP was a doddle, as long as the sea was on my right I knew that I'd eventually arrive back home in Poole 😁

Getting wet? Turn left.

 

[Alex321]

How did you all manage before GPS? I never got lost looking up a route on a map. I may have "explored alternative routes" but never got lost.

By carrying maps on unfamiliar routes, and stopping fairly often to be sure we were still on the route we had planned. We managed, but it was much less convenient. And almost worse when it rained, since that didn't just make the maps harder to read, but could cause permanent damage to them.

 

[Kingfisher101]

Rain wont damage them if they are waterproof.
You're stuffed though if your phone fails.

 

[Alex321]

Rain wont damage them if they are waterproof.
You're stuffed though if your phone fails.

We were talking pre-gps. There weren't many waterproof maps around then.

 

[albion]

We were talking pre-gps. There weren't many waterproof maps around then.

Indeed. Yet damp countries like Bali nearly always had them.

 

[presta]

almost worse when it rained, since that didn't just make the maps harder to read, but could cause permanent damage to them

They're generally fine if you turn your back to the wind and hunch over them.

 

[All uphill]

Just looking at your problem, I've got a similar issue. Bryton Rider 750 se absolutely bombproof unlike every garmin I've had except gps60 walking one. Anyway problem reared its head today in the form of very heavy rain, the weight of it triggered the touchscreen which isn't ideal when using it to navigate gravel tracks. It has a cover like my old garmins had but not the screen. Has anybody seen anything that might fit.

I have used a cheap SIM-free phone for navigation over the last two years. The battery lasts for ever and my decent phone is safely stowed.

When it rains I have a polypocket that goes over the phone, with a couple of clips to hold the transparent plastic over the screen.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I have used a cheap SIM-free phone for navigation over the last two years. The battery lasts for ever and my decent phone is safely stowed.

When it rains I have a polypocket that goes over the phone, with a couple of clips to hold the transparent plastic over the screen.

That's pretty much the same as having a dedicated GPS. Except I suppose if your decent phone did die you could pop the SIM into and still have a phone.

As long as you keep your main phone protected and don't burn battery on navigation it's a sensible move.

 

[Daninplymouth]

Depending on which phone you use they can be damaged. I trashed an iPhone camera using a quad lock, the constant vibrations cause the electronic stabilisation to burn out, I think it’s something like iphone12 onwards have the feature always on and you can’t turn it off. Cheaper and easier to use a decent computer long term, plus it saves killing your phone battery

 

[PaulSB]

Going back to @Cathryn original post. In my mind it's unlikely you'll find a cover which will fully protect your phone. I've been outside caught in rain, more than once, with my phone in my pocket. Just outside, not cycling. When I plug the phone in to charge I get the "moisture in charging point" warning. Whether or not there is water in the port is unknown but these things are very sensitive.

Buying a dedicated GPS unit will protect you and your phone against potential failure at a critical moment. A Wahoo will give you simplicity of use, clear accurate directions, excellent battery life and is designed for this purpose. A phone is not.

I use the Roam v2. A v3 was released this year so you may be able to find good deals on the v2.

 

[OldShep]

Depending on which phone you use they can be damaged. I trashed an iPhone camera using a quad lock, the constant vibrations cause the electronic stabilisation to burn out, I think it’s something like iphone12 onwards have the feature always on and you can’t turn it off. Cheaper and easier to use a decent computer long term, plus it saves killing your phone battery

Was this on a bicycle?
I’ve read about it happening with motorcycle engine vibrations and a fix is available for that.

 

[Pentti]

Have you sealed the hole around the neck of the mount? I think wind blown rain will run down the back of the bag and in through the hole if not.

It's quite well protected by the clamping effect of the mount, however the objective is to stop raindrops energizing the touch screen. The bottom seal of the bag is left open to let air/water exit and help prevent any condensation.
This solution is only for heavy rain, drizzle/light rain/showers the "touch lock" or "Guided Access" works well enough, which temporarily deactivates the touch screen function (while leaving the navigation app running on screen)

 

[Pentti]

Depending on which phone you use they can be damaged. I trashed an iPhone camera using a quad lock, the constant vibrations cause the electronic stabilisation to burn out, I think it’s something like iphone12 onwards have the feature always on and you can’t turn it off.

This has always been a consideration and a reason I don't use a flagship phone. However, so far I have found the cheap ebay/amazon chinese rubber-type mounts work really well and damp out a lot of vibration on my mtb. I ride over proper rough ground and over small drops/jumps. Previously I had a more expensive & solid mount which sometimes caused the navigation app to "throw a wobbly". This mount also has a detachable/locking interface which is great for taking photos. We use them on all our bikes.