Phone on your Kayak

I am wondering what everyone is using to protect their phone with while on your kayak. I would like something that is waterproof and floats if dropped in the water or when you dump your kayak. Ideally, you would still be able to use your phone without having to take it out of the case, because what is the purpose in having the case if you take it out of it when still on the water. I would only be using the phone for checking the time, taking the occasional picture and responding to a text if needed, not checking social media and phone calls. The best thing I can think of is a phone pouch with a floating wrist strap. Thanks for the help and tight lines everyone.

i have a Small Waterproof case that I can put my wallet my Phone and my keys. Then I connect it to my Kayak. If I dump It stay dry and connected. Plus it floats if I forget to connect it.

I have a protective case but thats it. Stuff it in my pfd and go. Might be risky but i dont want floats and leashes all over the place.

My phone is "waterproof" so it will probably be OK after a few seconds in the water. My yak is not prone to turtling and I tend to stay off rough water. So, my biggest fear is dropping it overboard and watching it drop to the bottom like a rock.

I bought a cheap case off of Amazon and tested a few different keychain floats to attach to the case with a short section of paracord. To date, I have not found a small float that will keep the phone from sinking. So, for the time being, I leash my phone to the rail of my yak. This is the only leash on my yak and I'm keeping my eye out for a small float that will keep the phone at the surface.

I went toobing on the Comal recently and they had a "dry bag" style phone and personal items case that i purchased. I still need to rig up some way to make it float, but it is a bit smaller than a tablet and is water proof and can take pictures through the bag. Ill check the bag brand in a few minutes when i head back outside as its in my back seat. Used it today on the kayak and it worked well!!! I bought it at Felgers in New Braunfels but i am sure once i get the brand yall can find them anywhere.

I have a phone case that is a dry bag with lanyard.
I keep it around my neck so I can still take pictures.

Ziploc with a piece of pool noodle inside. Or sometimes a Ziploc and then into a waterproof hatch.

Gallon ziplock with a few folded paper towels in it. Towels catch any water drip off your hands. Don’t want your phone in a sealed up plastic bag with a water off your fingers rolling around in it. Towels also ensure some air remains in the bag for floatation.

I found a water proof bag, that will hang around your neck, and it even still lets you touch the screen
I figure i would like to have my phone attached to me if someone would need to find me if i was incapacitated ( I.e Find my iphone)
I wear the strap around my neck, and tuck the phone/case into my life jacket.
in a pinch i can take an OK picture with it, while still being safe in the bage

I have always kept my phone in the pocket of my PFD zipped up. Last Friday I forgot to zip up the pocket. I leaned over to attached my anchor to my anchor trolley and plop then went my phone right in the bay. Thank the lord for insurance! I do use my phone while fishing some mainly for the Navionics and Google Earth apps. Since my phone is waterproof I wanted some way to leash it so I went with this to help keep this from happening again.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075S18ZFZ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

^^^this

Life Poof case, then in top left pocket of PFD.
Another good reason to always wear a PFD.

Ugh, sorry man! That is the exact scenario that I am concerned about.

I like the holder that you found on Amazon. You can ditch the thick strap and attach a paracord to cut down on bulk.

I'm not a fan of leashes... but I leash my phone to avoid exactly what happened to you. I attach mine to the H-Rail with about 4' of cord and keep the phone (and stuff the cord) in the mesh pocket next to the seat.

One of these days I will find a small float that works. Until then, I suck it up and leash

It's all good. Fortunately I had insurance and everything backed up so didn't lose anything that I couldn't retrieve sept for text messages but that's no biggie.

You should invent a phone case with a small air chamber that is inflatable. It wouldn't take much air to float a phone. I'd buy it. Maybe a flat piece of foam the same size of your phone attached to the back with velcro? Just thinking out loud.

That's not a bad idea. I might try it.

I thought a large key-chain float would work. I attached a small wrench that is the same weight as my phone and tried three different floats. I even tried a large crankbait. They all sunk like a rock!

The actual floating cases and phone floats on Amazon are all too large for my taste.

First world problems we have

Bought a waterproof and supposedly floats one at Academy. Lanyard around my neck. Phone stuffed into the pocket of my PFD. I've also thought about getting a cheap Tracfone. Think basic service is pretty inexpensive, and if I lose that one, oh well.

A throw-away phone would work for those who do not use Navionics and/or google earth. For those who do, our primary phones are "necessary".

My leash is doing the trick for now. 97% of the day it's stuffed in a storage pocket next to my chair... I only pull it out to snap a pic or to check the map.... the leash is not a huge deal at the moment.

I just carry a floating VHF radio and a PLB. No phone.

Bought one of these for a vacation a couple years ago and work pretty well


https://www.amazon.com/Temdan-Water...kGGQ&slotNum=8&tag=reviewgeek-20

"PLOOP"......That's the worst sound a kayaker can hear, especially if you didn't see what made the sound!......Time to frantically take inventory!

Yes, never trust a fart in a kayak.

I saw these and for sure would have bought one but they don't make them for a Google Pixel 2. This is what I was looking for.



I actually saw it go in. I felt something in my vest slide but my hands were tied up trying to clip the anchor rope on in 15 mph winds with 2' rollers in the bay. I watched it go right in. Nothing I could do about it. Tried to scoop it up with the dip net but there were too many oysters. I keep a lot of information on my phone (lots of recipes, fishing notes, lots of other fishing stuff) and at that time I had no idea if I had just lost it all so I was sick until I was able to get my replacement and learned all my info was backed up.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. @JustWingem that looks great, but like @Jerry713 I have a Pixel and I don't think they make one for those phones.

Thought about buying one of these as you could put a few things in there with the phone.

Plano Guide Series 3600 Size Polycarbonate Field Box

That's similar to the one I have. I only carry my phone, D/L, and F/L with me, all in the same box. It has about 2 feet of paracord on it, and it stays tied off to my seat, and tucked behind it. I have a waterproof camera in my vest for taking pictures, and a set of bluetooth earbuds for making/taking calls. I can also ask google for the time, if I need it.

I use this...mine has a string that came attached to it...I put a carabeaner on it and hook it to my seat

Same

I have been using a Seatle Sports Emerse case for my phone when I go fishing for about 8 months.
This is a sealed bag with a sliding clip which slides across below the ziplock area. It hangs on a lanyard below my neck and is clear so I do not need to take camera out to take pictures.
Never had a problem and hangs around my neck and then I stick under my pfd so always know where it is and phone cant get away or get caught on anything.
This weekend I went to find my phone and it was not there. finally saw in the bottom of the kayak. The bag portion had pulled off of the clip at top.
Bag was still sealed but it had water in the bottom of if.
Turns out the bag had a tear in it.
Will now switch to a waterproof iphone.
Sometimes the loop around the neck can enable the case to hang below the bottom of life jacket and when moving around can get caught on bottom of pfd pulling the bag off the clip when moving around.
If you have one of these or any with a bag frequently check for holes/tears before use. Or better yet, replace every 6 months.
Shorten up loop around neck to keep from going below vest and being pulled off.
Alternatively, I ended up on a really slip boat ramp and fell 4 times before I could get back up to the dry part. One of those falls could have put pressure on the phone against the case and cut it or case could have hit against my snippers.
Even with a waterproof iphone I need to relook at waterproof cases to hang around my neck when fishing.

Nothing good ever happens to a phone on a kayak. I take mine with me but it goes in a zip lock bag and stored in center hatch with ringer off. Reminded me of fishing Biscayne Bay in Miami one night when I hung a big tarpon. After surviving the first four or five jumps it stayed down and was just a matter of how long before it tired. Twenty minutes later I'm just holding on when my phone rings, a fishing buddy was calling to see how it was going. I'm on the phone with him another 5 minutes, one hand with phone the other with rod bent over. As we were talking, tarpon has re-energized and comes flying out of the water and I drop phone in my lap to reel in slack, phone slides off into footwells with a couple of inches of water and that was the last time I ever answered a phone while fighting a fish. Lost the tarpon soon after.

I never answer calls when I am fishing.
I have the phone there for listening to podcasts, taking pictures and as a safety item.
Sharing my location with wife in case something happens so she will know last place I was.
Also in case of emergency I can make a call.
Finally to let wife know when I am off the water and she can expect me home.
Definitely not worth loosing a fish over a phone call.

Mine is in a waterproof hard case tethered to the boat. Since it's a city issued phone, I'm supposed to take all calls. But since it's an iPhone, I can ignore it and just say later that it malfunctioned again. No way I'm taking calls while I fish, and I have better (and more reliable) tools for navigation than an iPhone. In my powerboat it's in a hard case at the bottom of a hatch; I couldn't hear it ring if I wanted to. I go fishing to get away from calls, texts, and emails, not to try to fish while juggling with a phone or listening to it ringing over and over just because in today's we are expected to be constantly in contact with anyone who wants to bother us, often with irrelevant drivel.

I miss the days when landlines were the only form of remote contact.

Well said.