The Best Damn Phone Case in the World

I have a unique perspective on phone cases. In the summer of 2017, I managed to have my iPhone 7 fall off my motorcycle twice while going over 60mph… twice.

Now I’m quite sure after reading that, your initial reaction is to shake your head and call me dumb and move on, but hold on… I promise you this brief story is worth reading.

The first time this happened, I was coming off an off-ramp from the highway, my phone securely fastened to a RAM X-Grip mount. The single lane opens to two, and I move to pass the left side of a city bus. As soon as I round the corner of the bus, a wild manhole cover appears! Normally this would not be anything to consider, but it just so happens that the manhole cover is depressed into the surrounding asphalt by three inches or so. Needless to say, I nailed it square on and it was a miracle I was able to keep the bike upright.

However, about a block or two later, I realized that the music in my helmet was no longer playing and I looked down to realize my phone was missing. Circling back to the manhole, I spent the next 30 minutes with help of complete strangers looking for my wayward phone. We found it face down in the grassy median about 75 feet from where the manhole cover was, clearly having gone for quite the joyride.

Thankfully my phone was totally unscathed aside from a few choice scuffs on the edges of the case itself. Graciously thanking the help of strangers, I put the phone in my pocket and went on my way.

The second time is a little more extreme — I almost died.

Going for a ride on a Sunday around lunch to meet up with a friend of mine, I came around a corner on a two-lane county road to a concrete bridge that passes over a shallow creek. As I neared the end of the bridge at a brisk pace, a deer leapt out in front of me. With no time to react other than a quick expletive, I slammed into the deer and went head over head onto the ground, coming to a stop some 50 feet later.

Looking up at the sky in the center of this two-lane road, I checked to make sure I was not paralyzed and eventually got to my feet. To say my bike was totaled is quite an understatement… what I found was a twisted bit of metal, barely recognizable as a bike if not the wheels, and resting even further down the road facing the opposite direction I was traveling.

I would later discover that I had split my hip entirely in two and broken the C3 vertebrae in my neck.

My phone however, once again was totally unscathed aside from a few choice scuffs on the case, and in fact enabled me to call for help.

What case was it?

The Otterbox Commuter, and it is the only case I will ever buy again.