We all want longer battery life and protection for our iPhone. For the most part you either had to settle for on or the other. Some cases you can get both but either the battery life is lacking or the protection isn’t what you would hope it to be. The folks over at SnowLizard have taken what they learned from making the SLXtreme 4/4s and upgraded it for the iPhone 5/5S and made it a case you have to check out. With built-in 2,550 mAh battery, High effiency Solar Panel and waterproof seals, this it the iPhone case that you can take with you anywhere. Even off the grid for an unlimited period of time. Lets have a look.
Those of you outdoor fans will love the SLXtreme5 case due to the fact that it is both waterproof and has the ability to keep your phone charged via solar power.
The back of the case has the integrated solar panel which charges both the internal case battery and the battery in the phone. The solar panel is capable of adding 10-15 minutes of talk time per hour of sunlight charging. While this doesn’t seem like much, that extra 10-15 minutes may be just enough for you to call for help if you are out hiking and fell and broke your leg, or even out on a kayaking trip and you capsize and loose your transportation, you can call for help.
The SLXtreme5 is waterproof up to 6.6 feet (2m). The case has a large opening for the camera that lets you take both video and pictures both when wet and under water. Since the water affects the ability to use the touchscreen, you use the volume buttons for picture and video taking. Once you are out of the water, dry the screen protector over the touchscreen and upload your pictures to Facebook, Instagram, or what ever other site you prefer.
Built into the SLXtreme5 is a 2250 mAh battery that adds 150% to the battery life. This battery can be charged by either solar power or via the microUSB cable that is provided with the case. The case does change you phone charging and data transfer from Lightning cable to microUSB via a port in the phone. The internal battery adds up too 480 hours of standby time, 65 hours of music playback, 16 hours of video playing, and 16 hours of talk time.
The top and bottom of the case open. The top to put your phone into the case, and the bottom to access the charging port. The top flips open and has an orange gasket inside of it to keep your phone dry should it get submerged. The top is held closed by a snap clasp. This keeps the to closed tight and puts just enough pressure on the gasket to keep a perfect seal. The bottom is held closed by a lock screw that is easy to open with just your fingers. This is one of the upgrades from the previous model. Inside the bottom cover is the microUSB port. This is also protected by a black gasket that keeps the water out to keep the port from shorting out. The headphone jack is protected by a rubber plug that screws into the case and seals that way. Due to the extra size at the bottom of the case, SnowLizard has included a headphone jack extension that allows you to listen to your music with any headphone. The headphone cable extension also has an orange gasket on it so when you are listening to music, the case is still waterproof. Attached to the headphone cable is an extra waterproof plug for the headphone jack in case you would happen to lose yours.
Waterproof means horrible sound quality. This myth is shattered by the SLXtreme5 case. While being waterproof up to 6.6 feet, the audio quality is still very clear and listenable. Even the cover for the mic does not mute the sound much for the person you are talking too. The audio ports redirect the sound to the front of the phone instead of the bottom so you actually get better sound than not having a case on it.
The case has built-in power and volume buttons that work underwater. They are waterproof also.
The bottom of the case has a built-in hold for clipping in the included Carabiner and Lanyard to carry the phone around your neck.
Being waterproof wasn’t enough for the people at SnowLizard. The made the case drop resistant to withstand falls from up too 6.6 feet (2m).
Included with the SLXtreme5 Case is the case, microUSB charging cable, a Spare audio plug, Carabiner, Lanyard, and Watertight earphone jack extender.
Price for the SLXtreme5 is $149.99 from SnowLizard. While this may seem like a lot of money to pay for a phone case, remember that this also make your phone waterproof (per IP-68 standards), dust proof, drop proof (per 810G standards) .
The SLXtreme5 has spent a lot of time in my bag and has no wear or tear to show for it. The battery lasts just as long as they say it will, and as you can see, I submerged my iPhone under water to prove the water protection is really there. I have a friend who purchased the case for his iPhone 4S as soon as he saw this case. He has used it down waters slides and under water at a water park for taking pictures and also uses it daily for his trucking business and has had no damage to his phone from it.
Only downside to this case would be for the iPhone 5S crowd that likes to use the fingerprint unlock. With this case you will not be able to use that function. Otherwise this case is just awesome in all aspects.
SnowLizard also sells accessories such as a handlebar mount for your bike, and even a chest strap to mount the iPhone tight to your body. The chest mount flips out so you can look down and view the phone in a landscape mode with just a glance, keeping your hands free.
The SLXtreme5 comes with a ONE YEAR warranty that covers defects in materials and workmanship. Please check SnowLizard.com for full list of restrictions.
Also make sure to check out their site for their cases for both the iPhone 4/4s and the iPad.
Colors available are Yellow/Black, Orange/Black, White/Black and Camo/Black.
