8 Rugged Smartphone Cases For Your Wildest Adventures

We've all been there—just about to leave for a challenging hike, a day on the water or an impromptu Sunday morning skydive—but we're not sure what to do with our phones. Should I leave it, you might ask yourself if you're one of those rare souls that can still consider temporary separation. [slideshow:947]

 What if you miss an emergency call, or worse, an epic Instagram opportunity? It would be devastating. It would be like all of that fun and adventure never even happened.

Rest assured, we understand your anxiety, and have scoured the internet for solutions. Take a look at the best rugged smartphone cases and never sacrifice again; maintain your active lifestyle and your borderline-obsessive connection with the digital world.

Still not convinced that your brand new $800 phone needs a case? Maybe a totally unbiased, scientifically-sound survey will change your mind.

According to a survey by Plaxo, a free service for storing contacts, one in three people lose or damage their phones. Even better, 19 percent of those surveyed admitted to dropping their phone in the toilet. That's nearly one in every five people, if we're willing to assume those surveyed are an accurate representation of all people (which we absolutely are).

This completely legitimate data proves that your smartphone is not safe in your very own bathroom, why would you ever risk taking it up a mountain, out to sea or out in the open air at 14,000 feet?

While even our top rugged adventure cases won't protect your phone at 14,000 feet, they will protect against four to six foot drops, sand storms and the last one might even save your life. It's time to throw out that old case that you bought purely for looks and upgrade to one of these cases that are always ready for anything, be that adventure or dunks in the toilet.

See: 8 Rugged Smartphone Cases for Your Wildest Adventures

Note: we tried to include cases for a broad range of phones in our top eight. Your model may not be included, but most of the brands we listed made cases for a variety of phones. Check on their websites, links are provided on each slide.