For two years I have dove with my Samsung S22+(primary phone) in a Divevolk case. 2 times a week in a pool (videoing practice sessions) and 100+ dives a year in the ocean. Never have seen one drop inside the case.
Divevolk on primary phone
- Thread starter heftysmurf
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OP
heftysmurf
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So -- here's the thing I'm trying to figure out....
That membrane for the screen is funky. Cool, but funky. It seems delicate and is from what I've read without the phone or the dummy phone in there. Tomorrow's dive is wreck dive off of a boat...Giant stride in the water. I'm trying to figure out how to protect that membrane during the stride. Sunday might be the day I test as I've got a couple of shore dives lines up but really want to take it on the wreck. Thoughts?
I've never given it a single thought. You are using it with your phone in it, I hope???
That membrane is tougher than you think. Granted, you want to be careful with anything super sharp near it but I clip mine off to a chest D ring and jump in, never a problem.
I have done many wrecks with it and no different than any other camera.
You are worrying about something that you aren't going to do. Keep the dummy in or the phone, done.
If you dive without the frame and a phone installed, the membranes will breach. I know becuase I tried it. Less then 40' depth. My phone was coated in the vaseline-like gunk that is in between the membranes and seawater was everywhere. If you follow the directions though and use the frame, you should not have any issues. I have 200+ dives in on DiveVolk with no leaks other than the one time I broke the rules.
OP
heftysmurf
Registered
Thanks. Yeah…I meant off the boat with phone in it. Just was curious if the splash can affect it.
The frame for the phone does two things: it positions the phone where it needs to be both for the camera window and for the touch membrane. It also minimizes the empty airspace in the case so that squeeze from the pressure at depth is minimized.
The touch membrane is designed to compress against the touchscreen of your phone. You’ll notice that the membrane feels very thick and squishy at the surface but by the time you get to 20 feet it feels much more like a screen protector And it’s easier to use the phone than at the surface. It’s pretty clever how they do that IMO.
As for the original question: yes, I take my primary phone (15 pro). Everything inside the case is under the same pressure. Partially this is because there is no pre-dive vacuum to reduce the air in the case (also checks for leaks), but also because the touch membrane is not rigid. It compresses at depth, like a drysuit or bcd bladder does. Your phone is also at this pressure, so if some water does get in the case, it’s not going to get forced/sucked into the phone any more than it would at the surface. So the newer phones with better waterproofing are safer than the older phones, (especially if the older phone has a crack) if water should get in.
The ultimate decision should be: can you live without your phone for the duration of your trip should it get damaged or lost? Imagine you’re on a 10 day liveaboard and you drop the phone in the case on your first dive off a wall that descends to 1000 feet. If your answer is: “that would suck, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world”, or “I have another phone on the boat”, then no worries. If however you wouldn’t even be able to get through security at the airport without the info on your phone, then you may want to think of a backup solution.
The touch membrane is designed to compress against the touchscreen of your phone. You’ll notice that the membrane feels very thick and squishy at the surface but by the time you get to 20 feet it feels much more like a screen protector And it’s easier to use the phone than at the surface. It’s pretty clever how they do that IMO.
As for the original question: yes, I take my primary phone (15 pro). Everything inside the case is under the same pressure. Partially this is because there is no pre-dive vacuum to reduce the air in the case (also checks for leaks), but also because the touch membrane is not rigid. It compresses at depth, like a drysuit or bcd bladder does. Your phone is also at this pressure, so if some water does get in the case, it’s not going to get forced/sucked into the phone any more than it would at the surface. So the newer phones with better waterproofing are safer than the older phones, (especially if the older phone has a crack) if water should get in.
The ultimate decision should be: can you live without your phone for the duration of your trip should it get damaged or lost? Imagine you’re on a 10 day liveaboard and you drop the phone in the case on your first dive off a wall that descends to 1000 feet. If your answer is: “that would suck, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world”, or “I have another phone on the boat”, then no worries. If however you wouldn’t even be able to get through security at the airport without the info on your phone, then you may want to think of a backup solution.
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