Short answer: the best phone case for snowboarding is one your phone cannot fall out of. A Keebos crossbody case at $49.90 keeps the phone on a strap under your jacket with your lift pass and card in the wallet on the back. For wet snow and spring slush, the waterproof case at $19.90, or two for $29.90, is the better buy. Free US shipping, 30 day money back guarantee.
Best Phone Case for Snowboarders?
Keebos are built around one idea that happens to suit snowboarding well: the phone is attached to you. It stays accessible for photos, warm under your jacket so it does not shut down in the cold, and it does not slide out of a pocket when you are strapping in or riding the lift.
The Chairlift Is Where Phones Die
Almost every lost snowboarding phone story starts the same way. You are sitting on the lift with a mitt off, checking a message or lining up a photo of the run below, and the phone goes over the side into deep snow under the lift line. If you are lucky it lands where patrol can retrieve it in spring. Usually it does not.
The second version happens at the bottom: the phone rides in a jacket pocket, you strap in, sit down, stand up, and at some point it works its way out without you feeling it through layers and gloves.
Both problems have the same fix, and it is not a tougher case. It is keeping the phone physically connected to you. Snowboarders call this a phone strap, a phone leash, or a tether. They describe the same thing: a cord between you and the phone so a fumble ends with it swinging against your chest instead of disappearing.
Sort Out the Glove Problem First
This is the part that causes most dropped phones, and almost nobody plans for it. A snowboard glove or mitt will not work a touchscreen, so every photo and every message means pulling a glove off in freezing air, holding it in your teeth or under an arm, and operating a cold phone with bare fingers while sitting thirty feet up.
- Touchscreen liner gloves. Wear thin touchscreen-compatible liners under your mitts and pull only the outer layer. This is the cheapest fix and it solves most of it.
- Set up voice control before you ride so you can answer a call or send a message without touching the screen at all.
- Use the volume up button as a camera shutter. Open the camera, then press volume up. It works through most gloves and it is the difference between getting the shot and taking a mitt off on a moving lift.
- Keep the phone on a strap for the moments when you do have bare hands. Cold fingers are clumsy fingers.
Cold, Battery, and Where the Phone Should Actually Live
Cold does not usually break a phone permanently, but it causes the failures you actually hit on a mountain: the touchscreen stops responding, the battery drains far faster than it should, and the phone shuts down unexpectedly even while showing charge left.
That rules out an outside pocket on a cold day. The phone wants to be against your body heat, inside a layer. Worn as a necklace under your jacket, a crossbody case puts it exactly there, and it is still reachable without unzipping everything.
Two more things worth doing before a cold day:
- Turn off WiFi, Bluetooth and anything else you will not use, since hunting for signals drains a cold battery fast. Make sure they are properly off rather than just disconnected.
- Leave GPS on. If something goes wrong and you need to be found, that is the setting that matters. Snowboarding carries real risk and a locatable phone is part of managing it.
Wet Snow and Spring Slush: Use a Waterproof Case
Snow is water, and spring riding is wet. If you are boarding in slush, in a storm, or you are the person who lands in the creek at the bottom of the run, a sealed pouch is the honest answer.
Our waterproof phone case with a strap is $19.90, or two for $29.90. It is 100% waterproof with a leakproof snap closure, has a touchscreen responsive front so you can use the phone without opening it, and comes on a detachable quick-dry strap you can wear crossbody or around your neck. It fits every iPhone, Samsung and Google Pixel model, and it floats, which matters more on a lake than a mountain but is a reasonable failsafe.
Being straight about the limits: a waterproof pouch does nothing about the cold, so it still belongs inside a layer on a freezing day.
What a Keebos Does, and What It Does Not
Worth saying plainly, because it decides whether you should buy one.
- It solves dropping and losing. The strap keeps the phone connected to you on the lift, in the lodge and in the parking lot. That is the problem most snowboarders actually have.
- It is not armour for a crash. The case has a 4 corner bumper and a 3mm raised lip, which handles the knocks and the drops onto a lodge floor. It is not designed for you landing on it at speed. If you are riding park or charging hard, put the phone in a zipped inside pocket and treat the strap as retention only.
- It is not insulated. Some snowboarding cases are thermal and claim to keep a phone warm. Ours is not one of them. Under a jacket, your own body heat does that job for free, which is what we would recommend either way.
If you ski as well as ride, we have a longer piece on keeping your phone safe while skiing that goes deeper on gear and retention options.
More Cocoa at the Lodge
The wallet on the back of the case holds up to 6 cards, which on a mountain means your lift pass, an ID and a card for the mid-mountain beer. No digging through a jacket with cold hands at the counter, and no wallet to leave on a table.
It also means you can ride with nothing else on you. Phone, pass, card, done.
Photo Ops That Never Stop
Having the phone on you rather than buried is the difference between getting the shot and hearing about it later. From the lift, at the top, in the lodge, in the parking lot at the end of the day. The elastic finger strap behind the wallet also gives you a grip that does not depend on how much feeling is left in your fingers.
They Look Good With Any Setup
Our crossbody iPhone cases come in 10 designs and the crossbody Samsung cases in 7, so the strap can disappear under a jacket or match your outerwear, whichever you prefer. The strap detaches completely, so the same case works as a plain phone case once you are off the mountain.
Help Is Just a Phone Call Away
The practical reason to keep a phone on you rather than in a bag in a locker: injuries happen on a mountain, and so do separations from the group in bad visibility. A phone you can reach without taking a pack off is worth having, and a phone that is still with you after a fall is worth more.
What to Buy, and What It Costs
- Waterproof phone case with strap: $19.90, or two for $29.90. The pick for wet snow and spring riding. Sealed, touchscreen responsive, detachable quick-dry strap, fits any phone.
- Crossbody phone case: $49.90. The everyday option that also covers the lodge and the lift. 4 corner bumper, 3mm raised lip, wallet for 6 cards, 54 inch strap that adjusts and detaches. For iPhone, Samsung Galaxy including Z Fold and Z Flip, and Google Pixel.
- Universal strap: $34.90. Adds retention to whatever rugged case you already ride with.
US shipping is free and everything carries a 30 day money back guarantee. If you are kitting out for the season, order before the first storm rather than the week of your trip.
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Snowboarding With Your Phone: FAQ
What is the best phone case for snowboarding?
The one the phone cannot fall out of. On a mountain the realistic failure is dropping the phone off a lift or working it out of a pocket, not smashing it, so a case with a strap built in beats a tougher case with no retention. A crossbody case worn under a jacket keeps the phone warm, attached and reachable, and the wallet on the back carries your lift pass. For wet spring conditions a sealed waterproof case at $19.90 is the better choice.
Where should you keep your phone while snowboarding?
Inside a layer, against your body, ideally in a zipped chest pocket or on a strap worn as a necklace under your jacket. That keeps it warm enough to hold a charge and out of the way if you fall. Avoid outside jacket pockets and trouser pockets, which are where phones work loose while you are strapping in and standing up.
How do you use a phone with snowboard gloves on?
Most gloves and mitts will not operate a touchscreen. Wear thin touchscreen-compatible liner gloves under your mitts and remove only the outer layer, set up voice control before you head out, and use the volume up button as a camera shutter, which works through most gloves. Keeping the phone on a strap covers you for the moments when you do have bare hands on a lift.
Does cold weather kill your phone battery while snowboarding?
Cold does not usually cause permanent damage, but it drains the battery quickly, can make the touchscreen unresponsive and can shut the phone down even with charge remaining. Keeping the phone against your body inside a layer largely solves it. Turning off WiFi and Bluetooth for the day helps too, while leaving GPS on so you can be located.
Do you need a waterproof phone case for snowboarding?
For cold dry powder days, not really, since a normal case under a jacket is fine. For spring slush, storm days or anyone who ends up in the creek, a sealed pouch is worth the $19.90. Ours is 100% waterproof with a leakproof snap closure and a touchscreen responsive front, so you can shoot photos without opening it. Note it does nothing about the cold, so keep it inside a layer.
Will a Keebos protect my phone if I fall while snowboarding?
It helps with drops, not crashes. The case has a 4 corner bumper and a 3mm raised lip, which handles knocks and drops onto hard floors. Nobody should sell you a phone case as protection against landing on it at speed. If you are riding park or charging, put the phone in a zipped inside pocket and treat the strap as retention.
How do you stop dropping your phone on the chairlift?
Stop relying on a pocket, and stop taking both gloves off. Keep the phone attached to you with a strap so a fumble ends with it against your chest, use touchscreen liner gloves so you rarely go bare handed, and use the volume button for photos instead of tapping the screen. Almost every dropped lift phone involves a bare hand and a loose phone at the same moment.
1 comment
Bought a Keebos crossbody phone casee for my dad, and now he’s never without it. I was so impressed with how useful it is, I ordered one for myself, and I love it!