When you venture out in to the county side or mountains to go hiking what equipment do you take? You are advised to take equipment like warm layered clothing, wet weather gear, something that can be used as a shelter, extra food ration, etc.

It pays to plan well, so some precautions you might want to take are

• Check the weather forecast,
• Let someone know where you intend to hike and how long you expect to be away,
• Check you gear to make sure you have packed it,
• Make sure nothing is damaged,
• Take a couple of lighters, or some sort of fire starter,
• Take a GPS if possible,
• An up to date map,
• Make sure you have a personal first aid kit,
• Take a fully charged phone or a couple if you have a spare one,
• Try to hike with some else so you are not alone,

Why are you advised to take the precautions above, because unintentionally it is easy to get lost while out hiking. According to an article published by the Wilderness Medical Society from 1992 to 2007 there were 78,488 people involved in 65,439 search and rescue incidents, this includes 2,659 fatalities.

So you are out hiking and it starts to rain heavily, you have your wet weather gear on, but what about the other things you are taking with you like your GPS, Mobile Phone, and Maps? Are they protected from the elements?

Rain water tends to get into everything especially if you are out in the open and the rain is heavy. It tends to find it way through wet weather gear and could damage you electronics. A cheap and effective way to protect your electronics is to look at buying a waterproof phone case, the type I’m talking about is a PVC vinyl case with interlocking latches.

The waterproof phone cases are multifunctional and as well as protecting your phone they can be used for your GPS, lighters, credit cards, cash, batteries, maps as well as anything else that is phone sized. Yes Maps, because they have a clear vinyl window so that when you place your map in the pouch you will still be able to view it. Mobile phones and other touch screen electronics are still functional while in the waterproof phone case and you can still read and write texts, open programs and use the touch screen just like you would if it wasn’t in the case. The cases are strong enough to take the knocks and bump associated with been outdoors and come with lanyard so you can wear it around your neck making it easily accessible. If you enjoy other outdoor activities along side hiking, you will be able to make use of the waterproof cases, for instance use them while diving as the cases are waterproof to 100 feet.