Survival Cell Phone... GZone

Trace Rinaldi

Trace Rinaldi

Joined
Oct 3, 1998
Messages
1,774
The wife needed a new phone and I was dreading going to the Verizon store until I saw this phone.. Its built by Casio like thier G-Shock watches, and I was told it was originally made for spec ops comm.. These things are TOUGH! You can dunk them in water, freeze it in a block of ice, run em over with a car, drop it off a 2nd story balcony and it keeps on working.. Standout cool features are the compass, GPS stuff, and it even has a very bright lantern type LED light built in.. It also comes with two batteries. One is slim and great for EDC and then it has a larger extra capacity batt for heading out in the boonies where you want plenty of battery life..

So far I'm really liking this thing.. Anyone else have one??

Heres some info on them.. http://gizmodo.com/5030089/casio-gz...one-crammed-with-gps-compass-lantern-and-more

Here is a video of the phone frozen in ice.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKB7xEwT-BI

Set on fire and doused in beer..ha!.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSwPptAhVI8

I saw another one where they ran it over with a car but cant find it now..
 

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The wife and I have had ours for about 2 months now. Absolutely love the phone. Tough as nails, waterproof, reliable performance.

When we were getting them, the salesman told us about a guy who sent him a picture he had taken with the phone underwater. Also heard about another guy who dropped it from the 5th story of a construction site. When he went down to get it, he figured it was toast. The battery had popped out, and when he put it back on, the phone fired right up.

I would not hesitate to recommend this phone to anyone.
 
I was issued a G'zone for work. It's very durable in regards to the impact resistance, waterproof ability, and overall ruggedness.

I've only had the model that you have pictured for about 4-5 months, but the previous model G'zone held up for about 18 months on the job. I do not know if that is a long time for a cellphone or not, but it doesn't seem like it to me.

As of now, I'm highly impressed with the short-term durability, but I'm not sold on them in the long term.
 
"Survival Cell Phone... GZone" Just dont count on it to work when the SHF. one of the first things to go down is the cell phone system, it get overloaded and that is if it is even still intact. Looks like a great phone but not for survival. a little hint et your ham license and you will be better off. Doug
 
DPKnives said:
"Survival Cell Phone... GZone" Just dont count on it to work when the SHF. one of the first things to go down is the cell phone system, it get overloaded and that is if it is even still intact. Looks like a great phone but not for survival. a little hint et your ham license and you will be better off. Doug
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Well duh...;) Im not talking about SHTF comm. that would be lame...:D

I will say this as far as Wilderness survival comm.. I've been to some pretty dang remote area's in N. Idaho and Colorado and lo and behold I get cell service with Verizon!!!.:thumbup: I wouldnt rely on it totally but for a tough cell that could possibly save yer bacon, this phone with Verizon service is about as good as it gets IMHO..:cool:
 
DPKnives said:
"Survival Cell Phone... GZone" Just dont count on it to work when the SHF. one of the first things to go down is the cell phone system, it get overloaded and that is if it is even still intact. Looks like a great phone but not for survival. a little hint et your ham license and you will be better off. Doug
Click to expand...

Actually, I disagree, only because I've worked with HLS/HLD. Cell phone towers have backup systems (generator based, most companies can keep them going up to 48-72 hours, but after that will need to be refueled) that keep them functional long after the local switches go down and switching can be routed. I do agree that they get overloaded, but if you have text, it's a store-and-forward system that is actually quite reliable if only a few minutes longer to receive than immediate voice.

You do make a great point about amateur radio...you could skip over the remote or catastrophe areas and trunk right into the cell system over a hundred miles away...that's definitely a SHTF system:thumbup:

ROCK6
 
Verizon has made tremendous improvements over the past few years, but there are still dead spots. What bothers me more, though, is that Verizon disables the GPS capabilities of their phones. That's extremely useful even in urban areas, but could be a matter of life or death out in the boonies.
 
Trace Rinaldi but you yourself called it a SURVIVAL phone. Besides if you can still use the cell you must be in an order pizza situation not a survival situation. Sorry bud I could not resist. Doug
 
Hey Trace... I know what your point was. Survival and SHTF and all scenerios isn't where Trace was coming from.

I am posting this from my EDC urban survival blackberry with google maps as well as other features I can't seem to do without. If mine would be as breakable as that phone I'd jump on getting one. I am rough on phones for some reason.
 
I have one. I think it's the best phone I've ever owned. I've even found occasional use for the compass. I use the lamp function all the time. I love answering calls in the shower!
 
shangchi108 said:
I have one. I think it's the best phone I've ever owned. I've even found occasional use for the compass. I use the lamp function all the time. I love answering calls in the shower!
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Hey I hadnt thought of that! My damn phone always seems to ring when I'm in the shower. I'll take it along with me next time..HA!!!

Also DP Knives... I mentioned heading out to the boonies, and this IS a Wilderness SURVIVAL forum. I spose trying to keep the title short it wasnt clear, but I sort of expected people to get what I meant.. I'll try and be more clear next time.:D BTW I agree for SHTF comm HAM/CB/SW etc are the only way to fly..:thumbup:
 
Verizon disables GPS hardware on their phones unless you pay monthly for their navigation service. The only reason I use verizon is because my company provides the phone (and plan) for free.
 
Trace all kidding aside. I do like the phone it looks like it would be a great thing to have. But from my stand point being The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Emergency Coordinator for my county, you gave me an opportunity to not only hopefully enlighten a few people but get them thinking that their cell phone will NOT be good survival tool. Believe it or not there are still a good many that think their cell phones will save them when they need it. Thanks much. Doug
 
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