LG X Venture $329
This smartphone was made for the outdoors
If you love the outdoors — always hiking or biking or kayaking — a rugged phone like the LG X Venture is right up your alley. It is a handset that's designed to take some punishment but won't break the bank.
The X Venture falls into the limited category of rugged phones, and it's tough-looking. Its black glass front is surrounded on both sides by a metal frame with reinforced corners.
The Android phone still has the traditional front-facing layout with a home button, back button and menu button, all of which are designed to stand out a bit from the glass screen and to be easily pressed, even with gloved fingers.
In fact, the X Venture has glove mode, which is supposed to make it easier to interact with the screen while wearing gloves. It passed the garden glove test.
The back of the phone is a grippy plastic with a textured finish designed to help you hang on.
The X Venture is a big phone that's easy to use with big hands and is especially apt for situations in which you might not be comfortable using a less-sturdy phone.
The handset has IP68 protection from water and dust. It can stay under 5 feet of water for up to 30 minutes. LG also said the X Venture passed 14 different tests for durability conducted by an independent laboratory that conforms to U.S. military standards.
It's 6-by-3-by-0.36 inches and weighs 5.8 ounces. It's pretty darn big when you compare it to my iPhone 6S. The display screen is 5.2 inches.
