Cell phones are a crucial item for most everyone. Trail riding is no exception to this. There have been many times when my trail buddies were trying to call me and the calls went unnoticed while I was bounding down the trails. So I was super excited to pick up a RAM Mounts Aqua Box. I have used RAM Mounts equipment in vehicles so I was familiar with the quality. I ordered the RAM-B-149Z-AQ2U from GPSCity.com. The kit contains three separate items: a handle bar mount, arm and a Medium Aqua Box. According to RAM, the internal dimensions of the medium box are 2.88″ wide, 5.75″ high and 1.188″ deep. Three foam pads of different thicknesses are included so your device is well secured inside the box. Alternative kits are made with smaller or larger Aqua Boxes. I found the medium sized Aqua Box to be perfect for my Apple iPhone 3GS in its OtterBox Defender case.
Assembly is a snap and took less than 10 minutes. The flex lens is not hard to install but it seems a bit awkward at first. RAM offers a video on their website to clear up any confusion. The ball joint system that RAM uses makes mounting extremely flexible. The kit includes mounting hardware for different sized handlebars. The box is waterproof and though you can’t fully use the iPhone touchscreen through the Aqua Box flex lens, you can easily see calls and messages when they come in. Simple screen touches work fine but sliding functions do not work. The box also has a punchout that can be used to route wires from the device. The case design should maintain its water tight abilities even with this option used.
During an hour long trail ride, there was no movement at all from the RAM system. It held solidly in place and the safety of my iPhone was the last thing on my mind. I did panic a time or two when I realized my phone was not in my pocket, thinking it had fallen out while riding. I was quickly reassured to see it staring back at me from between the handle bars. I consider this a must have add-on for any trail rider and I will be adding it to my other quads. MSRP from RAM Mounts is $68.92. The system is covered by a lifetime warranty with the exception of the replaceable flex lens. Lenses are about $5 from RAM. You can see this and their other offerings at http://www.ram-mount.com/.