The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is a big, beautiful phone with IP68 water resistance — meaning it is completely protected against dust “ingress” and it can withstand being in up to 1.5 meters of water freshwater for up to 30 minutes — but it is not invincible. For those who work in areas with lots of particulate matter blowing around, or spend a lot of time near the water, grabbing a water-resistant case can help you avoid damaging that $1000 powerhouse in your pocket, especially in regards to keeping your Note 9’s precious ports protected. We’ve waded through a river of rugged cases looking for the ones that can best protect your Note 9 from a galaxy of grime and water.
Tough shell to crack
Shellbox
This IP68 water-resistant case has been tested to withstand up to 2 meters of fresh water immersion for up to an hour, as well as drop protection up to 2 meters and dust/frost/snow resistance. Shellbox’s cases come in a wide array of colors, with some models featuring clear backs with colored accents and some models featuring colors back.
$18 at Amazon
A pop of color
Fanstrek
Fanstrek’s case design very much resembles the Shellbox, with equal protection against water/dust/snow/drops. All models of this case sport a clear back and black bumper, with the accent color showing in a ring around the built-in screen protector and colored dots running up the middle of the rugged bumper. This case also comes with an 18-month warranty!
$17 at Amazon
X gon’ give it to ya
Armor-X Mountable Waterpoof Case with X-Mount and Carabiner
Armor-X makes an entire line of ultra-rugged cases designed for a variety of mounts, grips and clips, including this IP68 case for the Note 9. This case comes with a lot of bells and whistles, including an X-mount, an active strap that doubles as a one-handed phone grip, and a carabiner for securing your phone to a belt loop, backpack strap, or lanyard.
$60 at Amazon
Custom protection
SkinIt
SkinIt doesn’t want you to settle for a boring or downright ugly case in the name of protection, so if offers Note 9 water-resistant case in dozens of pre-made styles, including NFL and Marvel inspired designs. If none of those strike your fancy, you can create and customize a case that’s uniquely yours!
$45 at Amazon
Float along
Temdan
This IP68 case is tested to withstand up to 2 meters of fresh water immersion for up to an hour, and comes with a floating wrist strap perfect for water parks or kayakers that don’t want their phone to sink should it slip overboard. This case also comes with an optional, stick-on kickstand for watching the game on your phone during camp-outs or airport layovers.
$23 at Amazon
Go deeper
Casetego
Casetego is a cas emaker that turns out affordable cases of every style and durability you could ever ask for, and its IP68 case for the Galaxy Note 9 has maintained a 4.3-star rating on Amazon for months. It also claims a deeper and longer water resistance, saying its case is “submersible to over 10 ft deep for 2 hours”.
$19 at Amazon
All of the water resistant cases here include built-in screen protectors, protective films over the fingerprint and rear camera sensors, and rubberized flaps that cover and seal the ports on the bottom of the phone. The seal these flaps make can degrade over time, which is why these cases all support wireless charging, allowing you to charge your phone without opening and closing the flaps multiple times a day. I’m partial to the neon accent options on the Fanstrek water-resistant case, but the allure of SkinIt’s custom-designed water-resistant cases is tempting, even at twice the price of most IP68 cases.
