Also, I would hesitate to extrapolate your crush test to encompass safe survival of the PDA. The cracking you describe sounds like one edge of the box deformed enough to crack the ABS. Because the Lebanon bologna occupies a smaller volume and is much more flexible than the PDA, it survived nicely. Earlier in the article, you described the PDA as being a "tight fit" in the box. Since the PDA is pretty rigid in construction, I wonder if it would also have survived.

I wouldn't worry about this problem at all, since the likelihood of dropping the box and having it run over are pretty slim. But, dropping something overboard or taking a wave on a boat is more likely.

Thanks for forcing me to think about the physics involved in this otherwise mundane product.

Tom Russel

Staff editor Steve Niles responds
Nicely reasoned argument there. I admit physics aren't my strong suit. You're right--there might have been some stress placed on the PDA if it had been in the box when I ran it over. Still, I think the Otter Box is a good product and proved itself to be quite durable. And, as always, we must continue to recommend Lebanon bologna, if not as a product testing vehicle, then at least for lunch.