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  • Since I started durability testing phones, the name CAT had been brought up so many times

  • as potentially one of the most durable phones on the planet, but I haven't had a chance

  • to test that theory until now.

  • I have two phones here: the S31 and the S41.

  • The smaller S31 is spec'd down a bit with a smaller screen and smaller battery, but

  • the same basic build.

  • Today we'll focus on the S41.

  • Let's get started.

  • [Intro]

  • This definitely isn't your sleek, pristine looking iPhone or Samsung phone.

  • This is built for a very specific group of people - a group of people who need their

  • device to survive no matter what happens happens to it.

  • The CAT S41 is even impressively advertised to resist solar radiation.

  • So star man here could start swiping Tinder on Mars if he had this phone...and he's still

  • probably have better luck than the rest of us.

  • For those of us here on earth, CAT has designed this phone to survive a 1.8 meter drop onto

  • concrete - an impressive 6 foot fall.

  • But as we can tell here, to gain that much drop protection, there has to be a thick plastic

  • layer covering the Gorilla Glass 5, which scratches at a level 3.

  • Luckily that laminate layer is included on the phone and easily replaceable if it ever

  • does get too messed up.

  • I am going to leave that protection intact and in place because the phone is incomplete

  • without it.

  • Just remember that the screen scratches at a level 3.

  • There are 3 physical buttons along the bottom - all ip68 water resistant and made from plastic.

  • But if you're outside wearing protective gloves, these large physical buttons can be useful.

  • There's a cutout on the screen protector for that 8 megapixel front facing camera.

  • It's covered by Gorilla Glass 5 underneath that plastic and won't be damaged by my razor.

  • The earpiece is plastic, but has holes small enough that metal shavings or dirt won't easily

  • get inside.

  • The power button is made from black plastic, along with the volume buttons - same plastic

  • material.

  • The body of this phone is where things start to get intense.

  • A beastly layer of thick plastic covers the entire surface of the phone, with rubber grip

  • covering that plastic.

  • And this isn't the cheap flimsy plastic either.

  • My razor blade is severely struggling with this stuff.

  • Down at the bottom of the phone we have the charging port flap covering a micro USB port.

  • And it's interesting, every other water-resistant phone I've tested so far has never been fit

  • for salt water because the salt in salt water corrodes metal faster and degrades it's adhesive.

  • But since all the metal and adhesive is covered up on this phone with these watertight plastic

  • flaps, this phone is salt water resistant up to 2 meters deep - over 6 feet.

  • There's even a flap covering the headphone jack with plenty of plastic and rubber along

  • that edge to keep the phone damage free.

  • Now the camera is where things start to get a little disappointing.

  • The flash is plastic, which is fine, no one really cares about that.

  • But the camera lens itself is also made from plastic.

  • Now I get that plastic is more shatter resistant than glass, but plastic scratches much easier

  • that glass does, so it's something to keep in mind if you own this phone.

  • Also, this phone does not record video in 4K, it maxes out at 1080p.

  • The camera was apparently not the focus or the selling point of the S41.

  • Our spaceman snapchat game on Mars is going to be rather weak.

  • On the side of the phone we have one metal button, which is programmable to any app with

  • a short press function and a long press function.

  • Now that's useful.

  • And we have another flap keeping the SIM and SD card slots watertight.

  • The iPhone 8 is water resistant to 1 meter, just for 30 minutes.

  • This CAT S41 is water resistant 2 meters deep for up to an hour.

  • CAT's not messing around.

  • Inside this phone is a massive 5,000 milliamp battery that CAT says has a 38 hour talk time,

  • or 44 days of standby.

  • Pretty impressive.

  • I did attempt an art class with Jerry on the back rubber, but the resilience of rubber

  • closes up on my razor blade slices, hiding my beautiful cat I drew on the CAT phone.

  • It's got pointy little ears and everything.

  • The CAT logo is embedded into the rubber, but it's pretty solid and would take some

  • major abuse to ever fall out on it's own.

  • So I'll just put this back.

  • Good as new.

  • And now the burn test.

  • Remember, we're working with several different screen layers here.

  • This is a 5 inch 1080p display, and I left the flame in place for about 15 seconds before

  • the outer plastic layer started to bubble up and melt.

  • It got a little crispy.

  • And now the structural bend test which is surprising.

  • I expected the phone to be a little more rigid than it is.

  • There is some decent flex to the front and back of the phone.

  • This is definitely not a bad thing of course, since nothing snapped or broke, or was even

  • permanently disfigured.

  • Everything straightens out after the flex, but it does have some bounce to it.

  • Long story short, the phone is incredibly durable when it comes to water resistance

  • and drop protection, as long as you don't mind that plastic screen and the plastic camera

  • lens.

  • It might not be mainstream, but the S41 will survive basically anything if you had to pick

  • one feature as the most important on your smart phone, what would it be?

  • Let me know in the comments.

  • And come hang out with me on Instagram.

  • Thanks a ton for watching, and I'll see you around.

Since I started durability testing phones, the name CAT had been brought up so many times

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