Ah, the “rugged” cell phone. What better expression of man’s eternal desire to dominate his surroundings than to take a thoroughly unnatural creation deep into the wilds of nature? Though I don’t discount the sheer necessity of cell phone ownership or use, especially these days (it’s worth it to have at least some kind of cell phone on hand wherever you go), the Casio G’zOne Ravine is a force that’s pretty potent in the wild, if just a bit lacking in the utility department.

The Casio G’zOne Ravine is a folder style cell phone that offers speakerphone, voice recorder, world clock, E911 capability, speech to text capability, a flashlight, a thermomenter, a push to talk mode, mobile web, mobile email, VCAST service, a variety of messaging capabilities (text, multimedia, picture and voice are all available), a variety of downloadable items (including ring tones and games), and a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED light, white balance effects, a self-timer and a variety of special effects. You’ll also get VZ Navigator with GPS, tidal graph application (for the fisherman who wants to know when the best fishing hits), an astronomical calendar that shows the lunar cycle, alarm clock, calendar, stopwatch, MP3 player, 2.5mm headphone jack, and a battery capable of yielding five hours of talk time on a single charge.

There are a lot of great reasons for outdoor enthusiasts to have a Casio G’zOne. Between the military-grade durability against dust, shock and water (some pictures show it fully immersed in water) and the variety of outdoor-specific applications, it’s a tool easily on par with a Swiss army knife. Sure, it’s no match for an upper-rank smartphone in terms of utility, but one thing is clear–this has plenty going for it.

If you’re not planning to take this out for anything harsher than a pizza run, then you can probably do a lot better than the Casio G’zOne Ravine. But if you’ve got plans that take you into the deep woods for extended periods of time, then you’ll probably like this cell phone.

The Good

Incredible durability

Terrific features for outdoors enthusiast

The Bad

Mediocre battery life

Decided lack of non-outdoorsy features

Score 7 / 10

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The Casio G’zOne Ravine phone will be hitting Verizon Wireless very soon. The G’zOne has a 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, noise cancellation, VZ Navigator support, and MIL-STD-810G compliance. This means that the phone can resist water, shock, vibration, dust, salt fog, high and low temperatures. The phone will be coming soon at a price of $149.99 with a $50 rebate and two year contract. [Engadget Mobile]