Updated

Here’s another waterproof case for ya. Griffin announced the $79 water-sealed Survivor + Catalyst Case for the iPhone 5 during CES 2013, and we’ve got some hands-on details about just how well this bright blue-green and yellow case protects your smartphone in up to 9.8 feet of water.

As we mentioned before, the Survivor + Catalyst uses water-sealing case tech called the O-ring to lock H20 out of the device. The ports are covered in silicone gaskets and the touchscreen is protected behind a clear touch-facilitating cover. You can’t use the touchscreen underwater but you can fire off camera shots by using the side-fire button via the rubber covers button extension.

One very cool feature Griffin shared is that the Survivor + Catalyst is sealed so tight audio can’t escape on its own. So how do you make calls ? There’s a thin layer of plastic membrane near the speakers that’s so sensitive to sound vibrations it can route the audio through the case’s plastic and into your ear. According to Griffin, it’s the same technology found in stetoscopes.

We couldn’t test sound quality there on the CES 2013 show floor, but we were told that the membrane comes with some sensitivity to pressure changes. During flights, Survivor + Catalyst owners will want to make sure that they open up some of the ports to make sure the internal membranes aren’t disturbed by changes in the locked-in air pressure.

The Survivor + Catalyst will be available for beach vacations every where later this month.