What do gardeners, soccer moms, hikers and skateboarders have in common?

Increasingly, they’re all using ruggedized phones that combine the latest features with lab-tested toughness. The strongest devices have been certified to meet the Department of Defense’s rigorous MIL-STD-810 standard for withstanding drops, spills, vibration, dust, moisture and more.

Professionals who work in fields such as construction and manufacturing have long sought out phones with MIL-STD-810 credentials to ensure always-on availability, even on job sites that are chaotic, dusty and subject to weather extremes.

The MIL-STD-810 standard comprises more than 20 different environmental conditions, but typical phones in this category are intended to meet its ruggedness tests only for conditions such as dust, sand and shock (the last of which involves repeatedly dropping the phone onto a hard floor). Some phones are even designed to meet the test for water—being fully immersed at a depth of 1 meter—as well as those for salt fog, vibration, humidity and more.

But now the user base for military-spec phones is widening to include almost everyone. In many cases, users simply want a device that’s able to repeatedly withstand drops, wet hands or the rigors of biking, skiing or hiking.

If you work and play harder than most people, a phone that’s military tough might be just the answer.