Every time I go to the gym, I see a multitude of gadgets attached to various body parts of the other members who are also there to work out. More often than not, their audio device is firmly connected (arm strap, belt loops, etc) while the cellphone, wallet, keys, and various other gear is gathered up and carried, in hand, from station to station. Urban Tool hopes to fix this dilemma with their sportHolster. But can it be convenient, comfortable, and not make you look silly? Read on for the review, and see what we found!
INTRODUCTION
AT A GLANCE
(all images link to higher resolution
The best way I can find to describe the sportHolster is a backpack without the pack. Made from nylon and spandex, this holster is currently available in yellow or black and is designed to be worn around your shoulders.
Planning to be in dark places with the sportHolster? Have no fear. With reflective material placed at just about every curve and bend, you’ll be seen easily. The fabric itself is flexible and light, making it quite soft to the touch and easy to wear for long periods of time.
There are four pockets/pouches for your gear placed at strategic points around the sportHolster. Pockets that you wouldn’t even notice unless you either had large gadgets in them, or wires running out of them. Otherwise, the openings look like a seams.
To place a gadget in one of the upper pouches, you simply slide the item up into the flap, and pull over the bottom. In the left example you can see the outline of a Motorola e815. In addition, each of these upper pockets has a notch to run various cables (such as headphones) through. Unfortunately, there are no pathways between the pockets to further hide wires.
Also found in one of the upper pockets is a Keyjojo (a retractable key holder). This handy bit of gear can be swapped to either upper pocket (it uses a simple slide clip to attach to a bit of looped elastic). The same principle applies here as with your gadgets, attach the keys, slide them up, and pull up the bottom part of the pouch, tucking it into the top.
The inside of the sportHolster is slightly thicker than the outside, giving a bit of cushion.
Need a place to store your cash or other small devices? Hidden on the right side, near the bottom of the arm loop is a Velcro’d pocket designed just for that purpose. This was the only pocket that looked (unintentionally) connected to one of the upper pockets.
The back pocket is not much more than a mesh bag. You can fit an assortment of gadgets here (in my case, this is the only place my mp3 player of choice would go). The top is Velcro’d to keep your bits secure during activities. Because of it’s placement (which you can see below), this area is still accessible relatively easily. I was also able to use the touch sensitive pad on my Creative Vision:M through the mesh without an issue.
The inside of the sportHolster is slightly thicker than the outside, giving a bit of cushion.
Need a place to store your cash or other small devices? Hidden on the right side, near the bottom of the arm loop is a Velcro’d pocket designed just for that purpose. This was the only pocket that looked (unintentionally) connected to one of the upper pockets.
The back pocket is not much more than a mesh bag. You can fit an assortment of gadgets here (in my case, this is the only place my mp3 player of choice would go). The top is Velcro’d to keep your bits secure during activities. Because of it’s placement (which you can see below), this area is still accessible relatively easily. I was also able to use the touch sensitive pad on my Creative Vision:M through the mesh without an issue.
Even stuffed with gear (in the example above, keys, cellphone, and mp3 player) the sportHolster still looks, and is, quite comfortable. And I don’t look like a complete, well, nerd (yes, yes, I am a geek, but that’s beside the point) while toting around my various gadgets.
Oh, but what about that dangerous underarm area? First, let me state that this unit breathes so well, that I could hardly detect the scent of the workout I put it through. If it gets a little too stinky (as it is bound to after time), the sportHolster is washable, as long as you remove the Keyjojo first. Secondly, the slightly silky feel and firm fit has kept my normally sensitive skin from being irritated at all, even over long periods of wear.
THE DRAWING BOARD
I only have two items that I feel need to be addressed with Urban Tool’s sportHolster. The first is the lack of bigger than large. While this unit did fit me, I know that there are folks with wider shoulders than I that would be interested in such a product. Second up is the lack of any sort of cable pathway between pockets. This isn’t an urgent item, but would make routing headphones from the back of the holster to ones ears a little easier to manage.
You can purchase Urban Tool’s sportHolster here for $53.90 USD.
PURCHASING
PROS
- Comfortable
- Plenty of pocket space
- Breathes nicely
- Keeps gear secure yet accessible
CONS
- Front pockets are small
- Large is biggest size currently available
- No cable pathways between pockets
| Value |  |
| Ease of Use | |
| Features | |
Overall |
|
The sportHolster from Urban Tool presents a comfortable and convenient way to carry your gear when you are in active mode. It would have been a little more convenient to place my mp3 player in the front pockets, but at least the back mesh pocket is reachable. The sheer fact that you can carry more than just your audio player of choice, without making you look like the gadget head that you probably are, makes this unique product worth considering.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
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THE DRAWING BOARD
I only have two items that I feel need to be addressed with Urban Tool’s sportHolster. The first is the lack of bigger than large. While this unit did fit me, I know that there are folks with wider shoulders than I that would be interested in such a product. Second up is the lack of any sort of cable pathway between pockets. This isn’t an urgent item, but would make routing headphones from the back of the holster to ones ears a little easier to manage.
You can purchase Urban Tool’s sportHolster here for $53.90 USD.
PURCHASING
PROS
- Comfortable
- Plenty of pocket space
- Breathes nicely
- Keeps gear secure yet accessible
CONS
- Front pockets are small
- Large is biggest size currently available
- No cable pathways between pockets
| Value | |
| Ease of Use | |
| Features | |
Overall |
|
The sportHolster from Urban Tool presents a comfortable and convenient way to carry your gear when you are in active mode. It would have been a little more convenient to place my mp3 player in the front pockets, but at least the back mesh pocket is reachable. The sheer fact that you can carry more than just your audio player of choice, without making you look like the gadget head that you probably are, makes this unique product worth considering.
OVERALL IMPRESSION
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src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
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