It ain’t easy being Captain2Phones. Especially in the summer, pocket space is minimal, and sacrificing two of them for mobile devices leads to a tough key-and-wallet-juggling act … and no small amount of discomfort if a phone decides to run hot.

Even if you’re not dual-wielding mobiles like some modern-day gunslinger, you’re still probably devoting an entire pants pocket to your smartphone on account of its constantly ballooning proportions. Despite all our advancements, it’s pretty inconvenient to carry your smartphone in your pocket now. (See what I did there?)

It’s times like these I look back on the fashion-conscious days of my youth. Well, that may be a bit generous – in fact I’ve never known fashionable from square, and I only recently learned the difference between flannel and plaid. But I always knew that carrying a phone on my hip was an inherently dorky thing to do. I knew this because my fashionable friends told me so. Constantly. But I still did it all the time. Sometimes I even doubled up, slapping my behemoth of a BlackBerry 7520 in its sliding case right alongside my Motorola i730 in its clip-on cradle. It’s a wonder my belt didn’t break. In fact, I still remember the relief that came with “de-devicing” at the end of a long day, unclipping the dual burdens from my strained waistband amid the resigned head-shaking of my bemused friends.

Why did I subject myself to the constant judgment of being “that dude with the utility belt?” Well, first of all: I didn’t (and still don’t) much care what fashionistas think – a sentiment I’m sure will be echoed in the comments. But more importantly: I used a holster because that ish convenient, man.

The added utility of freeing up a pocket is almost magical – again, especially in the summertime when fabric is at a premium. Also, phones don’t clang around on a belt like they do in a pocket, keeping your stride steady and your center of gravity … centered. You’re much more likely to feel vibration alerts when the phone is tethered to your hip. And the quick-draw ability a holster provides is unparalleled. Yet despite all these advantages, hip-clips are on the decline. And that’s sad.

My situation might not be mirrored in all regions; maybe in your country, county, or private island, holsters are on the upswing and area belt-makers are doing everything they can to reinforce before they ship. But here, waist-mounted cradles are dying. I see fewer and fewer as larger, harder-to-holster smartphones rapidly replace the clamshell-style dumbphones and the rugged Nextels that helped make belt clips so popular.

Is it time for a national holster-awareness day, or have today’s devices (literally) outgrown the hip-clip trend of yesteryear? Do you still wear a holster, or would you rather ridicule those who do? Drop us a line -along with the all-important answer why– down below!

Images via MRlentz, Youjustmademylist

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The Pocketnow TLDR is a series of sub-500-word editorials aimed at getting you in, out, and back to life. Comment is always invited below, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus.