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Palm Discovery wishes to give a BIG THANKS to Steve of UrbanTool for providing the products for this review.

For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

One of the problems I personally encounter, especially when I’m dressing up for a gathering or at functions is the dilemma of not bringing along my gadgets or not having the pockets to carry at least some of the essential things I must bring such as wallet, keys, etc. Most dressy attire such as blazers and the like do not include pockets to my dismay. Why? I honestly don’t know and can’t understand. Perhaps the designers of such clothes think we don’t need to carry such things thus don’t have at least a couple *real* pockets instead of fake ones, which irk me to no end. For me, at least now, there’s a solution.

Urban Tool has come out with an interesting, somewhat geeky and intriguing idea. The idea of a sling holster is not new but Urban Tool has made it very cool to have and wear one. No, it’s not that leather gun holster type most of us associate with cops and law enforcement officers. This one is geared towards consumers and gadget geeks who wish a very stylish but fully functional wearable accessory that will allow them to carry the essential items discretely under a jacket or indiscretely, if they so desire, since these sling holsters come in a variety of colors, sizes and designs.  For me, this could easily allow me to carry all those important, ahem, items even though the blazer I’m wearing doesn’t offer the pockets.  So, you can understand how much I appreciate such an accessory.

The basicHolster, which I will be reviewing today, is a wearable sling type holster where you fit your right arm through the hole in the main part of the holster and wrap the rest of it around your back and snap the other strap around your other arm, very much like a sling holster.

The basicHolster is made of synthetic material that not only feels very silky and smooth to the touch but also stretches and retains its shape very well. It is this quality that makes it work as a gadget holster because it allows for easy insertion and removal of items, eliminating the possible hassle of fiddling around with zippers or snap closure buttons. The overlapping pouch type pockets is a great design which makes it easy to insert and remove your personal item while keeping it safely inside without the risk of having it accidentally fall out. The basicHolster contains two main exterior pouch pockets. The one at the bottom can hold a small cellular phone with a small headphone hole or antenna hole (depending on how you use it) to allow you to connect your headset/headphone to your cellular phone or mobile device or allow the antenna to poke out without damaging the holster. In addition, you can loop the wire up and inside the holster through the pocket(s) up to the top (as you can see in the image to the right). In this way, you can see that the wires are well held safely inside the holster and even when you’re listening to your music with the headphones that unless someone is carefully looking at you, it is normally not easily noticeable. So consider this almost a spy gadget accessory. Okay, maybe not. But we can pretend, can’t we?

Above the cell phone pocket, there is a small pen loop, or more of a pen holder where you can insert your pen into it horizontally, keeping that all important writing instrument close at hand.  On top of the pen holder is the main outside pocket that is meant to hold an item of a larger size, perhaps a small daytimer or wallet, or PDA?  Again, the pocket is held in place by its special design with the two overlapping flaps that make it easy to remove and insert items to and from the pocket while keeping everything safely inside.

Near the top, close to where the headphone wires can emerge from the holster is a normally hidden retractable keychain/keyring where you can link your house, office and other important keys to it and never have to worry about losing them. For those who have a tendency to throw their keys everywhere in the house when they come home, only to scramble to look for them when heading out the door the next morning, this could be exactly what they need.  As mentioned, the keychain/keyring has a retractable internal spring that will allow you to extend it to approximately 45cm or 17.5 inches and will pull it back once you release it.  Very handy.  The keychain/keyring can also be removed as it has a metal clip at the back so you can remove it and clip it to your belt or other places should you wish to do so.

At the back or other side, there is an inside pocket that is held closed by an extremely strong set of velcro. Obviously, this is meant for your valuables such as credit cards and a small wallet. Since the back or interior side of the holster is in black, the pocket is almost disguised when closed which makes it even more discrete, espcially if you are only carrying a very thin stack of credit cards in those pockets.

Details (taken from UrbanTool’s website):

sizes

S female 32-40
M female 42-46 | male 48-52
L male 54+

details

- pocket for mobile phone
- pocket for wallet, PDA or iPod
- cable routing for hands-free set and headphones
- secret pocket with velcro
- keystrap with yoyo
- pencase
- adjustable strap

material:

80% polyamid | 20% lycra

Available in the following colors:

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

Product Video

Part 1 Video at YouTube

Part 2 Video at YouTube

Here are my observations: I really like the idea of having a sling holster that can be worn under a jacket, allowing me to be able to wear those nicer looking blazers or jackets that normally don’t have pockets (or enough pockets) and still be able to carry some important items with me. No one needs to know that I’m wearing something like this, well, that is, until I remove my jacket or I tell them I’m wearing it. That can be our secret. Anyway, this holster serves a very useful purpose for me, even though to many, it may seem a bit too geeky or seem that it’s coming ot of a spy novel. The synthetic material really works in its unique design of the overlapping flaps of the pockets to allow easy insertion and removal of items without much fuss, yet keep everything inside the pocket safely without fear of it accidentally falling out. As well, with its stretchable characteristics, it can allow you to fit most items, even if they are slightly bigger in size than the actual pocket. Even when removed, the pockets hardly show any indication of being overstretched. The antenna or headphone hole located in the bottom outer pocket plus the ability to thread the headphone wires inside the holster really does a good job of keeping the headphone wires out of the way, and out of sight. This is one “neat” way of dealing with the extra slack of wires that normally dangle and tangle when we are listening to our favorite music on our mp3 players or smartphones. As well, the retractable keychain/keyring is an added bonus for those who wish to keep their keys with them without worrying about losing them. You can easily pull the keychain out up to a maximum length of 45cm or 17.5 inches to open up the front door or your house, or your office or locker and let it self-retract back into your holster. No more lost or forgotten keys!

There are few suggestions I’d like to note and make with regards to this product. Please keep in mind that these are merely my personal opinion and suggestions. 

First, I would like the basicHolster to be a little bigger in size (both in length and width), but just a slight bit bigger overall so that it’s not too big. The lower, cell phone pocket, for me, seems too small to fit my cellular phones, although most cell phones nowadays are very small in size that they will fit in that pocket. Having a somewhat bigger or more specifically, a wider pocket will provide me with an extra available pocket to put my Treo or smartphone. Right now, it’s too small and narrow to fit my Treo 650 or even the 680.

Second, as I’ve noted in my video review, the pen loop or pen case is too short to hold most regular length pens without having it stick out. So, again, if the holster were a bit bigger in size, maybe the pen won’t stick out as it will be flush with the overall width of the holster. I have suggested in the video that the pen loop or pen case may possibly be placed vertically, near where the hidden keychain/keyring is, so that the pen can be held vertically instead of horizontally. In addition, if it’s a revised to be a pen loop with both ends open, it may be able to fit a variety of different lengths of pens without having any problems of the ends sticking out.

Third, again comes back to the size of the pocket. I personally find that the inside or interior hidden velcro pocket also too small to hold my Treo or even credit cards (I have a stack of them). Had the interior pocket been deeper, I’m sure that my smartphone would have no difficulty fitting inside.  With a bigger size and deeper pockets, it would have made a huge difference to be able to close the pocket with the velcro and safely holding those important items inside.

Fourth, I am a right hander and would likely prefer to have a holster that will sling over my left arm rather than my right so that I can grab hold of items in the pocket with my right hand. Or, even having two holsters, almost similar to the sportHolster which offers pockets on each side, except that they keep the design and all the pockets of the basicHolster so that there’s two of them, one for each side. This will provide four outer pockets and two inner pockets plus the pen loops and keychain/rings.

Fifth, since the basicHolster already supports the threading of the headphone/headset wires through the inside, connecting the various outside pockets, I would suggest that it also support the wire threading to the inside pocket.  Some of us (myself included) would prefer to have the Treo or smartphone right next to the body.  That is actually my preference as I normally wear a vest and have my Treo in the inside left breast pocket.  Supporting the headphone/headset wire threading would be an extra plus for those who may wish to hold their mp3 player or smartphone in the inside pocket and wish to listen to their music or answer their phones and adds more functionality to the pocket.

Regardless, these are my personal opinions and suggestions and being someone who MUST carry all these gadgets, er, essential items with me everywhere, it’s understandable that I want it to be bigger and hold more items.  Remember that I’m a Palm/Treo addict, okay?  I’m sure that not everyone will agree with me with regards to my requests and suggestions.

Wearing the basicHolster, at first, felt a little strange, since I’ve never worn anything similar before so it was strange to have these straps around my arm. But after a day or two of wearing it, I got used to the feel of the holster.  You may feel the need to adjust the strap around the left arm to a comfortable fit.  The adjustable left arm strap also provide a cushion or pad that you position directly in the underarm that helps to make it feel more comfortable when wearing the holster.  A well, the smooth synthetic material makes it quite a comfort to wear.  Depending on what you’ve put in the pockets of the holster, you may need to adjust its placement whether it be near the front, just under your arm, or closer to the back.  You will have to decide which feel most comfortable to you.

Review Summary

UrbanTool’s basicHolster may look like a geeky gadget or something that comes out of a spy novel, but don’t let its looks fool you.  It is quite a very functional accessory that not only makes you look like a geek (good or bad, depending on your opinion) but also very functional as it helps you carry all those important items discretely under your jacket.  This is an ingenious idea and design.  Its synthetic and stretchable material not only helps keep items safely in place and allow for easy insertion and removal of items, its smooth texture also makes it a joy to wear.  My main quips with it is that the holster is worn over the right arm, rather than the left (as I’m right handed).  Also, I found that the cellular phone pocket wasn’t big or wide enough to hold my smartphone. Had the holster been slightly bigger, it could have allowed me the flexibility to choose which pockets I could put my various items.  Instead, I am stuck with putting it in the bigger outside pocket or in the inside pocket but risk having it fall out if I were to bend over since that pocket again, isn’t deep enough to hold my Treo inside.  I am able to put the Treo in the pocket but I can’t close it with the velcro since the Treo sticks right out.  With a deeper pocket, this problem would be solved.

Although the holster does a good job of carrying most items, you should keep in mind that the jacket or clothing you wear over it should also be taken into consideration.  Tight fitting jackets won’t work very well with the holster obviously, especially if you have stuffed the holster with bulky items.  Doing so would only make it quite obvious that you have a bunch of items underneath.  So, choose loose fitting jackets or try to adjust the placement of the items in the pockets,  and the placement of the holster.

Palm Discovery would like to thank Steve of Urban Tool again for providing the products for this review. Check out the basicHolster at Urban Tool.com.

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