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Palm Discovery would like to extend a BIG THANKS to Steve of Urban Tool for providing the product for this review.

Here’s a very interesting bag from Urban Tool. But then, Urban Tool comes up with a lot of very interesting bags (check out my review of their basicHolster here) so it’s really no surprise here. This bag can be worn as a shoulder bag or worn over the hips as a very cool looking “hip” bag (pun intended).

Like most bags from Urban Tool, this one is made of 80% polyamid and 20% lycra, making the fabric material very stretchable, which is one of the strong points of their bags as it allows you to fit a variety of different items in the bags, even those that normally may not fit due to its size, but will still fit because the stretchable fabric will be able to compensate and stretch to make it fit. As mentioned in my previous review on the basicHolster, this material also makes it quite an interesting way to hold and contain your items in the pockets without the use of zippers, or buttons and yet allow you to easily remove and insert them inside without much difficulty.

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

As you can see in the thumbnail diagram (click on it for a bigger image), you can see that it can hold a variety of items including iPods, cell phones, earbud headphones, pens, books, keys, etc. There are a total of six pockets available, each in a different size to accomodate a variety of items. There are four on the front (two at the top and two at the bottom), one in the back or inner side of the bag and one huge somewhat very well hidden one that cover the full size of the bag. There are at least 2 pen loops that can fit and hold your pens, one on the front side of the bag, and one on the edge of one of the sides. There’s even a velcro tab that can hold headphone wires or whatever that you can loop around the velcro tab. In the diagram, they show that it holds earbud headphone wires. The bag also comes with a quick release snap for its shoulder/hip strap and the strap is easily adjustable to compensate for its use as a shoulder or hip strap, depending on your preference.

However, unlike the holsters I’ve previously reviewed, this bag does not have the same headphone wire holes that were found on the holsters. So, if you wanted to loop the headphone wires through the bag, you can only thread it amongst the bottom two pockets on the front and if you want to listen to your iPod or mp3 player, unfortunately, there is no special way you can thread it up the bag as you were able to do on the holsters. But then, understandably, this is a shoulder or hip bag and you may not necessarily want to be listening to something while you’re carrying this bag. But then, it’s always nice to be given such an option, even if you aren’t expecting to do so. Again, as I’ve mentioned, you may try to loop the headphone wires through the logo elastic band along the front part of the strap so that you can put it in your ear.

Click on the thumbnail images for a bigger picture

Product Video

Part 1 at YouTube
The slotBar features is discussed in this video.

Part 2 at YouTube
slotBar is shown in this video with it over the hips and as a shoulder bag.

More details (taken from Urban Tool’s website):

Fix up your gadgets!

Here are my observations:

I would have preferred that there were headphone wire holes that the holsters have so that I can easily attach and discretely thread the headphone wires through any of the pockets. As well, it would also be very nice to have the same capability of threading these headphone wires internally through all the pockets, whether it be the pockets in the front and the one in the back, as well as the very well hidden one inside. It doesn’t hurt to have such features but they can definitely make a HUGE difference for the consumer so that they can choose which pocket to put their mp3 players or smartphones in and still have that functionality.

Along the same lines, I guess you can also try to thread the headphone wires around the elastic strap bands so that you can not only keep the straps contained but also control your headphone wires from getting caught on something. They may also want to consider providing a small pocket so that it will hold the earbuds, similar to what they offered for the basicHolster.

Also, as discussed in my video review, if you are wearing the slotBar as a hip bag, you may find, that the slack in the strap may get too long in such a way that it may actually stick out at the bottom. Obviously, that would not look very nice. One option and tip I’ve provided is to simply put the extra slack of the strap inside the inner pocket. Of course, it would also be nice if there’s a special elastic band or something similar in the inside that can hold the extra slack in the strap, that could also work. But, in the meantime, as I’ve said, put it in the inside pocket so that it’s out of the way.

Another observation that I’ve also indicated in the video review is the option to also allow the other part of the strap to be adjustable as well. The reason is that, depending on how you wear your slotBar bag, you may find that the plastic snap clip may rest on your shoulder blade and depending on the weight of the items in the bag, you may find that it can put a lot of stress and weight on that shoulder blade bone. Think of a hard object being pushed or pressed down on you constantly and you can understand what I mean. Having an adjustable strap on the other side will allow you to be able to adjust where the clip will rest, so that it won’t necessarily rest on a bone but on a muscle instead, where it won’t be as painful.

One other observation also mentioned in the video review is that if you are wearing the slotBar bag as a hip bag, you may not want to put too much stuff in it as you will likely “feel” the weight on the side where your bag is hanging. So, please keep that in mind as you wouldn’t want to have to “adjust” how you walk or stand.

Finally, my personal opinion of this slotBar bag is that it looks very cool. As a shoulder bag, it would be the right size as it offers a lot of pockets that can hold so much stuff. But, as a hip bag, I would prefer it to be slightly narrower, so that it will fit just over my thighs without looking too bulky. Let’s keep in mind that I would want the slotBar, if it were to be a hip bag to look like a “Han Solo” bag. Having it as wide as the slotBar currently is, doesn’t help me create the illusion that I’m wearing the Han Solo bag. Okay, in that case, I’d probably prefer the hipHolster. Hmm. Maybe I should review that next.

Review Summary

Urban Tool’s slotBar is one totally “hip” bag that works equally well as a stylish looking shoulder bag, but it can really turn heads if you wear as a “hip” bag somewhat looking like Han Solo, for those Star Wars fans (like myself). Most of the great features found in the basicHolster can be found in this slotBar bag with some exceptions. You still have the very handy retractable keychain/ring so that you can keep your keys attached without worrying about losing them since they are clippped to the bag. As well, you have a variety of pockets available that can fit practically most portable devices with the same stretchable fabric material (80% polyamid 20% lycra) that makes inserting and removing items easily yet keep them well stored without worrying about them accidentally falling out. There are now at least 2 pen loops to hold your pens. And there’s a velcro tab that can hold your headphone wires when not in use. The best part of this bag is the huge, discrete and practically hidden bag that can hold a book at A5 size.

As a shoulder bag it’s the right size as works very well. As a hip bag, you definitely will look cool and turn some heads and although it will work very well, I think that the width may be a bit wide, at least for my personal taste but that doesn’t mean that you will think the same. Regardless, this is yet another great innovative design for a bag from Urban Tool and looks very stylish, however you wish to wear it. Please check out slotBar at Urban Tool here.

Palm Discovery does not have an affiliation with Urban Tool but THANK them for providing this product for the review.

: archives categories urbantool slotbar bag hipbag shoulderbag gadget-bag hardware-review