MyPhonePouch REVIEW Convenient and Fashionable Smartphone holster
The MyPhonePouch was invented by Allison Santini, as a phone-holder accessory “designed for today’s women (and girls) on the go.” Many of us have experienced the dilemma of needing more than the two hands that we were granted. Truthfully, how often have we had our hands full or had to physically carry our devices when we needed to do something else. Sure, there are numerous cases and carriage options on the market. I personally navigated towards a hip holster on my belt, but they have tended to be bulky and definitely were not designed with fashion in mind. These types of phone holders look techie, and at the risk of sounding gender specific, further the stereotype that tech is for boys. Since many of my wife’s outfits have no pockets and sometimes a large purse is not practical, it has seemed that her carriage options were limited. When we went out, she was resigned to carrying her device around, setting it down, walking away and forgetting about it or storing it inside of my pants pocket for safe keeping. All jokes aside, I have had to turn into the tech-camel for my wife, as she has left her phone lying around numerous times. Aside from the Tile Style on her keychain, MyPhonePouch has changed more than just the way she carries her device, it has changed her phone behavior.
Mrs. Santini was a busy mom, wife, and businesswoman, who shared a similar issue as above. Always on the go, she wanted a better way to keep up with her cell phone. From frustration to ingenuity to entrepreneurial elbow-grease, she hand sewed several prototypes and created an exceptional “Made In America” product. Ever changing and adapting, like Tony Stark’s hall of Ironman armor, she continued to improve upon her idea. The result was MyPhonePouch. I received two devices to test, a medium and a large MyPhonePouch. The medium pouch was just a little too small for an iPhone 7, inside of a Griffin Survivor case, but would likely work well for naked smaller iPhones and flip phones. Weighing at 5.9 ounces, you can fold the medium 3 1/2 inches wide by 12 1/2 inches tall holster in half. Each side of the medium MyPhonePouch has three 2 3/4 inches wide pockets. The back side has a smaller 3 3/4 inches tall pocket with button closure, a medium 4 1/4 inches tall pocket with button closure and a large 4 3/4 inches tall pocket. The front of the holster (smooth side) has a 4 1/4 inches tall, a 4 3/4 inches tall pocket and a 5 1/4 inches tall pocket. The device is made of 92% polyester and 8% spandex and has a 4.25 oz stainless steel counter-weight to prevent your phone from falling out of your pants. The device is machine washable in cold or warm water, once you remove the weight, and can be tumble dried. The large pouch measured 4 inches wide by 13 inches tall and had a similar pocket layout to the medium pouch. You can find three back pockets, two of which have button closures. The bottom pocket measured 4 inches tall, the medium pocket measured 4 1/2 inches tall and the top pouch measured 5 inches tall. The front 3 1/4 inches wide pockets measured 5 inches tall, 5 1/2 inches tall and 6 inches tall. The larger pouch was made of the same materials as the medium pouch but felt softer and less rigid than the medium device. The larger case easily accommodated my wife’s iPhone 7 with slim bumper case and a Vivint Popsocket.
Before I talk about the pros of the technology, it is important to dispel some of the potential cons. The choice to put your phone into a case or to leave it unadorned may be just as important as the actual case that you choose. The MyPhonePouch is not a phone case and is not designed to absorb impact or protect your phone. Rather, it was designed to prevent damage or issues when storing back/front pocket, jacket pocket, brazier or purse. Additionally, it was designed to give you back your hands. It is not a sports/athletic case and was not designed for vigorous or high impact/energy events. The pouch works best for daily routines and was designed for daintier phones/cases rather than the heftier cases. The setup tends to work better with snug, fitted, elastic/button waistband pants or slacks with belts. My wife found that the pouch did provide a significant downward force, when loaded with her phone, and this did not work as well with looser pants. Similar to concealed carry firearms, you can wear the device as appendix carry, kidney carry and enjoy ambidextrous positioning. My wife did like that the MyPhonePouch allowed her to sit, bend, recline and enjoy her activity, unlike when using the front/back pocket of her jeans/pants. The pouch moved easily as it was not fixed in place. Additionally, she noted that it decreased the need to stop and remove her phone from her pocket. Ideally, the device is designed to assist the user with numerous activities: keep track of your phone, prevent dropping the phone, free-up pocket space, eliminate the need to shove your phone in random places, safer storage, decrease butt-dials, better fitness app data, and to simply free up your hands. To choose the correct size for your device, navigate to their website and select “sizing.” You will notice that the website claimed that the medium accommodated iPhone 6–10, Pixel 2, Galaxy 7,9 and other devices unadorned and possibly with smaller cases. If you wedge your phone into the case, it may fit. We did not feel that her phone fit inside of a bumper style case. The large pouch will hold iPhone plus sizes with smooth slim cases and was a little too big for the iPhone 7 inside of a bumper style case. Luckily, there will be a large slim version “coming soon,” which will likely be that goldilocks pouch (designed for the iPhone 10).
The large pouch was a bit bulky but worked well for walking at the park, and a quick shopping trip with our three-year-old daughter. My wife noted she was able to push the cart, carry our daughter and grab groceries etc. with the phone on her hip. Additionally, she has since added a tile slim to the pouch as a way to find the pouch if she set it down without her phone. The pouch is large, bulky and she noted that it was not ideal for fancier activities. The extra inside pockets were a convenient method to carry some quick cash, a folded check, a house key and ID/Cards. However, we felt the device may be too easy to snatch and grab in more crowded places (subways, crowded stores, markets, etc.). The material feels like exercise attire and there may be a tendency to want to work out wearing the device. Since it was not designed for this environment, it likely will not provide an agreeable experience. On the MyPhonePouch website, you can choose among a variety of colors and match your case to your attire. The price is very reasonable, for a phone pouch, and when coupled with free shipping, within the Continental USA, may be a bargain. You can enjoy a 30-day money back guarantee, but I do not think it will be needed.
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Originally published at macsources.com on April 17, 2018.
