Product Review :: Urban Tool Sports Holster
Those of you who have been practicing parkour for any length of time will at some point have faced the dilemma of what to do with your keys/phone/wallet when you go out training. The usual options are to either leave it all at home, hide it somewhere in town and hope it doesn’t get stolen or put it in your pocket and hope it doesn’t fall out. Until recently the only alternative was carry a big bulky backpack but now a small Austrian company has revealed a better solution.
Urban Tool is a company which specialises in producing contemporary and innovative products which combine fashion, sportswear and technology. Most of their product line are lightweight fabric items designed to be worn over your clothes with compartments to conceal frequently carried technology such as phones and ipods.
Of particular interest to the traceur or freerunner is the Urban Tool SportHolster. This is an ultra light weight backpack designed to carry the absolute essentials and nothing else. On the front there are two straps with a large elasticised pocket sewn into each. The left pocket features a retractable key ring as well as enough space left over to hold a rail/bank card as well as some cash. The right pocket contains no hidden surprises but provides ample space for a small phone, mp3 player or PDA.
The straps that run along the side of your body are hollow and are held together with Velcro to provide even more storage space. I would advise against storing coins in these pockets as they have a tendency to fall out but it is the ideal space to store the ear phones for your mp3 player. On the back there is a large pocket made from elasticated black mesh which will hold larger PDA's, MP3 Players, small cameras or a small quantity of food/drink. Personally I prefer not to use this pocket at all as then it leaves me free to roll over my back without damaging myself or whatever I’m carrying.
The official Urban Tool website is quite confusing, is mainly written in German and offers no direct way to purchase their products. Fortunately a quick Google search will reveal a few UK distributors. http://www.running4womenstore.com is currently selling all sizes and colours of the Urban Tool sportHolster for just £25. I bought one from here and service was commendable. Alternatively http://www.mydogandbone.co.uk and http://www.iskins.co.uk sell a few of the sportHolsters for the more usual price of just under £35.
Pros:
Lightweight
Durable
Ideal solution for carrying keys, phone and money
Can be worn whilst training
Will not drop contents when doing flips/kicks
Cons:
Style is a bit 'unusual'
Not big enough to hold a bottle of drink
Overall:
While the price is a little steep, it is a high quality garment which has been made to last and having owned one for several months, experience has shown this to be a far better solution than the alternatives.