Looking for some input from those that use a smartphone on the trail. I like to carry my iPhone and use motionx gps to record my route. I know that there are arguments about bringing technology on the trail but I choose to bring it :) Any way, I'd like to have the phone on my shoulder strap and have easy access to it.

I tried using a ZPacks bottle pocket but it was sometimes difficult to get the phone in and out of the pocket. Any ideas or something that already works for someone? I thought about a holster and waterproof case and attaching that to the shoulder strap but maybe something lighter is out there.

Check out ZimmerBuilt. He has a padded shoulder strap pocket that I use for my camera but I think it would work great for a smartphone too. I find the zipper a little hard to open and close so I just leave it open unless it's raining.

http://www.zimmerbuilt.com/padded-shoulder-strap-pocket.html

Peter,

Thanks for the link! I had forgotten about Zimmerbuilt. The padded pocket is a new one that I had not seen before. I might check it out. Have you used the MLD shoulder pocket with the center zip? Wondering if one particular zip was better than the other for use with a phone.

I haven't used the MLD center zip pocket. I think the center zip would make accessing and returning the phone difficult. You'd have to slip it in one side then pull the other side around the phone. And it would have to be zipped up or risk the phone falling out.

In practice, I hike with my camera in the unzipped ZimmerBuilt pocket. That way it's easy to just pull the camera out to take a picture and just drop it back in when I'm done. I don't zip it up unless it's raining. This practice resulted because I found the waterproof zipper a little stiff and hard to open/close with one hand. Now I think I prefer this method. I would think accessing a phone for GPS use would be similar to camera use.

I tried putting my iPhone 3G in the ZimmerBuilt pocket and it sticks out about 0.25" above the zipper. When zipped, it would fully enclose the phone. Not sure what phone you are using but check the dimensions.

I saw these somewhere...

Cuben iPhone Shoulder Pouch

They might be worth checking out.

Peter, Kevin,

Thanks for both of your responses! I might try the Zimmerbuilt model. The one in Kevin's link is very close to what I have now from ZPacks. Great pocket but doesn't work for me with my iPhone. Im going to put it on the other shoulder strap for snacks or a water bottle. Maybe the ZPacks one doesn't work because I have a rubber case on my phone. Peter, do you have a case on yours? Maybe a rubber case slides easier against dyneema X or maybe I should just put it in a ziploc and be done with it :)

ZimmerBuilt makes two kinds of cases, padded and unpadded. The outer dimensions are the same, so the padded version will be a little smaller on the inside. The unpadded version is available in Dyneema X, XPac, or cuben fiber. I don't have a rubber case for my iPhone, just a smooth plastic case, so mine slides in easily. The phone fits in the padded case just fine, but like I mentioned in an earlier post, it will stick out the top zipper a little unless you tuck it behind the zippered flap. If you zip it up the phone will be concealed. I like it sticking out a little so I can easily grasp it to remove it from the case.

Thanks again. I'm going to give that one a try. I like that the phone would be taller than the zipper as well