ArmPocket Sport 20 Review

Have you ever wanted to take your smartphone with you on a workout, but your workout shorts don’t have pockets and neither does your T-Shirt?  What would you do?  Well you could order a arm band for your prospective device, but one downside to this is you must buy a new one when you buy a device that doesn’t fit the arm band.  That’s where the ArmPocket Sport 20 comes in.

The ArmPocket Sport 20 is essentially a universal arm band that is designed to work primarily with touch screen based devices like the iPhone, the T-Mobile G1, The T-Mobile myTouch 3g and more.  It has a large window where the screen goes and a couple of pockets inside.  There are 20 cubic inches of storage capacity inside the ArmPocket, which is enough to store your phone, keys, a id, a credit card and some energy gel.

The ArmPocket I was sent is tastefully designed in black soft bamboo fabric, with a clear window for the touch screen and reflective piping for safety.  The interior is also very soft and will not scratch your phone.

One thing you might notice is that my phone is upside down in the pocket since you can see its USB port.  The reason is that if you put it right side up, you cannot see the full screen.

In the above picture, the phone is right side up in the pocket.  This blocks the top portion of the screen which on my G1, is where the notification area is.  That’s one area I need to see all the time. I just turn it upside down and I can see all of the G1’s screen.

Also, by inserting the phone upside down I’m allowed to see the screen a little easier when I wear it.  I don’t have to go into gyrations just to check for calls or to manipulate the phone.

The strap on this is actually stretchy and big enough to fit around my arm, which can be is a big problem for guys.  It seems most arm bands for MP3 players are made for smaller arms.  The strap is either not log enough, or if it’s close, it won’t strech.  You won’t have that problem with the very well padded ArmPocket.

When you’re storing the ArmPocket in your gym bag, the strap wraps around the back nicely and it takes very little space in the bag.

While working out, you can even listen to tunes on your phone, as the ArmPocket  Sport 20 has a headphone port at the bottom of the pocket.  This seems like a odd location for this, but I would just run the cable up your arm behind the ArmPocket before tightening the strap to help manage the cable.

If you have a Nano or don’t want one with the clear window on it, ArmPocket has other models.  They have one with a smaller window for the nano and other MP3 players, and they have one with out the window.

Lastly, one of the best parts of getting a ArmPocket is you’re not using resources other than the fuel it takes to deliver it to you.  The ArmPocket line is made from 100 percent recycled materials consisting of bamboo fabric and PET bottles.  You can feel good about buying the ArmPocket, as it’s an excellent reuse of materials.

The ArmPocket Sport 20 is available from the ArmPocket website for $29.95

What I liked: It was small, but not so small it wouldn’t fit around a guy’s arm.

What needs improvement: Nothing