REI Packmod Rainshield Pocket

A simple but effective add-on pocket to keep a smartphone within easy reach for photos or a map check. The rain flap opens and closes easily and should keep at least moderate rain out.

With the high price of just about everything in Norway, my better half and I usually make a pilgrimage to an REI store whenever we arrive back in the Mother Country. We might go in with a list of a few priority items, but usually come out with more stuff that we didn't know we needed. This summer, after five years away on my part, we hit up the store in Tukwila, Wash., not far from REI HQ in Seattle, on our way to the Olympics and then North Cascades. 

While my wife was trying on clothing from the women’s sale racks, I wandered over to the backpack arena and spotted this little accessory pocket. It wasn’t exactly on the shopping list, but it looked like something I could use to keep my phone handy for photos and map checks (or in in my case, flower ID using an app), rather than fishing it out of pants pocket or a zipped hip pocket, where a phone just doesn’t fit hip curvature very well. Upon seeing my choice, my wife had to have one too.

So far, we have used them on about a week’s worth of hiking in the North Cascades, enough to be very happy with the operating system, although we had dry weather the whole time and so haven’t rain tested them.

The first issue was attaching them to our his/her Osprey Exos/Eja packs. The pocket hangs from a toggle that can pass through something on the shoulder strap then back through a loop on the pocket. It’s further stabilized by a couple of small-gauge webbing loops with plastic clips.

I tried attaching it to the lower of the two loops used to guide a hydration hose over the shoulder, but that turned out to be way too high up on my shoulder. So I ended up forcing the toggle through the sewn webbing anchor of the sternum strap—not ideal and hard to undo, but functional enough. Since it's on my left strap it blocks use of Osprey's trekking pole attachment, but I've never had much use for that anyway. I did the same for my wife.

The Rainshield Pocket gets full marks for ease of use. There is no zipper or clip, just a simple flap with a Velcro patch. With it hanging on my left shoulder strap at about armpit height, I can reach across  with my right hand, rip open the Velcro, and pull the phone out with minimal resistance. The somewhat loose, soft ripstop nylon fabric lining, anchored to tge bottom of the pocket, facilitates a quick draw and maybe treats the phone a little nicer that the outer fabric. It goes back in just as smoothly, whether my phone (iPhone 13 Mini) is in its protective leather case or naked. It also works well with my wife’s bigger iPhone model, but maybe not so well with some of the giant phones now out there .

The outer shell is PU coated, seam-taped, and DWR coated, and the inner lining is also coated for an extra layer of water resistance. The triangular “ears” on the top flap fold over when the flap is closed, helping to keep out rain. I haven’t given the pocket the 6-minute shower test, but given the design I’d trust it at least in moderate, intermittent rain, and maybe try it out in heavier doses. Most phones are reasonably watertight, so it will be worth a try even if my phone gets a bit wet.

The pocket should work equally well for a not-too-big point and shoot camera, or maybe sunglasses, snacks, insect repellent or sunscreen if a smartphone is not first priority.

This is an uncomplicated product that offers a modest quality-of-life improvement for hikers of all kinds.

Background

About a week's worth of hiking in dry conditions (rain trial coming up!)

Previous versions used a magnet closure on the flap, thus the two stars. Now that velcro is being used, it might just be a useful add-on pocket.

I now possess two of the useless things. The first one was a separate purchase as I thought it was clever. It now sits in a box unused as the only thing that fits inside is my "reader'" glasses. and I've got more clever ways to carry those. The capacity is too small for either my Bolle sunglasses or Motorola phone.

My second one came as an accessory with the Flash 55 pack, and it proved to be just as useless, so it has joined the first one, unloved, in a box.

Now that REI has placed velcro on the flap, it will at least stay securely closed, but unless it's larger than the first two iterations, it will still be only moderately useful.

Background

I tried using it four or five times with various packs. Other shoulder strap pockets that I've found way more useful are from Z-Packs and Waymark.