The Review | pOcpacs iPac3 Weatherproof Phone Pouch

27.07.2015
by

In a world where we spend more time glancing down at screens than ever before, the idea of damaging our phones clouds our nightmares and keeps us awake at night. We’re not self proclaimed genius’ like the guys behind the counter at Apple, but we all know what happens when you use your hairdryer in the bath…

The iPac 3 comes straight out of South Africa from the company, pOcpac
The iPac3 comes straight out of South Africa from the company, pOcpac

pOcpacs are the brainchild of two mountain bikers from South Africa and landed in the UK for distribution back in 2012. Since then, over 50,000 of the super simple products have been sold. Made through heat forming PVC, the iPac3 comes in two sizes, the 3 and the 3X, with the latter being aimed at the iPhone 6 Plus, Samsung Note or Passport. We received both in a range of designs but as of yet, haven’t tried out the 3X.

In case you’re one of those ‘can’t switch off from work’ kinda guys, responsive technology has you covered. I was pretty pessimistic because of previous experiences with touch screen phone protectors, but on a First Look, impressions were higher than expected. Whilst using the pouch, there’s no need to waste time removing your phone to text and call as it’s surprisingly responsive and quite durable.

Annoyingly, if you’ve got the latest iPhone, you’re either going to sacrifice impact resistance or water damage. Unless you were born with super human strength to stretch the pouch and God like patience to then attempt to get it out, keeping the case on your device is ultimately out of the question.

With a zip-tight seal, no water is getting in to damage your goods...unless you go diving.
With a zip-tight seal, no water is getting in to damage your goods…unless you go diving.
A small plastic separator gives you the option to do away with the wallet and carry a few notes and your key.
A small plastic separator gives you the option to do away with the wallet and carry a few notes and your key.

It’s also no submarine when it comes to being fully submerged, but it takes rain showers in its stride so there’s no need to worry about your insurance excess when taking a photograph. Although the packaging does say ‘Do Not Fully Submerge’ we thought we’d give it a go. A word of advice: Don’t do it. Water trickled in slow enough that if you’ve tumbled into a bog, you have time to get out, but not for longer than a few seconds.

The pouch comes in a range of weird and wonderful designs from ‘Steak’ to ‘Stealth Black’, all available to show off to your riding buddies. Just don’t leave it out in the sun for too long. With its PVC casing, it creates an ant frying, phone scorching sort of magnifying affect.

No room for error. Although it's made for the iPhone 6, it's a tight squeeze.
No room for error. Although it’s made for the iPhone 6, it’s a tight squeeze.
Fully responsive. All aspects of touch screen phones are able to be used, just be sure to turn the brightness up as the glare is pretty blinding when used in the beaming sun.
Fully responsive. All aspects of touch screen phones are able to be used, just be sure to turn the brightness up as the glare is pretty blinding when used in the beaming sun.

Price: £8.99 | €17.90

Conclusion

Being careful wasn’t high up on our lists when testing out the pouch, so entrusting pOcpac’s iPac 3 was either going to end up one of two ways; handing over the company credit card, clasping our new iPhone shaped water bottle in the Apple store, or breaking the news to the boss that we can now answer our phone in the shower. Luckily, it was the second and now we’re producing more content than ever before. Cheers, pOcpac’s…

For more info, visit: thepocpac.co.uk

Words & Photos: Andrew Richardson

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