Nite Ize Pack Strap Review

Product Requirements:
Device:
HP iPAQ Pocket PC
Requires ANY iPAQ Style/ Expansion Sleeve

I love my Pocket PC’s.  Please notice the plural state of that last
sentence.  Yes, I have more than one.  I have more than one so that I
can have the specific ability to examine and review a number of different
accessories for a number of different PPC models.  When Julie asked me to
take a look at some products from Nite Ize, I was certain she was talking about
the Pocket Bungie.  However, I was wrong.  One of the products she
asked me to look at was the Nite Ize Pack Strap.

Let me put your curiosity at ease…I wasn’t impressed by this product, nor
does it in my mind, command the $20 price tag that it sports.  But I’m
getting a bit ahead of myself.

Nite Ize Pack Strap attached to my iPAQ in the cradle

The Nite Ize Pack Strap is a wide, black, elastic band with a black plastic
hook on one end.  You attach it to any iPAQ Expansion Sleeve or Style Paq
by wrapping 2 thin, grey straps around the wings of your Expansion Sleeve. 
Then, insert your iPAQ into your Expansion Sleeve as you normally would. 
The Pack Strap can be reversed 108 degrees so you can put the hook at either
the top or bottom of your device.

You can hang your iPAQ on a belt loop, from a neck strap, or any thing else
that might support the weight.  You can also use the strap to secure the
iPAQ to the back or palm of your hand by placing your hand into the large, black
elastic loop that is now on the back of your Expansion Sleeve. This is where I
begin to have some realistic difficulty with the product.

Rear view of the device with the Pack Strap Attached

The Nite Ize Pack Strap is well made; but the strap used to secure your
device to the back or palm of your hand is tight.  Long term use of it
transferred the straps "grain" to the back of my hand.  My hand also fell
asleep a few times while I had the unit on my hand, the thing was so tight.

Practically, in a real life, honest to goodness consumer setting, using the
Nite Ize Pack Strap in a Corporate setting elevated my Geek Coefficient to an
uncomfortable level, even for me.  Hooking the device to my belt was ok,
but the latch on the hook is quite stiff (and that’s not necessarily a bad
thing…) and always required to hands to unhook from a belt buckle.  While
the product literature does show it being used three different ways, I honestly
see this product only being used in an industrial (read Inventory Clerk,
Warehouse Supervisor/ Purchasing Agent/ Buyer) or Logics (read FedEx/ UPS
Delivery Guy) setting.  Even in those situations, I’d have a great deal of
trouble continually wearing the Strap on the back of my hand due to its tight
fit, and wouldn’t want to if I were moving boxes around in a binned warehouse.

However, I can think of one really good use for the Nite Ize Pack Strap,
now that I think of it.  I’ve just ordered CoPilot 3.0 with a free Navman
GPS Jacket for my iPAQ 3835.  When you’re out and about traveling/ walking
around a new city, the Nite Ize Pack Strap would be a good way to attach your
device to your belt.  With the hook placed at the bottom of your device,
walking around downtown with your Navman leading you where you want to go, you
cool look at the directions without having to constantly hold on to your device. 
That would be a big help.  I don’t know of a third party case, leather or
otherwise, that is made for the iPAQ with Navman GPS Sleeve combination.

I also had some trouble when I tried to use this product with my iPAQ 3765. 
When I used it with my 3835, the device fit in my PC Card Sleeve without a
problem.  When I tried using it with my 3765, for some reason I had a
really hard time getting the device to fit in the sleeve.  In fact, I
couldn’t get it to fit at all.  It got about 90% of the way into the sleeve
and then just stopped.  I tried applying a little bit of elbow grease, but
it wouldn’t move, and I didn’t want to really force it for fear that I wouldn’t
be able to get the device out of the sleeve later.  This didn’t, and still
doesn’t, make any sense to me.  All iPAQ’s are supposed to fit exactly the
same in all of the Expansion Sleeves.

It wouldn’t quite fit with the 3765

Compared to their similar Pocket Bungee, the Nite Ize Pack Strap seems a
bit of an afterthought product  (What else can we do with these clips and a
bunch of elastic..?); but that’s just my opinion.  I wasn’t very impressed
with this product and personally, wouldn’t spend half the cost of the product to
purchase it; but that’s just me, I guess.  You might have a different
opinion, or perhaps you own the Nite Ize Pack Strap and have had a better time
and experience using it.  If so, I’d really love for you to leave me some
feedback in the Discussion Forum.  I’d love to hear the "Counter Point" to
my discussion; however, please don’t start your post with, "Chris you
ignorant…"  😀

Price: $19.95

Pros:
No Special Equipment or Attachments
Required
Works with ALL iPAQ Expansion Sleeves

Cons: 
Elastic, Attachment Straps fit
Differently with iPAQ 3835 and 3765 using Same PC Card Sleeve
Limited Practical, Consumer Uses
Seems Expensive for What it Does