Unless you live under a rock you’ve heard of Crumpler, the Australian messenger bag company. They’re known for their unique designs and colorful marketing materials, as well as their original marketing campaigns such as Beer for Bags. With a US headquarters in Williamsburg, Crumpler has a solid grasp on the needs of urban cyclists, and they’re especially big supporters of NYC bicycle culture. As a result, you can hardly throw a rock in Brooklyn without hitting a cyclist (take NYC messenger, Victor, for example) wearing a Crumpler bag of some sort.

Crumpler’s Thirsty Al cell phone holster is probably the most ubiquitous item. And with good reason—it’s tough, it’s handy and it works well. After two-years of use, mine looks brand new. That’s not surprising if you know about the materials used. The outer shell is made from water-resistant 900 denier polyester, an impressively tough synthetic material used for things like luggage and motorcycle safety apparel. The liner is made from 300 denier ripstop fabric, and the main body is constructed from a stretchy neoprene fabric.

The Thirsty Al easily attaches to a belt or messenger bag strap with a Velcro loop and flap system. There’s also an option to clip the unit onto your person with a lanyard or carabiner. There are four sizes available, from XS to XL, and prices range from $12 to $16. For most cell phones, the XS (tested) is the way to go. It’s even large enough to hold a 30-gig iPod, but the fit is a little snug so you may want to step up a size or two if that’s your intended use.

Visit www.crumplerbags.com for more information.

This entry was posted by Urban Jeff on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 9:11 am and is filed under Product Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.