ISO: Recommendations for a WR/WP shoulder strap pouch

What size do you need? I.e., what’s going in it?

Zimmerbuilt makes good/economical shoulder-strap zippered pockets in padded and unpadded versions. Though not seam-sealed, I have dunked my camera in the ocean in a Zimmerbuilt pouch and it stayed dry…

(…but no promises…)

I’ve used these for years and can recommend them without reservation.

Hey Philip, great question. The main things are my phone and a paper map.

It’s going on the shoulders of my Burn. I may just pick up the pouch from MLD, but the Zimmer is an attractive price and I like that they keep costs low.

I always carry a small opsak with my phone and camera in my shoulder pouches. If it starts to rain I simply put them in the sacks until the weather clears. FWIW.

And yes, Zimmerbuilt makes great stuff. Highly recommended.

HMG shoulder pockets fit my HMG Windrider pack really well :-) and probably fit on some other packs. Like these much better than the pockets I’ve tried including MLD and Zpacks which were too “floppy.” But HMG pockets aren’t the lightest or cheapest.

My packing list says:
– Right: inReach Mini, Nitecore NU20 headlamp, Swiss Army Knife Classic + whistle on loop, Daily trail summary / cut down maps
– Left: Reading glasses, Large iPhone in slim case, Sharpie

Haven’t used the HMG pockets in the rain, don’t know how water resistant they are in real life.

I stressed over choosing shoulder pockets, too. Some seem “universal” with complex layers of Velcro, others are simpler but require certain shoulder strap features that aren’t common. And zippers vs drawstrings, and one pocket vs two, and, and …

Good luck.

— Rex

The REI Flash 55 is based on a modular design and all the pockets, straps, top lid, etc. are removable.  The shoulder pocket (called the Rainshield Pocket) is – you guessed it – waterproof, and is adaptable to any pack’s shoulder strap.  I bought a couple to go on my Osprey Levity and are large enough to fit a can of bear spray and probably most phones.  Fairly inexpensive, too!

I use a zPacks shoulder pouch–very light. As well as my Arc Blast, it fits on my Outdoor Research Isolation Pack LT and my OR Dry Summit Pack, neither of which have daisy chains.

It’s waterproof material, but not fully waterproof because it has a drawstring closure. The outer mesh pocket has my compass and whistle, and the main pocket takes my iPhone (first-generation SE) with plenty of room to spare for a bandanna, notebook, etc.

The front label tag is looped. I put a titanium split ring on it (available from AliExpress), which gives a place to clip the loseables on.

I just have one on the right-hand strap. On earlier packs, I found that a pouch on the left-hand strap makes it awkward to put the pack on.