iPod Gear Pouch
The iPod Gear Pouch is a small soft-shell bag made from ballistic nylon with a soft, padded interior. The interior padding is a fuzzy, comfortable fabric. If I ever get to live my dream of petting a muppet, I envision that it would feel like the interior of this bag. It measures 10" x 5.3" x 1" and comes in with four different trim colors: red, blue, white, and lead (silver). It costs $35 from Waterfield's web site. The pictures in this review are the lead color option. The interior is lined with a vibrant orange nylon that contrasts nicely against the black color of the bag. It has two small webbed loops on the outside to offer some attachment options.

The main compartment is sized to accomodate your iPod and some accessories. It has three padded slots for your iPod, dock, charger, plus some room for the cable or any other small items. I carried the Simpl A1 headphone amp that I'm reviewing in the bag as well and it fit comfortably. The slot designed to hold the iPod is large enough to accommodate an iPod in a case. The zippered opening on the front contains two pockets to keep things orderly and I found it a perfect place for my earphones.

The design and construction of this bag are top quality. The stiching, the loops, and the materials all feel very high quality. One aspect of this bag that I like is the balance between providing dedicated spaces for specific gear and a general use space that is open and could be used for anything small. For example, I started carrying my cell phone in this bag. The shape of it allows it to fit into my shoulder bag or to be carried by hand like a book. It would also fit into a car glove box or the pocket behind the front seats.

iPod inMotion Speaker Case
WaterField Designs also sent along their iPod inMotion Speaker Case for me to check out. It measures 10" x 6" x 3.5" and features a shoulder strap attached to two sturdy metal D-ring hooks. The shoulder strap is removable. Notably, the strap is thinner and more flexible than some of the other shoulder straps I've seen on small bags. That is a welcome change since there is no reason that the strap on a small bag has to have the test strength of an automotive tow rope. The bag is all black with a colored trim that comes in your choice of blue, lead (silver), taxi (yellow), or checkers (red) and it sells for $49 at the WaterField Designs web site.

This bag is similar in construction to the iPod Gear Case but it's larger and the bag is bisected into two zippered compartments. One compartment features padded slots for the iPod, charger, dock, etc. and the other side is a larger space designed to hold the Altec Lansing inMotion portable speaker system. It is nicely padded on all sides, including the bisecting panel, and would do a nice job of making the contents feel safe and warm. In the absense of the inMotion speaker system, you could also carry some CDs or paperback books (lying on their side) in the large compartment. If you packed really light, you could use this as a carry-on.

Just Get to the Point
I was initially impressed with the quality of the WaterField Designs bags and their sleek looks. After using the iPod Gear Pouch I found that it doesn't sacrifice function for style. I don't mean to sound like a wanker, but after living with it for a few weeks I can happily say that I love this bag. It's the perfect size for my needs, it protects its contents well, it's light yet strong, and small enough to fit into my regular shoulder bag along with all of my other stuff. If you're looking for a way to carry your iPod, earphones, and other small items, I would highly recommend the iPod Gear Pouch from WaterField Designs. 5/5 Stars.

The Good: Attractive, functional, well made, nicely sized, protective.
The not so good: Need more color options (I don't know, I had to think of something)

For more information: WaterField Designs