Altura Slim Pocket Wallet

The Altura Slim Pocket Wallet is as waterproof as you seriously need, light, and pretty well made. It will strap to your bike securely but top tubes are generally the only place it fits comfortably – it's better pocketed. If you like taking pictures, though, you might find this blocks your camera's view.

This fits my 16.5cm Motorola very neatly, but blocks half the lenses/flashes on the back. The rear window is not deep enough, especially given the ever-increasing array of eyes on modern phones (and mine isn't even very modern).

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Altura says this is 'fully waterproof', and for anything short of filming underwater you can consider that so. The heat-welded seams and plastic construction seem impervious, and the opening seals with both a ziplock-type line that snaps together and a fold secured by Velcro.

There are still tiny gaps at the end of the ziplock section, but you have to hold this underwater for quite some time for a damaging amount to get in. Rain just isn't getting through, and your phone will only encounter a few tiny drops if fumbled into a puddle or stream.

Realistically, it's all the protection you're going to need.

The back is lightly padded and has mounts for two very secure hook and loop straps, but the only sensible place for it is your top tube – not the most stable or convenient spot, but usable.

Some alternative mounting points for the straps might make it more viable on stems, but as it is the whole thing tends to jam awkwardly over the top cap.

The straps are removable, happily, which makes this easy to pocket – certainly the way I preferred to use it during testing. The touchscreen-sensitive transparent section works really well, and it only takes seconds to get a phone in or out. I mostly only used the Velcro part of the closure, too, and it still kept my phone safe and dry in rear pockets.

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You can use the ziplock seal to keep out the majority of condensation too, and what does occur from the already-damp air inside should be soaked up by the 'no moisture' sticker.

I say 'should be' because our test pouch didn't have one – either it was missing to start with, or our photographer helpfully peeled it off before taking the shots... certainly it does look a bit of an afterthought in there, and it's not in Altura's own product shots, either.

Even without the sticker and with this stuffed in a jersey beneath a rain jacket, I had no real issues with condensation. It can look like it's getting a little humid, but it's hard to tell if it's really that or just bits of transparent plastic sticking down to the screen.

Value and conclusion

At £20 this is a little expensive for a waterproof pouch – Amazon and eBay are (get ready) awash (all right settle down, I know that was hilarious) with phone drybags from about four quid – but the Altura does have several advantages. Those generic protectors have bulky, hard plastic seals, are not as ruggedly made and don't mount on your frame.

If those things will bother you – and you don't mind 99% rather than 100% waterproofing – the Altura is a good choice.

Overall, this does its job well, though if you like taking pictures you might be out of luck – the clear section on the back needs to be considerably bigger for the cameras of many new phones. The price feels just a little steep too, but as you can genuinely trust a £600+ phone to it, it's arguably fair.

Verdict

Very waterproof and easy to use, though might block your camera or flash