VeloPac RidePac Max Slim Navy

The VeloPac RidePac Max Slim mostly does what you want: keeps your phone, cards and other stuff protected from showers and knocks. It organises it all neatly, too. The quality feels high and it's easy to pocket, but if you want serious protection from heavy rain or heavy impacts, it's best to look elsewhere. We've tried out a number over the years, which you'll find in the Bags section of our reviews.

If you ride with a phone and don't want/need to see the screen, this is an excellent way to keep it safe. While it's not 100-per-cent, take-it-diving-to-the-wreck-of-the-Andrea-Doria waterproof, it's resistant enough to deal with showers, especially if it's inside a jersey pocket and not being directly pelted.

> Buy now: VeloPac RidePac Max Slim Navy for £25 from VeloPac

The main fabric is ballistic nylon with a waterproof coating, and it seems very effective, but the zip is only water resistant. If heavy rain is hitting it for any length of time it will soak through, and it can spread through the soft lining. I never found puddles of liquid in there, but it can get damp.

VeloPac is entirely up-front about this, and in a pocket it's fine for showery or changeable days. For anything heavier, though, it's best off under a waterproof or inside a bag. Consequently I found the RidePac particularly useful for keeping valuables safe yet handy inside larger bags, where everything jostles with other layers, tools and maps.

At roughly 19.5x11cm externally, it easily takes my 16.5cm Android phone still in its own protective case, and while my phone will fit in the tall neoprene pocket on the left, I found the smaller mesh pocket easier to use and still perfectly secure. If you're keeping keys or small tools in there too, the thickish neoprene divider of the bigger pocket is useful for keeping your phone scratch free.

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The lining of the main fabric is soft microfibre, so there's nothing abrasive to cause issues.

Open this like a book and the righthand side is filled by a mesh pocket with a full-length zip, while the two open ones are on the left, and once closed the pack's dark 'spine' is roughly 1.5cm wide. Obviously the Max Slim can get a bit thicker than that if you stuff it, but it does indeed feel slim and slips easily into pockets and bags.

This dark blue version is fairly stealthy, and if you prefer there's a full black version. If you want something brighter, however – to make it harder to lose, perhaps – you'd have to go for the RidePac Lite instead, which is around a centimetre smaller both in height and width. It's cheaper, though, at £20.

Value

That brings us neatly to value. Yes, you can use a freezer bag for pennies and properly waterproof your phone that way, but if that's you then presumably you're not even reading this. And if you want to use your phone without removing it from its protection, you can still save money with a screen-friendly clear pouch that is also 100% waterproof. The BTwin 500 Cycling Smartphone Holder, for instance, is £9.99, and also mounts your phone in clear view on your stem.

Nevertheless, I feel the RidePac offers enough extra organisation and build quality to justify the extra cost – though mostly to people who'll use this inside other bags.

For comparison, the very similar Craft Cadence Essentials Case is £29.99, while the Monton Urban Traveller Essentials Waterproof Case is £36... or was when it existed in December 2021. It was also very bad at resisting water; worse, from the sound of it, than this RidePac. Today Monton does the Colours Essential Storage Case, which is also £36 (but currently half price) and looks very similar to the old one we tested.

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Unfortunately it looks like Mudhugger no longer sells its £14 PhoneHugger pouch, which was made from recycled inner tubes and worked brilliantly in a jersey pocket. Though also not submersible, it's waterproof enough for the real world, and keeps even the worst rain and sweat away while stashed in a back pocket – two and half years later I'm still regularly using mine, and my phone has never ever got wet.

Other companies do make very similar things, happily, such as The Bike Project with its wildly named Recycled Inner Tube Phone Case. That one's just £11.50.

Overall

This is a really good way to keep valuables together and protected, while still keeping them easy to access; it's ideal inside luggage, and can (mostly) cope with jersey pockets. If waterproofing is a concern, however, you can find much more reliable options for less money.

Verdict

Well made and effective organisation for valuables inside cargo, but needs more water resistance for reliable pocketing