Review: Mophie Hip Holster

review by Bill Palmer

Plenty of power users won’t leave the house without first putting their iPhone into some kind of battery cradle or battery case, for fear of losing power before returning home. But what if they then want to carry it on their waist? That doesn’t work, as the only way to get belt clip functionality with your iPhone is with a third-party case, and since your iPhone is already inside of… well, you get the idea. So Mophie, who makes the Juice Pack battery cradle and Juice Pack Air battery case, came up with the idea of a holster-style leather case that’s big enough to hold a Juice Pack or an Air with your iPhone inside of it – in hindsight, an idea that’s been long overdue.



The model I tested, the 6000, is very similar in design to various leather holster cases I’ve seen from other vendors: the corners are cut out, the belt clip can only be used horizontally, and the top flap is held in place by a magnet (there are also two other variations, the 5500 and 5000, not tested). The 6000 does offer an internal slot for a credit card or two, but that’s about it; otherwise it’s pretty much in the “strong product but standard fare” category. Except, of course, for the fact that it’s finally allowing me to carry my Juice Pack Air-clad iPhone on my hip instead of in my pocket.



There’s a delicious irony in putting your iPhone into a battery case, only to then put the whole thing into another case, but in this instance it actually makes sense. The last thing I would want would be for the Air itself to be burdened with a built-in belt clip, which would only get used some of the time; this gives me the option of only having the belt clip around when I want it. Of course what I really want is for Apple to magically double the battery life of the next iPhone so external batteries are no longer necessary for most of us – but until such a day theoretically arrives, the Hip Holster does make the iPhone experience easier for those of us who don’t feel safe leaving the house without a battery case or battery cradle in tow.

Learn more about the Hip Holster at Mophie.com.