Blackburn VIP QR handlebar phone case

I'm a big fan of the original Blackburn VIP ride wallet, so was intrigued by this VIP QR handlebar phone case, which takes the waterproof phone cover from the jersey pocket to the bike with a quick release bracket.

The whole package is a lightweight alternative to some of the unwieldy phone mounts out there, with an extremely compact and easy to attach mounting bracket that puts most of the competition to shame. The thin nylon wallet has a plastic clip on the back that slides and locks to the mount, but even that is pretty unobtrusive.

The quick-release bracket itself consists of a rubber band secured with a clip with 2 different tension notches. The clip is nice and secure but also very easy to whip on and off, and overall it's a well-constructed and thought out design. It's limited by being stem-mountable only though. The wallet attachment has been designed around a 3 tooth ratchet, meaning the phone can be locked at 4 different angles from horizontal to about 80°. Unfortunately, the ratchet has a fair bit of play in it, so road vibrations are amplified and the wallet shakes around a bit, especially on rough roads. It's perfectly secure, but not great visually and generally a bit annoying.

Moving on the rather arbitrarily sized wallet. At 18cm x 10cm, it's got a fairly bulky footprint, but only in the lateral plane; it's just 3mm thick, with the clip protruding another 15mm or so). It's big enough even for the larger smartphones out there (the Samsung Galaxy SIII is a perfect fit) but it does dwarf smaller ones, though they'll still be sandwiched in securely. The transparent face is totally touchscreen friendly and although it's been scratched up during testing, the visibility or functionality hasn't diminished noticeably, and it looks built to last. Some cases can really dampen sound – not so with the VIP wallet. I've conducted several wet weather calls without issue, and generally had no problems hearing ringtones or alerts.

The wallet features a heavy-duty press-and-seal closure that works amazingly well to secure the phone in the pocket, and keep water out. I've given it a thorough hose down just to be sure. The system would be greatly improved with a couple of tabs to help pull the two sides apart though. As it is, it's not too hard to open, but I've had to give it some serious wriggling and even resorted to using my teeth when wearing gloves.

I've had a play with a few phone models, and unfortunately, the handy one-size-fits-all wallet approach has a massive design flaw – It's useless for any phone that doesn't have a physical button on the front face. The fairly rigid shape and reinforced back panel makes it almost impossible to press the relevant 'unlock' button, which many smartphone manufacturers put on the top or side edges. This renders many phones completely unusable once the screen goes off inside the wallet. All's good if you have any model of the iPhone, but then there are several specially designed offerings for the more ubiquitous phones already.

Verdict

If it passes the unlock button test, it's a clever and relatively compact way of attaching a phone to your bike.