usually, i carry my u-lock either in the back pocket of my pants or in the specially-made lock pouch on my hipSack. but recently, i got a new pair of jeans whose back pocket is JUUUST a hair too small to fit the lock. i can wiggle it down IN there if i really try, but mostly all i’m doing is starting a process of weakening the stitching, and eventually i’ll ruin the jeans, which i quite like.

thus, i picked up one of these babies. i’ve seen them around town, and i’ve researched them before because frankly, they’re genius. starting with a reclaimed section of car seatbelt, philadelphia-based FABRIC HORSE creates a simple band with a belt loop at each end. the size is exact, so that when you put your belt through the holster’s loops (leaving the band outside your belt), the lock’s main locking body mass keeps it from sliding all the way through. (see the picture above.) simple and elegant.

now the pants i’m wearing today are dickies and they’re in no danger of getting a pocket blowout, and the lock fits fine in the back pocket of them anyway, but i still needed to test it, for science. and i can say after only one ride with it that it appears to be all killer and no filler. the lock slides easily into and out of the holster, and when it’s on your bike, the empty holster just lays flat against your belt, with no feelings that you’re wearing something unusual. unexpectedly, i noticed a difference when i was riding, too. previously, i thought that i wasn’t feeling the lock in my back pocket, but this morning, without it there, i noticed that i HAD been, cause i WASN’T with the holster. it’s HEAVENLY. so much so, and so SURPRISINGLY so, that i think i’m gonna actually use this whether or not the lock fits in the pocket of the pants i’m wearing. it’s THAT much better.

the only thing i’ve noticed that’s in any way a negative is that when i’m standing up nice and straight, wearing a backpack, the bottom of the backpack bumps the lock in it’s holster. obviously, this is not an issue on the bike, cause you’re bent over, causing the backpack to rise a bit. and i’m rarely going to be standing around with a backpack and the lock both on, cause if i’m standing around the lock’s ON the bike. but even so, it’s of no concern to me.

i rate this a solid 10/10 CLANKS! accessory. it’s recycled, it’s useful, and it’s cheap.

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