| Hori Compact Pouch Review - DS Database - 9-15-2007 |
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- Introduction - Ever since the Nintendo DS Lite was released, dozens, if not hundreds of products were released from various companies regarding the protection of the DS Lite. Some of these products include hard cases, skins, silicone protectors, and of course, pouches. This is because the DS Lite’s casing was fairly easily scratched. Of the many pouches on the market, the Hori Compact Pouch stands out for one single reason. Hori is a well known company that produces high quality products. They have created several interesting styluses, some cases, and the best screen protectors on the market. Obviously it isn’t unreasonable to assume that the Hori Compact Pouch should be any different in quality.
- Build Quality - The Hori Compact Pouch looks quite nice. It comes in a very high quality box. And the outside portion of the pouch feels very solid. The colored part (which in my case is dark blue) feels nice and slick. It feels like it can take a beating, and the color probably will stay nice and clear for quite a while. The Nintendo DS Lite logo is a very nice addition. It fits into the design quite perfectly.
The zipper of the case slides quite easily either way, and it doesn’t feel flimsy or stiff. The sides of the pouch are a very nice white when it comes in the box, brand new, but I can imagine it turn yellow over time. I don’t think it would be easy to wash off stains or clean up the dirt you leave on the case.
There is also a strap on the back with a clip. I imagine that it is used for clipping it to belts or pants. It is quite sturdy and stiff works quite well to clip onto things. However, as I mentioned before, because it is white, it can easily be stained.
The inside of the pouch has very thin fabric that is placed over the tough outer shell. Overall, it gave me an impression of cheap materials. However, I felt that overall it worked quite well. Also included in the inside of the pouch are 3 pockets, 2 for DS cartridges and 1 for a GBA cartridge. They all fit the cartridges perfectly.
- Usefulness - Depending on your situation, the Hori Compact Pouch could be very useful or utterly useless. Basically, it is a pouch for the DS Lite and a few games.
I found it useful because I could carry around a few cartridges around, and my favorite GBA games, and altogether bundled safely together so that if I drop it, it should be somewhat protected. However, I know most people have their flash carts and because of that, they have only one single cartridge to deal with, and having a case adds a bit of bulk to the DS Lite. As for protection, they already have their guard masks or decals or even silicone skins, so to them there is no point. Basically this is a pouch, do you really need it? You can be the judge of that yourself. For a case that costs about $15, this one does its job well, while being fairly cheap. - Ease of Use - The Hori Compact Pouch is a nice pouch, fairly easy to figure out. As long as you know how to operate a zipper you should be fine. However, one of the major problems I have had is taking the cartridges out after putting them in the little pockets inside the Hori Compact Pouch. This probably sounds stupid, but then it isn’t all that easy to do, the pocket is very tight, and only fits the cartridge, so you cannot stick a finger in there to grab it out. The only way to do it is to push from the outside of the pocket, but then it hits the outer edge of the pouch. It isn’t all bad when you get used to it, but when it first arrived, it struck me immediately that it was a bad design.
- Functionality - The Hori Compact Pouch is very solid as a pouch, it holds the DS Lite very well, and it doesn’t shake inside the pouch. One of the nice things about this case is that it fits DS Lite consoles that have a silicone skin or guard mask installed, even though it is thicker, it still fits. Basically, the edges are made of a few layers of fabric, you can squeeze them to fit a slightly thicker DS Lite, or leave it as is. Frankly, this is one of the very few cases that is able to fit a DS Lite with a separate skin or protector installed, and for those of us who are very cautious with our DS Lite, this is probably your only option.
The rest of the Hori Compact Pouch works as it should, and overall, the quality is quite good, I can’t imagine it falling apart in the coming years. Even so, I don’t recommend dropping your DS Lite simply because you have a few pieces of thick fabric surrounding your DS Lite. - Conclusion - The Hori Compact Pouch isn’t expensive as it clocks in at $15 each. There certainly are different options for users that are cheaper. I can safely say that even though there are probably better options in the market, this one is pretty decent and you will not be disappointed.
The Hori Compact Pouch does come in multiple colors such as light blue, dark blue, and pink. And it is made of some good materials. It fits the DS Lite and game cartridges like a dream. However, the main downside is just simply the high cost of the pouch. All in all, I recommend this case. It isn’t bad, in fact it is very nice. If you have a silicone case, this may be your only option.
- Score - Build Quality – 5/5 Overall – 22/25 |
