Elvis & Kresse iPhone fire hose pouch review

Vintage is king, and it is hard to find anything more vintage than used fire hoses. Elvis & Kresse is a fashion design duo dedicated to saving used materials, and giving them a second life. Fire hoses, parachutes and coffee sacks are all raw materials for the designs. I came across the fire hose iPhone case about a year ago, but as it wasn’t until I got into pouches that I pursued reviewing the case. As a final entrant in the pouch category it stands out as one of the best products available.

Made from a fire hose that has served fighting fires, and saving lives across Britain for up to 25 years the material comes with a plethora of stories. If the case could talk it might be able to tell about being dragged up houses to put out fires, or even to help calm crowds at a soccer event. With such an intriguing material it is really important that the design serves it well. And Elvis & Kresse manages to almost completely nail my personal list of design elements needed to make a great pouch.

The Fire hose iPhone pouch is a pull strap pouch with an extremely long pull strap. With a single pull to full extension of the strap extracts 90% of the iPhone 4. This is almost too much, but as the strap is easy to pull it is easy to pull out half instead making it less prone to falling out. The pull strap also acts as a closing mechanism going around from the back to the front. On the front the pull strap fire hose end is inserted into a ring to hold it shut.

For protection the pouch is excellent covering almost the entire phone with a thick layer of fire hose. Only the top of the phone is open, but still protected by the case that extends about a millimetre above the phone. The sides, and bottom of the pouch extend outwards giving extra impact protection. The only complaint I have is that the parachute silk lining is too slippery, and you can shake the phone out even with the strap trying to hold it together. The silk lining taken from parachutes is perfect for keeping the screen clear at all times, and thus compensates the lack of friction with functionality.

There are three speaker holes found on the back on the pouch. These help you hearing the ringer when inside the case. On the back the logo is found in quite small lettering. This is not a product that needs flashy branding, as it is so unique. People tend to ask about the material, and not only those into green ideas can appreciate where it is coming from.

The design of the Elvis & Kresse pouch is marvellous, and the fire hose gives it both a unique look and feel. The front has clear lines, and the back has small dimples. Looking closely at the material you can see the wear, dirt and age. Everything has been meticulously cleaned, but you can’t erase history. This is one of the aspects pulling me into the product, and it is easy to spend time just watching the lines, and dreaming away.

Elvis & Kresse has managed to create the best pull strap pouch available for the iPhone 4. Great protection, excellent attention to detail, durable waterproof vintage fire hose and a convenient easy to use pull strap all come together into a great product. If you are considering getting a cool, functional pouch for the iPhone 4 or iPhone 3G/3GS you can’t go wrong with this. The fact that half of the profits are donated to charity is also worth noting.