Ever reach into your pocket for your phone or dug into a bag for your tablet and wish you could keep things in a handier location? Have you ever watched James Bond pull his Walther pistol from a well-concealed shoulder holster and wanted something similar for the gadgets you use every day? Maybe you want an alternative to products like the Scottevest SeV Tropiformer Jacket($149.99 at ThinkGeek)(Opens in a new window), which has an iPad pocket, but requires buying a full jacket. Well, you’re not alone, and accessory maker TechSlinger has the solution to offer: the TechSling Standard Diamond Ripstop ($69.95), a carrying harness for your tablet, phone, and other gear.

Design and Features
The TechSling Standard Diamond RipStop makes no bones about what it is—it’s a shoulder holster for your gadgets. Under the left arm hangs a pocket for your iPad or other tablet. Under your right arm hangs a smartphone pocket and a zippered pocket for loose objects. More accessible than a backpack, like the Booq Boa Squeeze( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), and less noticeable than a messenger bag, like the Think Tank Photo Retrospective Laptop Case 15L($159.75 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), the provides a wearable harness for carrying your personal tech. It’s also a nice alternative to jackets with iPad pockets, like the Scottevest SeV Tropiformer Jacket, because you can slip it on under any jacket, blazer, or lab coat. Slip on the TechSling, throw a jacket on over that, and you’ll have your personal electronics concealed on your person and at the ready.

The TechSling is made from durable rip-stop nylon, with the exterior available in several sedate colors (Light Gray, Dark Gray, Blue, Black, Tan, and Cinnamon), and your choice of two high-contrast interior colors, either Neon Orange or Neon Yellow. The adjustable shoulder straps are made of stout nylon web, and are joined in the back with a heavy elastic strap that lets the entire harness flex with your movements.

Both the tablet pocket and smartphone pocket have a snapping strap closure, which also uses sturdy nylon web. The zippered pocket, which can be used to hold anything from charging cables to your wallet, has the same high-visibility interior, but the zipper makes it better suited to small, loose items. The pocket also has two elastic pen loops, so you can carry a pen or stylus without it getting lost among the other contents of the pocket. At the bottom of each side is a plastic D-ring, for attaching a keychain or other object.

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The left tablet pocket measures 10.75 by 6.5 inches, and is sized for all models of iPad. I initially tried using the TechSling with the Google Nexus 9($575.00 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window), thinking it would be large enough to fill the pocket, but the 9-inch tablet was too small, and wasn’t held firmly by the napping strap closure. On the other hand, the iPad Air 2($445.00 at eBay)(Opens in a new window) (and older iPad models as well) fit nicely, with the strap holding the tablet securely. The right-hand smartphone pocket is sized for the Apple iPhone—not the larger iPhone 6 Plus($299.00 at Verizon)(Opens in a new window), but every other iteration should fit just fine. My own Samsung Galaxy S4 fit into the pocket snugly (sans case) but protruded too far to secure it with the snapping strap closure.

Testing and Performance

There are several aspects of the TechSling that I like. The construction, for example, is sturdy, yet comfortable. The snapping straps held both my tablet and smartphone securely, while the harness distributed weight quite well. The use of brightly colored interior fabric is smart, making it easy to see into a pocket and spot small dark objects (like a pair of headphones) with ease.

The best thing the TechSling did, however, was provide a way for me to carry a tablet. The shoulder -holster design, with its heavy nylon strap harness, was also good at bearing the extra load of both a tablet and charger. Storing my phone, wallet, and pens in the TechSling seemed a little silly to me, since I already carry these things in my pockets on a regular basis, but I don’t have a simple way to pack around an iPad or similar tablet. The TechSling does that, and it does so while holding it securely, distributing the weight evenly, and keeping everything very accessible.

Still, the TechSling has one serious drawback. It looks and feels, well, dorky. I tested the TechSling in the one place I felt I could wear a tablet holster openly without it being too weird: the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. With thousands of people gathered to show off or ogle the latest tech products, surely I could wear a tablet carrying harness in public without embarrassment, right? Well, I was never openly mocked for my gadget-packing gear, but I definitely got some odd looks. On more than one occasion someone would simply stare, tracking me with a swivel of the head as I walked by. Even when surrounded by dozens of people, including costumed mascots and “booth babes,” I still got stares, and nothing prepared me for how awkward this attention would feel.

I’ll put up with a lot of stuff for a gadget I like—short battery life, clunky accessories, exorbitant prices—but this was more than I bargained for. I’ve lived my life steeped in technology for several years, and I’m pretty comfortable with my geekiness, but this actually made me feel nerdy. Not the “unusually-knowledgeable-about-comic-books” or “tech-support-for-friends-and-family” kind of way, which is great, but the “so-awkward-it-hurts” and “too-techy-for-a-social-life” way. Plus, because it’s a shoulder holster, I’m sure I also made a few people nervous when I travelled up and down the Strip with it under my jacket.

It’s also worth noting the many places I elected not to wear it. I didn’t wear it on the subway in New York, or on the streets in Queens; I didn’t wear it through the various casinos of Las Vegas; and I didn’t wear it while flying. In promotional materials, TechSlinger president (and TechSling inventor) Nathan Crawford talks about taking the TechSling through security, letting you keep your stuff together and simply putting the TechSling on the conveyor belt to be X-rayed; but I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to go anywhere near the rubber-gloved TSA wearing something that looks like a shoulder holster.

If you live somewhere that has a notable police presence (like New York) or have to deal with security checks (like the airport or subway system), or even just have to worry about people feeling jumpy or suspicious around someone wearing a shoulder holster, you might want to think twice about wearing this. I get stopped in the subway system frequently just for carrying a bulky backpack full of electronics, and I’d rather not give the police at Grand Central Station another reason to pull me aside for a random security check.

Conclusion
If you need a way to have your tablet on your person and accessible at all times, this may be the product for you, as it does both of those things quite well. The sturdy construction and shoulder-holster-inspired design make it easy to carry your iPad and accessories and even carry them unobtrusively under a coat or jacket. As far as low-profile carrying gear goes, there aren’t a lot of options outside of the usual backpack or messenger bags. There is the compact Ogio Covert Shoulder Bag, but despite the name, it’s not meant to offer concealed carry for your tablet and other gear. But while the functional aspects of the TechSling are spot-on, there are other—admittedly, personal—factors to consider. The dork-factor is high with this product, enough to make me feel silly wearing it, though your mileage may vary. Outweighing even that awkwardness is the fact that this looks very much like a shoulder holster, and that alone will give some people pause, particularly in environments where security or police are present, or where the average person might look at such a thing with discomfort or suspicion.