After hiking for about a mile and a half both on and off the trail over various hills and debris, I decided that the Scout had done its job just fine. This is a great product if you want something specifically for PDA protection with room for just one or two small extra items in the pocket. It's sturdy, provides great protection, and is so small that you really don't notice it while you're hiking or even running through the woods.

That makes this bag the best choice if you're doing something that involves a great deal of movement or activity, say jogging or biking. Of course, I haven't seen too many riders in the Tour de France with belts on, but that's fine because the clip keeps this bag in place with little or no movement. In Figure C, you can see the back of the bag and the clip.

FIGURE C


The clip can securely fasten the bag to a belt or waistband. Roll over picture for a larger image.

The Basecamp
The Basecamp bag is the Peter Brady of the Grinder Gear family, stuck in the middle between two very different brothers. This bag is made of the same tough materials as the Scout and provides the same great level of protection. It also has the same flip top cover to allow for easy, one-hand opening. However, it gives you a great deal more room for essential items. It does this by providing two zippered pockets as well as an outer mesh pocket that's secured with a shockcord, as you can see in Figure D.

FIGURE D


The Basecamp has quite a bit more storage space than the Scout. Roll over picture for a larger image.

With this bag attached firmly to my hip via the belt loops, I hiked for a little more than a mile near the main trail but mostly off the beaten path. Along with my Palm IIIxe, the bag held my keys, money, credit cards, some Band-Aids (my boots were beginning to give me blisters), and extra batteries. I used the belt loops provided due to the combined weight of everything I was carrying. It provided more stability than the clip, although the clip would have been sufficient had I not been hiking off the trail. The weight of the bag was never annoying or cumbersome, and it never slowed me down as I jogged along the small stream running through the park. However, unlike the Scout, I was aware that it was there.

When I returned from the stream to the trail in order to apply a Band-Aid and to switch to the next bag to be reviewed, another hiker stopped me. Apparently the bag was so eye-catching that he had to stop and ask me exactly what it was. He thought it was made specifically for cellular phones. He asked how I liked it, and I was happy to report to him, as I am to you, that the bag was working very well for me. In fact, I was beginning to feel this was one product that I could use on an everyday basis, and not just for the outdoors.

The Basecamp is by far my favorite of the three bags made by Grinder Gear. For me, it seems to be the ideal size for trekking, hiking, cycling, or any other outdoor activity you can come up with. This bag allowed me to keep my Palm IIIxe, keys, money, and extra batteries handy and safe. At the time of the test, I had no use for the mesh pocket on the front of the bag. However, I brought the bag into work the following Monday to discover that the pocket is the perfect size to fit a StarTac cellular phone. This would be ideal for anyone who carries that type of cell phone while hiking in case of emergency.