In this article I will review the Craft Cadence Essentials Case that combines an essentials case with a phone case, It also provides room for cycling tools that would go into a saddle bag.
I will also do a comparison with the Waterfield Club Cycling Pouch.
Design Features – Craft Cadence Essentials Case
The Craft Cadence essential case is the word’s first cycling essentials case to combine a phone case for large modern smartphones, a wallet, and a tools organizer, all in a seam welded rainproof case that fits in your jersey pocket.
Let’s start with the basics of the Craft Cadence Essentials case. The dimensions are 19cm x 10cm x 2.8cm which perfectly fits in back pocket of jerseys. According to Craft Cadence the weight is 103 grams, on my kitchen scale it is 101 grams.
What you notice as well is the 600D polyester coated with TPU and seamless welding construction with YKK water resistant zippers. You can directly see that the fabric is finely woven, and it reminds me of the Ortlieb Velocity side panels. Welding constructions and YKK zippers are known from Mammut Outdoor clothing. It simply feels like a robust and durable case.
The zipper loop is large, so you can easily open the Craft Cadence Essentials Case with one finger. So lets have a look at the internals:
Inside view of Essentials Case
On the left side you simple slide in your smartphone in the portrait position. According to the product page it will fit phones up to 6.8″ screen diameters.
On top of the smartphone compartment on the left side of the Essentials Case you have zipper compartment, that fits my key, some cash and a couple of red coins for Tourclub Kerkrade.
In the bottom part of the left side you have 3 card compartments to store a debit card, health insurance card or any other card. While it works well in the lowest card compartment, the card if 50% out of the compartment. Personally I would love to have 75% of the card in such a compartment. However so far it is a rock solid cycling wallet.
On the right side of the Craft Cadence Essentials Case you side two wide elastic bands under which you can store a wide variety of things. These remind me a little of the Cocoon Grit-It organizers. A spare continental innertube a CO2 cartridge, tire levers or a minipump with a diameter smaller than 2.8 cm. and a bunch of multi tools you can think of. So unfortunately my PRO Bikegear CO2GO+ Mini Pump will hardly fit. I can squeeze it in, but that puts the zipper en tension.
In the upper part of the right side you also see a key hook on a strap. Personally I prefer to have my key in stored behind the zipper compartment on the left. In the bottom part of the right side, you can see a large compartment in which you can store the tools and such above. Over this compartment runs the second elastic band.
Tools and snacks – CO2 canister, inner tubes, tyre levers, mini pumps, small allen keys, small gels (combination of above, not all of course)
Personally I wouldn’t think about storing a gel or energy bar in the Craft Cadence Essentials case, but I assume people do, otherwise it wouldn’t get advertised. I prefer that have energy bars and gels simply in the left and right back-pockets.
With that you have a through overview of the design details of the Craft Cadence Essentials case.
Craft Cadence Essential Case – Waterfield Club Cycling Pouch Comparison
Back in 2016 I’ve purchased the Club Cycling Pouch a collaboration effort of Waterfield and Eleven Velo. And while I’m still super happy with the Waterfield Pouch it seems to be replaced with the Jersey Pocket Tool Case or the Cycling iPhone Wallet, that have similar design features.
Exterior differences
However I will compare the Craft Cadence Essentials Case against the Club Cycling Pouch.
The Club Cycling Pouch is wider and made from durable ballistic nylon, that is well known in the Waterfield Product ranges. From experience I know this extremely tough material. The Craft Cadence Essentials case is from an more finely woven material, that feels smoother, while you can see on the inside view that there is a waterproof coating on the inside of the fabric.
Internal differences
The Craft Cadence Essentials case has more organization options when opened. The wide variety of compartments, elastic bands and a key hook makes it very versatile. The Club Cycling Pouch has just two compartments of which one is a well padded phone compartment. Personally the smartphone protection is slightly better in the Club Cycling Pouch.
Concluding thoughts and wrap-up
The Craft Cadence Essentials Case is a robust, waterproof and durable case to store everything you need on a road bike trip or on your mountain bike. You can really see the cycle commuters design DNA in the Craft Cadence product designs and unique features.
The Craft Cadence Essentials Case is available for the price point of +/- € 36,-. The Waterfield Cycling Club Pouch had an even higher price point of $ 49,– back in 2016, and you can still hardly see any sign of wear. So the same can be expected for the Craft Cadence case, it is a longer term investment. A quality product that simply lasts.
I easily transfer the Essentials Case from the back pocket of my cycling jersey to my hiking backpack when I go into the forrest with my daughter. It is a versatile case, especially due to the organization options on the inside.
So make a durable and environmental friendly investment and step away from the plastic zippers that don’t last.
What pouch or wallet are you currently using on your bike?
About Craft Cadence
“Craft Cadence had their beginnings in London by a group of cycle commuters.”
As you can read on the about page the goal of Craft Cadence was to specifically target the commuter market share and keep innovating the products in a more frequent pace. The major well established brands seemed to exploit their product designs instead of fast paced innovations and product improvements. I really like that Craft Cadence gives every customer the ability to provide feedback on the product design and thus impact the design of the next version of the product.
Finally check out the Craft Cadence logo and its meaning on this same about page.
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