In my Accidentally Adaptive series, I share products or services that aren’t specifically designed to be adaptive but have a particular use for me as a disabled woman.
Just like almost everyone else my age, I like to have my phone on me at basically all times, especially when I’m out and about. Putting it away somewhere in a bag is hard for me, though – I have to have something close enough that I can physically lift the phone in and out of, which is actually a struggle for me. So I usually just leave it sitting on my lap, which works for the most part… until I have to drive over a particularly rough patch of sidewalk and my phone slips to the ground. But this Bandolier crossbody phone case has solved this problem for me!
I know that everyone likes to have their phone on them at all times, but for me, it goes a little bit beyond just wanting to stay connected. I’ve had my wheelchair break out in public multiple times, and when that happens, I need to be able to get in touch with someone (typically one of my parents!) who can help me ASAP. And just being able to get in touch with people I’m meeting, or listen to music while I’m out – all of these things require my to have my phone nearby! But phones are much heavier now than they were in the flip phone era of my youth, so I basically have to keep my phone on my lap, since I can’t easily lift it in and out of a bag.
And like I mentioned above, this has occasionally resulted in my phone sliding to the ground a few times! Luckily, it’s never shattered the screen, and a kind stranger has always offered to pick it up for me, but once it did happen in the middle of an intersection I was crossing, which was stressful. I actually usually try to tuck my phone under the seatbelt on my wheelchair, but sometimes it still manages to slip out, and I have to stop every few seconds to push it back onto the safety of my lap. It works, but it’s far from ideal.
This crossbody and wristlet phone case from Bandolier that I bought recently has made things so much easier! I’ve had the chance to actually use it a few times now (on the rare occasions when I do leave my house!) and it’s worked so well. It’s basically a normal phone case that has little clips on the bottom, which you can use to attach a strap – they have lots of options, I have a thin crossbody one and a little wristlet one. Sometimes, crossbody straps are laughably long on me, and hang down so far they’re useless, but that’s not the case with this one! It’s adjustable, and when I put it on the tightest hole, it lays perfectly on my lap. I also love the little wristlet strap, because I can hang in on the controller of my wheelchair and not worry about it at all. I’ve actually been using the wristlet when I go to concerts / musicals, and it’s been so nice to have my phone nearby but not sitting on my lap (or sliding off my lap during a quiet moment in the show!).
And the case itself is great, too! It has a little snap flap on the back that can hold cards and ID, and the snap is actually easy enough for me to open and close, which is rare. And it’s so convenient to have my credit card and ID close at hand, too. And I really love that when I unsnap it and flip it open, I can still use the magsafe charger on my phone, too.
Whether you need to have your phone close at hand for accessibility reasons, or you just don’t want to have to hold your phone all the time, the Bandolier crossbody (and wristlet) is the perfect answer.
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