Logitech PlayGear Street Review

With the success of Logitech’s PlayGear Pocket (PSPworld Rating: B-) fresh in our minds, we were excited to review the PlayGear Street — a case that at first glance seemed very much like an older sibling of the PlayGear Pocket, but was obviously meant to be used differently.

Cosmetically, the case looks quite similar to the Pocket. The clear shell doesn’t wrap around like the Pocket, instead only covering the top, acting as a lip to help you open the PlayGear Street. Opening and closing the Street is easy thanks to the large, raised latch button — but not too easy — there isn’t a chance of your gear accidentally falling out and smacking the pavement.

Inside, the PSP and four memory cards go on the bottom, while the top of the case features slots for 3 UMDs. The material that cradles the PSP when in the case is a nearly perfect blend of support and cushioning — we have no doubt this case could be dropped from a long way and everything inside come out just fine. The UMDs are not surrounded by this material, but instead are suspended from the lid by a stretchy nylon strap, and unique cutouts help to hold them in place. Although we normally advise against designs that have the UMD above the screen, in this case it appears as if no damage could be done.

One of the unique attributes of the PlayGear Street is that it can be worn over the shoulder, around the body like a messenger bag, or attached to a backback with the included carabiner. The fact that it can be worn in a manner that brings it close to your body, we consider this to be the first PSP case we’ve seen that could be used by joggers or bikers to listen to their PSP while exercising. With the music coming off the Memory Stick, and runners taking advantage of the PSP’s included remote through the opening in the case (the only port opening in the case, I might add), this case can basically turn the PSP into a really big iPod shuffle — and the cord management built-in to the strap is something notoriously missing from the little white pack of gum.

The PlayGear Street really impresses. It’s ruggedness cannot be overstated — we’re pretty sure you could run over it with a car and everything inside would be fine — and although it may cause you to look a little dorky wearing it, the added convenience of not having to carry the PSP in your hands and the possibility of using the PSP while active more than make up for any fashion qualms we might have had. Overall, this one sets the bar awfully high for any other case looking to make the PSP a viable option for active people.

Durability Test
After completing this review, we decided to have a little fun and do some testing on the durability of the PlayGear Street. So we did a test that was honestly a little more extreme than what we ever expect it will see in the wild: we ran over it with our SUV. So how did the little guy hold up to the two tons of metal and leather? Pretty darn well. Although the case did break on it’s back hinge, the compartment which holds the PSP was not compromised - In fact, we are pretty sure that if we had put a PSP in the case for this test — sorry, we’re not that crazy — it would have come through virtually unharmed. This by all means sets a gold standard of protection to which all other PSP cases should aspire to.