Actually I felt the same way for a long time. Finally, I tried it, and believe it or not, I hardly know it's there, being all the way to one side of the pocket. I have no intentions of going back to the pouch. However if you must carry more large bits than the 2 (XTi) or 1 (Ti) can handle you may want the pouch to hold the other bits in the back, unless you can carry them elsewhere. Anyway, using the clip instead of the pouch cuts down on bulk dramatically.