How about a drop down menu with nested menu here's a rough sample of what I'm thinking about, basically you open your Inventory like you always do, and rather than seeing everything in your inventory list you're presented with a drop down menu option like this
sample 1 - http://i.imgur.com/1DKbrTl.jpg
and when you select a category i.e; shields. You're presented with a nest table list of your shield items.
sample 2 - http://i.imgur.com/62RNlDP.jpg
From there you can select the item you wish to inspect, breakdown etc...(sample 3 coming soon, along with a few more samples) sorry for the rough samples, I was trying to get the idea put to graphic before I got distracted.
sample 3 - http://i.imgur.com/YeMjomx.jpg
sample 4 - http://i.imgur.com/u7psc8S.jpg




