What has it got in its pocketses?......

[jamesraykenney]

Ok, following on from the "Why am I carrying...." thread, I notice quite a few of us have what I would describe as "Boy Scout Pockets"

My jean pockets usually carry a Swiss Army knife, a small torch, a lighter (I don't smoke) an antler whistle, a steel striker, my wallet, coin pouch and keys. I'll save the contents of my jacket for a later posting.

I've never weighed this little collection but I'm sure it adds to the wear on my shoes and pockets.

Lets face it most "normal" people do not carry stuff like this but manage to survive everyday life well enough.

I could justify most of these items in one way or another but I wonder......Do I just carry this lot because it may be useful or as some kind of "comfort blanket".

So what do you have in your pockets at this moment and why?....

The 'normal' people survive BECAUSE of the people that DO carry the 'stuff'!

 

[Rebel]

I don't usually carry anything in my pockets except maybe my car keys.



Now before you all wonder about me . . . that's because I keep all my EDC in my Maxpedtion Fatboy. Before that I used to keep it in other outdoor type "manbags".

Here's what's in it.

1. Sunglasses
2. Loose change, extra keys
3. Wallet
4. Pens & Pencil
5. SAK
6. Keys on rings with LED lights and glowring
7. Nokia handsfree kit
8. Calculator
9. NiteIze headband
10. NiteIze biting thingie (for holding your light in your mouth)
11. Modded MiniMag (1 wall LED)
12. Silva/Brunton lighter (I don't smoke)
13. Multi-Tool with hex bits
14. Keyring knife/tool
15. Phone with digital compass (I'm getting a GPS for this soon )
16. Glowring
17. Tissues
18. Ken Onion Vapor 1 (knife)
19. Notepad

Depending on the weather and circumstances the contents change a bit but that 's my basic everyday kit that I don't leave home without.

 

[Rebel]

Ok, following on from the "Why am I carrying...." thread, I notice quite a few of us have what I would describe as "Boy Scout Pockets"

Lets face it most "normal" people do not carry stuff like this but manage to survive everyday life well enough.

I could justify most of these items in one way or another but I wonder......Do I just carry this lot because it may be useful or as some kind of "comfort blanket".

I started to carry the stuff I do because it's incredibly useful. Okay so I don't use my multi tool everyday but I do use it frequently, often in a situation I wasn't expecting.

I've been carrying stuff around for years now and in several countries. The only regrets I've ever had was when I didn't bring a SAK or torch with me.

I'm out a lot and this simple gear that doesn't take much effort to carry has been my salvation (and the salvation of others) on many occasions.

Other people don't carry useful gear because they don't think ahead and are not prepared for anything to happen outside of what they are expecting to happen. The thing is we never know what is going to happen, like an accident, change of plan, breakdown, extreme weather, etc.

 

[Brangdon]

I'm currently wearing shorts. Left pocket has:

Wallet with:

Credit & shop cards, money, photo ID, next-of-kin info, etc.
Rite-in-Rain paper, Fisher spacepen refill.
Mirror, fresnel lens.
Tinder card.
​

Vic "Rambler" swiss army knife with blade, scissors, philips and flat screwdrivers, bottle opener, file, tweezers and toothpick.
​

Right pocket has:

Small carabina keyring with:

Car and house keys.
2x1m parachord plaited into a fob.
Flint rod, striker, tinder wrapped in 3" plastic tube
Photon "Freedom" led light.
Fox-40 whistle.
Serbertool "M4" small multitool.
Paper clips and safety pins (fuel for the "M4").
​

Handkerchief.
SE P900 phone with novels, games, planetarium, web access etc.
Cheap cigarette lighter (I don't smoke).
​

My wris****ch is a Casio Sea Pathfinder, solar powered with compass and barometer.
And another pocket has a small tabacco-tin PSK, which I just included today so it probably doesn't count (normally it lives in a jacket pocket, but I don't wear a jacket indoors or in summer).

[For "wris****ch" read "wrist watch". You guys should maybe relax the rude-word filter.]

 

[Wayland]

I've noticed my pocket contents have changed since I started this thread so I thought a gentle bump might be interesting.

I notice I've reduced the size of a lot of my items and put them on my keyring now. The torch is now a tiny fob light type thing for example.

Other things have been shifted to my jacket pockets.

One definite change is that I've replaced my lighter with a small waterproof match case which I just find much more reliable.

 

[Asa Samuel]

Right this minute I have a SAK super tinker and a lucky sea bean that I got when I was a kid.

Oh, and plenty of fluff too.

 

[CaptainBeaky]

What has it got in it's pocketses?

Hmm...

At work at the mo', so things tend to be hung on my belt
Left:
Marker pen, highlighter pen, rollerball, fountain pen. Mobile phone, handkerchief.
Right:
4-way valve key, CRKT M16 (for opening salt bags), dictaphone. Site key bunch, handkerchief. Wallet.
Belt:
Gerber multiplier, Tesco AA LED torch, site radio.

UKPK clipped inside collar of T shirt.

Outside work it's just UKPK, keys, wallet, phone. All the miscellaneous stuff lives in my EDC rucksack (referred to by the Management as my handbag ) All sorts of stuff in there...

 

[BlueTrain]

Unlike some literary characters, I at least try not to rush from the house without a pocket handkerchief. But today I even forgot that. About the only thing I manage to always have is the house key.

Actually, I never cared for carrying many things in my pockets, so I tend to load up my bag, which for everyday use going to work is a leather mapcase bought at a surplus store. It replace a nylon daypack of almost identical design but my lunch doesn't fit in the mapcase. I have a flashlight, wallet and, uh, that's about it, aside from a few papers. I've resisted the temptation to carry protractor, compass and topo maps of central Europe.

I tend to carry a lot more in the woods but even then, not in my pockets and tend to use very little things like knives, matches, and so on. I'm starting to follow the primitive line of thinking that is devoted to learning how to do without things as opposed to having all those things that you might need. Except for pocket handkerchiefs.

 

[philaw]

Wayland also mentioned how this stuff might become a bit of a "comfort blanket", and I have phases of carrying more and end up back with a stripped-down wallet with the front door key in it. Nothing else.

I have a 15L day pack that has all of the other stuff in it, so if I'm going out for a long walk I'll take that along. SAK, tissues and wipes, lip balm, mini compass, little pack of waterproof matches from rat pack. I always add a water bottle and I'll tend to throw in a drawing pad and camera. Only the water bottle takes up any space, so I take the same bag to the shops to avoid using carrier bags.

 

[Toddy]

Right now ?

Hankie, leather gloves, small pruners, 4 bits of garden velcro, 2 kirbies, nigella seed heads, four acorns, 1m paracord, a blue marble, shed key, brass hook and a small shell.

I'm a magnet for bits and pieces

cheers,
Toddy

 

[JohnC]

I'm at work,
Glasses, Blackberry, work keys, dental floss pack, change, SAK card with elastic bands, needle and thread, lighter, pen, wallet.
In my coat is a large range of junk, including shemagh, opinal, string, paclite, plasters, more string, pencil & paper, hankerchief, boiled sweets.

 

[spamel]

Right now, I have a memory stick, a Douk Douk, a lense cloth for my glasses and a porcelain marble.

 

[Wayland]

Snip> a blue marble, <Snip

Snip> a porcelain marble.

Game on.......

 

[spamel]

Game on.......

Always up for a game of marbles! It is my taw, the other one went missing when a child of mine helped themselves to it so I now keep it in an out of reach place. We played a game last night though, so it is still in my pocket from yesterday!

 

[hiho]

Game on.......

yup i've got a green one in me pocket from standing on it walking to the shop this morning...
and a huntsman sak

 

[BorderReiver]

Steel, flint, charcloth in a poly bag. Length of paracord. Camera (water & shockproof). Small stockman folder. Personal first aid kit. Whistle. Dog treats. Tissues. 'Phone. Dog poo bags (unused).

Never money.

Oops, missed a pocket; fixed blade knife and folding saw.

 

[Brown Bear]

Since falling off my bike once and impalling my thigh with some keys I had in my pocket, I'm careful about what I put in my pockets. Only smooth rounded things.

 

[bushblade]

one pair of latex gloves, lip balm, a red sharpie pen, sweet wrappers and two steret pre injection swabs.

 

[Man of Tanith]

zippo, spare disposable lighter, mobile, buck folder pocket knife, mobile phone. thats me trouser pockets
jacket is another story!!
Cheers
Sam

 

[charadeur]

Small Case pocket knife and a magnifying glass are always there. 4 USB thumb drives on days I am working.