Care to share your list of your air travel PSK?

i will not take credit for the following for i do not remember where i first read it, but when you pack you need to remember to pack some room. seems simple enough, and it works for me.

I used to like be that, then suddenly I despised having everything in small PSK type tins and just started keeping the essentials in my pockets. Now I don't know how I ever liked the tin/container thing to begin with.

I guess it was kinda like a small hobby. I would spend hours fitting everything in a tin JUUUUUST right. Then dump it all out and take pictures of each layer so I wouldn't forget what was in the dammed thing, Then I would try it in a different way, or in a differernt tin,(insert hysterical laughter) then make another list because I forgot something, Then seal it with tape, then un-seal it because I forgot I could tape a sewing needle to the inside of the lid. I should have realised from an early stage that I would never get it right. It was just too dammed fun to keep trying.

In real world use however....Oh boy. I found it such and impractical pain in the a** that I just stopped doing it. Cold,wet and tired and trying to make everything fit back inside the tin after taking something out of it just wasn't as fun as it was at my work bench. Crap falling out, snow and rain getting inside, leaves, bending lids, Sigh........

As much as I hate PSKs just talking about it makes me want to try another one.

Year one of ets exposure: altoid tin psk.
Year two: 2 altoid tin, psk and fak.
Year three: add third tin for fire starter kit
Year four: pants fall to ground due to psk pocket carry: acquire vest.
Year five: vest proves to be repellent to opposite gender. abandon in favor of rucksack. Psk now weighs sixteen pounds.
Year six: rucksack weight affects equilibrium, resulting in fall from bar stool; abandon ruck for wheeled carry on bag.
Year seven: exploring trailer hitch arrangements to attach second carry-on bag.
Year eight: donate psk collection to boy scout troop, acquire DRPSK.

I travel for a living, and years ago when I first started out, I would pack my overnight duffle bag so full that you could hear the seams creaking, and an additional piece of paper would have caused catastrophic bag failure.

Now, with 20 years of experience and the wisdom that goes with it, I have analyzed each piece of clothing, all of my supplies and took out everything that is not absolutely essential to life itself.

Now I can still hear the seams creaking and an additional piece of paper will cause catastrophic bag failure....good luck my friend.

You fell off a BAR STOOL because of a ruck. HA ha!! wish I could say that was my reason for falling from one.

Originally I started with a pre-made PSK and then started replacing components with higher quality items, and looking at various other possible ways to carry items as I went along.

Then once theory meets practice, you'll be able to better judge what needs to stay and what can go.

Figure out what exactly you want the PSK to do (stand alone or EDC supplement only?), decide what essentials you'll need, then try out a couple different carry methods until you find something you're happy with

Yep, my EDC changes daily, but my PSK jar is constant. I use a small instant coffee jar and have a whetstone, P-51, micro Mag-lite, Doan's bar, lighter and hair ties. At the very least, I have a Leatherman, SAK, and jar on me.

My EDC backpack varies in content.

I really like the water bottle carrier idea! Thanks!

Maybe a pack mule?

I have sort of gravitated to a smallish fanny pack for the shortish hikes I usually take. That limits what I can cart around with me. But it is quite adequate for what I do.

It might not be adequate for overnight trips or longer hiking excursions or excursions in more remote areas.

I personally think you have to start out with a maximum weight and/or size you are willing to carry.

I started out with a small backpack with a 2 liter hydration bladder and went to the fanny pack with two 1 liter plastic water bottles.