Let's share the ideas of our everyday clothes modification, which might help in carrying the survival stuff unobtrusively.

I have to obey a classic office dress code at my new work place now, so my favorite modification is the hooks in the pants pockets, which allows to carry many little things on key rings practically invisibly and comfortably.

All you need to do is to find a spot in the middle of the pocket's closed top near the waistband (between pocket's opening and the fly) and poke a hole in it from the inside of the pocket to the inner side of the waistband, so it goes through several layers of fabric for reliability. Then insert a piece of steel wire trough it and form a wide enough loop/hook on each end. Use some magnetic or clip-on key ring with a swivel to hang your stuff in the usually dead space of your pocket so it's not touching the bottom of it.



One of the more labor intensive but more reliable options is to poke 2 holes and thread-in a regular split-ring.

Great idea! I have to say the only time I've seen something like this drawn up before was when someone wanted to hang a NAA mini .22 caliber revolver in their pants, but your idea seems a lot more useful to me! I am also an office dweller, I'll take a pic of what I carry everyday and post a link to the photo.

R

I have a pair of REI Adventure Pants which have cargo pockets accessed through the side seams of the legs:


from their page at
http://www.rei.com/product/784059

You can't tell they're cargo pants from just looking. Nice dress-style slacks with no bulges or patch pockets. They carry everything I normally put in my regular, bulgey cargo pants.

Hmm. I doubt you will use such a pants as part of your business suit (my particular condition).

Ok let's clarify the topic a bit more. It's not the question of number of pockets or their locations, but rather how the stuff sits in them. Things rolling on the bottom of the pocket will definitely make your pants (or shirt) look bulgy and/or may be inconvenient for certain activities (sitting, bending, running, etc).

Now one more tip from me. The only shirt pocket you might have in the front have some potential too. It will look less bulgy if you organize the items in a flat pack. I'm carrying some meds in mine using a small zip lock bag (of about 2 credit cards footprint) with 2 rigid plastic inserts (cut from a blister pack). The pills are always staying flat and snug between them. The pack (and the plastic inserts) width is of a perfect fit to the pocket width too, so it's not falling out when I'm bending forward.

Ditto. I have those. I EDC a lightweight folder and AAA LED light in the seam pockets. Could carry much more. Good pants and quick drying too.

> I doubt you will use such a pants as part of your business suit (my
> particular condition).

Sorry, I didn't see 'business suit' in the original post.

That is an interesting modification.

I support any change in the view of commercial products away from 'taking what they give you' toward restructuring and modifying commercial products to suit your particular desires and needs.

Textiles aren't hard to modify. Pockets, or in this case ring/s, are easy to add in existing seams. Adding a hood and/or a skirt, a piece of cloth that extends the bottom seam a foot or more, isn't too difficult if you have basic sewing skills. Draw cords can be added to cuffs of jackets and pants, at the bottom of a jacket or coat, or at the waist to allow it to be cinched up, are all simple and useful additions. Zippers are pretty easy to add once you get the knack. Well placed as pit zips or lower to allow you to access pockets under a long coat they can make a coat much more comfortable and adaptable.

Knives and multi-tools are easy to modify if you're comfortable working with metals. Using a simple Dremel tool and the right wheel you can modify nail slots so that they easier to open when your hands are wet or greasy. You can grind in a gut hook if you like that sort of thing. Or drill and install a simple threaded thumb stud. A few touches of a grinding wheel and you can square up a section of the back edge of a knife blade to make it handier to scrape a flint without having to damage the regular cutting edge.

The beauty of making your own modifications is that you can start with quality low-end items and end up with something so customized and tricked out that it puts the much more expensive high-end items to shame. Working with budget items also means that you can afford to experiment and be bold with your modifications. If you screw up and ruin it your not out much.

On the other end there is something special about knowing that much of your gear is custom made and not like any other.