Things you carry around your neck

There are degrees of EDC carry:
-stuff you carry in your pockets
-stuff you carry in your rucksack/laptop case/purse
...and stuff you hang around your neck.

Stuff that you want to have with you even if you lose your pack and pockets.

What do you hang around your neck?

Is there an alternative to neck-carry? ankle holsters and wrist-weights might be adapted to serve.

Just my whistle (fox 40). And a P-51 opener (personal protection, bear attacks). And a little LED light, mostly for luck. Strung on a few feet of paracord, though I'll probably get strangled with it (no breakaway link).

I've got the following on my USGI dog tag chain (think: "breaks if it gets snagged or pulled"):
-Small compass (really useful when travelling actually although I just bought for emergency use)
-Mini Fox 40 Whistle
-Photon LED squeeze light
-"dog tags" (why not? They were free, and do have blood type)

I'd like to add some kind of a fire starter but haven't figured out something sweat proof and perhaps some small edged cutting device/mini knife. I do carry a p-38, but it's on my key chain.

How about the chip on my shoulder?

An old (2002 or 2003) Arc AAA with a Berkeley Point clip on a dog tag-style bead chain.

Depends on where I am, and what I'm doing.

If I'm just hanging around and don't have my bag of tricks, a Gerber Infinity flashlight, a Vic Climber, and sometimes a whistle and BSA hotspark.

Other times I carry a Ka-Bar as a big neck knife.

So far, this is all I carry around my kneck. It's been there, Sunday through Saturday, for almost 2 years now.

Nothing. Not for lack of trying. Just don't like the "hanging" feeling. Hate ties too.

Jim:
get a mini match and then ditch the striker and cover the whole thing in shrink tubing. As for a sharp try a Gerber 300 LST. Both are light and work as advertised.

I hear you. I actually don't like the feeling of something around my neck. HOWEVER, I've found if I EDC something light, I eventually get used to it. If I only neck carry when on outings, then it bugs me too much. EDC seems to work.

A neck knife of any weight is too much for me even if I EDC.

HJ

Here is mine, The one I ware when I leave the asphalt.

[img:center][/img]

The weight ov a Gerber 300 is 0.6 OZ. Is that to heavy

Looks like a gerber clutch, ferrocerium rod and striker, led light and....something-is that a whistle?

That black thing is a Small Swiss tool. the blue tool is a leatherman micra, the knife is an Anza custom made. Made in El Cajon,Ca. from a file. All of the other knifes are also Anza's. I do like carbon steel knifes. The lanyard is braided 550 parachute cord with two fisherman knots that allow it to expand if it get hung up on something, then all I have to do is duck out of it.

Stretch, is that a 210TK? If so I have been eying that for awhile. Obviously it wears well, what do you think of it otherwise? Worth the price? How is the handle? Any idea what the TK is a good deal more than the base 210?

Thanks!

I'm with you, Jim, nothing around my neck, except the MAN dragging me down......
Just kidding, but it is one of the reasons I never cottoned to the neckwear Ranger Rick stuff. I would rather have lots of stuff in pockets.

Yes, a 210TK. It's a fine knife, S30V steel, and the G10/Carbon Fiber scales are beautiful. The sheath has an adjustable tension screw with a small, O-ring washer, which I took out and sanded down for more tension. It costs more than the 210 because of the scales I think, and maybe the S30V versus D2 steel. I'd say it was worth the price. I use it for utility - cutting whatever needs to be cut.

I should have read the question more closely - I don't EDC anything. I carry a whistle, P-51 and LED light on paracord when I *hike*.

big_al, that looks like good stuff. I don't suppose you've got a bigger photo, do you? My eyes can't quite make everything out. I'm particularly interested in the striker since that's my first priority to add to my ensemble.

HJ

I do not wear this, but it has been laying around.
From left to right:
Saw blade striker, ferrocerium, magnifying plastic lens and tick remover, cable loop, Sliver Gripper, botany 10X lens, photon covert red, lock picks, nail clipper and P38, 2 extra loops, and a CountyComm wedge.
I'll probably add a whistle and one of two compasses on a release clip. THIS is why the two compasses.

Stretch, what kind of lanyard weave do you have on there? I've had a couple of braid styles on mine but neither one felt right. Your's looks pretty minimalist and unobtrusive, I like that.

Jim:

The thing you were looking at is a Mini-Match.

www.bepreparedtosurvive.com

Ah. Gotcha.

I've seen that site before, but I don't tire of perusing it. Really good stuff on that site.

Thanks!

Denise and John are excellent to deal with. Very happy customer of theirs!

LED,
It's just a standard hangman's noose - maybe the correct name is Reeve Coil Knot. You probably already know how to tie it, but just in case, here's the link:
http://www.chrisreeve.com/knotright.htm

It also gives a few inches of cord or rope or leather if you ever needed it. You'd just unravel it. On some ofmy larger knives, the cord is, of course, much longer.

Ah, perfect. Thanks.

Awesome looking preps, bro. I'm going to have to go over that post in detail.

Hey, I'm right with you. "If it works and I have a hard time breaking it" is the "gold standard" in the wild.

Izzy:
the paracord in my post above is a single slip Brade. That particular lanyard is 22 ft. of green paracord.

Izzy, your manliness has not been threatened until you have to take your 12 year old daughter to Victoria's Secret because the sales person at the "girls store" advises you that:

"I am sorry sir we don't have your daughters size. in fact the only stores in this mall that carry 32c to 32d are Victoria's Secret and Frederick's of Hollywood."

Just let the wife go out of town for 2 weeks to help someone in the hospital, and have daughter say "mom was supposed to take me to get bras that fit today." Then said daughter asks, "Dad which one's do you think I should get?"

My wife shall never receive a gift from that store again, I see the entrance to it when forced into the mall and start having flashbacks!

Izzy,
Search "Paracord" on youtube. THere are quite a few video there on how to make many types of paracord patterns.

Izzy,

if you have Tandy Leather stores in your area, they carry books on braiding. sub 550 cord for learher

What kind of scenario do you have in mind, there? I can understand losing your pack, but your pockets?

Anyway, I don't currently have anything around my neck. I occasionally experiment with a couple of magnets on a loop of paracord inner strand. The magnets form a break-away clasp and are strong enough to pick up stuff. I don't want to put magnets in my pockets for fear of damaging my credit cards.

I suspect this is more fun and novelty than useful, though. If I dropped my car keys somewhere inaccessible, I might be better of improvising a hook from a paper clip and using that.

I have some stuff in a money-belt.

Red dogtag with my meds on it.
Regular old dogtag for I.D.
Spare key to the door of our home on wheels
ACR whistle.
Little bitty light, brand unknown, that my son got me. It has about four different light levels, and two different flash modes, all in one little package...

Izzy, don't have any links, and wouldn't know how to do it anyways....
But the weave you are looking for is either the cobra, or a king cobra depending on size. King cobra is thicker and will yeild more cordage.

-Bill Liptak

My son is 17. One of his friends saw daughter riding in the car with son. H thought she was same age. Stopped by the house to visit with her. When I kindly explained that she was then 12 (now 13 Looks 21) I did so while introducing him to my twin German Shepherd Dogs. They were keeping him company and quiet while I did the talking.

Oddly enough, my son broke his wrist the same day this happened. Said he did it at hockey practice. His coach called the same day to tell me he wasn't AT hockey practice. (Coincidence? who knows>)

Haven't seen that visitor around the house since then.

The horror just from reading that is indescribably. Experiencing it.. *shudders*

On a positive note, both of my kids received practical experience in treating a possible broken wrist that afternoon. One from the aspect of first / buddy aid, the other . . . . well that was self aid since it was his arm.
Sam splint, ace wrap, and cold pack. Transport to medical facility.

Luckily one of his teammate's father (Who's family house I built) is an orthopedic surgeon.

I just can't figure out how it happened.......... HMMM?

Confusing to me, too-but I cannot imagine another reason for neck-carry. Maybe necessary when your clothing has no pockets? Dunno. But as you can see, lots of smart people do wear stuff around the neck. Moderator Cavanaugh waers the following on occasion :"A folding Myerchin knife, whistle and signal mirror went on a neck lanyard.”
(http://www.equipped.org/0601rescue.htm)

Based upon the discussion, I elected to put the following items around my neck, primarily for solo suburban canoe excursions:

Mirror
Gerber folder
Ferrocerium rod
Cell phone
Compass
Boat reg documents
Whistle
butane lighter

Everything but the whistle goes into the drybag. Phone and lighter go into a ziplock and then in the drybag, 'cuz the sealine disclaimer indicates that all triple fold bags leak.

The final package is bulky but reasonably light. I inserted a breakaway link in the neck cord by tying each end of the cord to a split ring-the cheap kind that dealerships use to attach service tickets to your keys. I put a photo in the Image Forum.

I recall reading somewhere that people who get their feet swept out from under them by running water often lose their shoes and pants from the current. Or their shirts, if they are going down river head first.

I might not be remembering correctly, or it might just be a myth, but neck carry might stay with you when pocket carry doesn't.

And if you need to actually improvise a floatation device from your pants al a old timey WWII manuals, will you be able to empty your pockets in time?

Keep your pants. Stay out of the water.

Having had a hand in recovering the bodies of a few folks who ended up in fast moving water, I can tell you that they ended up buck naked. NOTHING will stay on in fast moving water for long...

Raven, you have created another T-shirt/bumper sticker/tattoo/needlepoint phrase. Priceless-thanks-

The reason I neck carry is fairly practical:
-My squeeze light would get beat up and be rendered useless if in my regular pocket (based on experience).
-Similarly, my compass would get scratched up by keys, change, etc. Neck wear has kept it in good condition.
-There's a limited capacity to the pockets on my regular pants (not all of my pants have cargo pockets). It's just nice to spread things out a bit.

I've gotten used to neck carrying a few light weight items (compass, Photon light, whistle, and dog tags), so it's no trouble even though I don't normally like anything around my neck.

The downsides:
-On a hot day when I'm really active, I sweat, and the sweat has gotten into the Photon causing it to activate at a low level even when not squeezed. The only way to turn it off was to let it dry out.
-If not wearing a shirt, the thing can dangle and get in the way.

I get around the sweat issue by buttoning my shirt around the chain just above the carried items such that the chain is under the shirt but the carried items stick out of the shirt. Looks a tad dorky, but in the field I'm not there for a beauty contest. For normal EDC in town, heavy sweat isn't an issue.

I get around the shirtless issue by, um, wearing a shirt.

I've got the following on my neck:

Dog Tags, including red medical tag
Fox 40 Micro whistle
REI brand mini-compass
Photon micro light
Boy Scout Hot Spark fire starter with striker

I'm looking to add a neck knife in the not-so-distant future.

nice little kit wish we could get that country comm stuff here in canada!

If you ask nicely maybe one of us U.Sians could mail you some County Comm gear?

Just a thought...

John E.

Why can't you get it, import issues?

CountyComm doesn't ship internationally... But if you go the route of freight forwarding would be acceptable? I use this method all the time for companies that will only ship within USA.

Sounds like an untapped market someone internationally based could get into.

1. Dog tags - they were free with my enlistment, and do have name, medical alert, and blood type.
2. Whistle.
3. Blank dog tag, polished mirror smooth to be used as a... mirrror.
4. $20, folded flat and placed between mirror dog tag and another dog tag and held together with dog tag silencer.

All of this is on a GI ball chain (which is not to be confused with the ball AND chain, which I also EDC most days...

Rest of the EDC is in my pockets, and listed (quite a few times) in other thread posts.

.....CLIFF
(like, who else?)

I admire those of you who can tolerate neckwear. I just can't...either in town or in the field. Hated dogtags but understood and tolerated them.

I try to carry the most needed items on my belt or in cargo pockets...field or town. That said, I always like to gawk at people's gear so I'm still interested. I'll just carry differently.


As for my squeezelight, it is on my keychain. But I usually reach for the better pocket light on my belt. Still carry the Photon Freedom Micro and do use it often though...and have placed a few extras in kits.

yes i think it's a very untapped market i know so many people who would buy country comm products if you would get them here in Canada i was even willing to do reviews on there products and post there website link on my site so people would know they can get them in Canada i emailed country comm twice but got no response.

Next time I am headed north I will make a post. It will have to be summer though as my 5th Wheel isn't artic prep'ed, and winter trips are travel hockey only. (Silver Sticks, etc.)

I can just let you guys ship to me and I will "smuggle" it across the border.
(per an old thread: I just have to remember to leave my CHL pea shooter home this time.)

Usually up once a summer while kids at camp in Minnesota.