What's in my Pants

Well, Spring is sort of here in the Puget Sound area, and I'm starting to get out and work off all the winter fat. To that end, I've been walking the trails in Dashpoint State Park, which is pretty much in my back yard.




Here's the photoset for Fern Alley.

Now, I've been thinking about getting out and visiting other parks around the state, but I want to get into shape first. When I go further afield, I'm going to add a water bottle carrier (Maxpedition if I can afford it) kit to this for water purification and making lunch. Right now, I'm just heading out for a bit of exercise, and if it comes down to it, I can walk over to the camp area and hit a water fountain. =D

I wear Cabela's cargo pants when I'm out walking. Everything here (except the hiking stick, of course) fits into the pants pockets. Anything I add to this later, will either go into the water bottle carrier or windbreaker pockets. (Aside from adding some water purification tabs and a couple freezer bags to my pockets.)

The idea is to get the most important stuff on my body, not carried. The jacket pockets can hold more, as can the pouch on the water bottle carrier, but both of those could potentially be lost.

That said, here's what's in my pants so far:



Front Left pocket: Bandana and a Lansky pocket sharpener. I'll add a Petzl e+Lite headlamp when I start going further afield. IF I get in shape enough to even contemplate that this year.



Front Right pocket: Keys and a Midnite Minichamp. It's one with a red LED. Handy for finding other lights. Really cool little knife. This pocket should also have a Benchmade Mini-Grip clipped to it, but that's in for repairs at the moment.



Left Cargo pocket: PSP and an emergency poncho. Would carry a bigger poncho if I was expecting some rain, or going further out. The metal bit between the tinder and the compass is the split ring from the SAK on the back side:



The backside of the PSP. I've added a mini-Bic lighter, a Victorinox Cadet is standing in for a Farmer which I'll add later, and a Fisher bullet style Space Pen. I need to add in a white LED, but I'm waiting until I get get the Ritter-ized Photon II for that use. As I'm only out for a couple hours in the mornings, and pretty much in my backyard, no rush. When I go further afield, I'll toss a few water purification tablets into the kit.



Right Cargo pocket: AMK 2 person Heatsheets blanket, and an AMK Pocket Medic kit with a few additions. I need to get some Immodium for the first aid kit. I'll also be carrying an inhaler in this pocket, or another. Just didn't bring it out today to photograph.



My Leatherman Blast. This guy rides in its own pocket. The cargo pants have a velcro-closure pocket above the right cargo, which fits pretty well. At least, it's a better fit than the sheath that came with the knife.



Well, this wasn't in my pocket, but I normally carry it with me, so I snapped a pic. Good old fashioned hickory hiking stick. It's a bit heavy, though, so I will probably look for something lighter for longer hikes. It gets the job done for now.

Not pictured: Cell phone in jacket pocket. Kimber Pro Carry II on right hip. (Wasn't going to take that one out on a busy trail to photograph. =P) Pens and notepad in jacket pocket. Sunglasses, normally worn or in coat pocket. Camera pouch on left hip.

The Midnite Minichamps are still $19.99 on Amazon at the moment. If you need a book or something else from Amazon, you can score free shipping, too. =)

I'm with ya on the budget though. I've splurged too much lately, just getting this stuff set up. I'll have to wait to finish the odds and ends.

Nice kit for a short trip. it is certainly UL (ultralight). There is some good knock off maxipedition bags you could look at. There has been links on this sight for them. I personally use a backpack and you could get one of those for $10 if that's your budget.

If your just going out for morning stuff, bring a bar that won't melt on you.

If I am not carrying paper, I carry a grease pencil instead of pen. Someone on here recommended to me Soapstone as it will write on anything but I haven't found any yet.

I am just nitpicking, you have a good list for pocket EDC.

Now you just need a pair of suspenders.

Hi Comms, Soapstone will not write on everything.
Soapstone is for welders marking steel. The thing is it leaves a white mark that does not burn off when a torch hits it.
You will see it in little sticks wherever welding supplies are sold.
It is useless on paper.

grease pencil is good, so are soft carpenters crayons (not pencil) You usually see them in black(graphite)and black, red or yellow wax. (Building supply stores.)

LOL

The only really weighty thing is the Blast, but it's not too bad. If I leave out the Blast (or move it to a water bottle carrier or belt sheath), then the load is really light.

If that stuff bulks up the cargo pockets you may have to rethink the load plan for a longer walk.

I hike in BDU pants and am reluctant to put much more than a wallet or a bandana into the cargo pockets because of chafing.
But I'm hiking 10 or so miles and a little chafing adds up.

I once picked up about 150 empty .40S&W cases someone had left at a shooting spot and put them in my cargo pockets. Was real glad that I didn't have to go more than a mile or so back to where I could empty them into the jeep.

Not bad. My only real concern is putting my leatherman in one of those velco'ed pouches. But if it a nice, kind trail, it might not be a problem.

That's one of the reasons I'm carrying it all around with me at the moment. I'm carrying all this around town, too, when I go out. I want to see how it holds up to prolonged wear.

So far, it's not too bad. The two kits are small and very light, as is the other stuff. The Leatherman will probably be the first thing moved out of a pocket, mainly for the weight. I'm considering getting a Juice or even Squirt, to fulfill the pliers role.

Chinese wax wood makes an excellent hiking stick. I actually like it better than my Leki's. Most martial arts stores and china town areas sell them in 6' sections for around 10-12 bucks a piece. Flexible, strong, and hard to splinter, guess thats why they use them as staffs.

The sign to my favourite trail reads 'surrender all hope, ye who enter."

Where did you get that hickory staff? Some things should be heavy; sleeping bags, booze bottles, hickory sticks.

I picked up the staff out of a rack at Sportsman's Warehouse.

I believe it was branded as a Field and Stream hiking staff, but made by these guys:

http://www.whistlecreek.com/index.html

However, they don't seem to have the F&S brand on their site. I popped in SW the other day to see if they had a slightly slimmer staff, but the display was emptied out. (I think they're having problems with restocking still, due to the change of ownership.)

Edit: I think "Hickory Hiking Staff," item number 1407, halfway down this page is the same as what I have:

http://www.whistlecreek.com/classerrusst.html

Hey Scafool, thanks for the heads up on the soapstone. As I said, I prefer the grease pencil. I was just looking at the crayon you were mentioning while at H Depot on Sunday. I decided no, as I trust what I use.

Back to the thread, I don't think a backpack or maxipedition is uncalled for. Heck just a basic messenger bag would work well and you can continue to carry those items all day long instead of just when you wear those pants.

You might benefit from carrying your water on your back or waist ( camelbak flashflo.)

@Comm: I wear these pants all day long. =P

Being self-employed, I wear what I like.

Seriously, though, the exercise is to keep as much stuff on-body as possible without getting bogged down. Once I get the Maxpedition bottle carrier, I'm sure I'll offload one or two things.

Speaking of which, after some deliberation, I've moved my Heatsheets blanket and Leatherman up to my coat pockets, and my cell phone down to my left front pocket (the slot pocket).

The blanket, while very light, was just too bulky. REI is having a 25% off sale on all AMK products starting on the 1st, so I'm going to pick up the single person blanket and see how the bulk is. The Leatherman only adds plier functionality, with the other tools being redundant to a SAK, so I'm thinking it's not worth having it bang into my leg all day. When I get the bottle carrier, it's going to have a home there.

Also, keep in mind that I'm not using this stuff in extremis. Rescue for any situation I'm likely to find myself in over the course of this coming year will involve placing a cell phone call to 911 to come haul my injured self off the trail. An extreme case may involve no cell signal or a dead battery, and waiting for a hiker/trail runner/mountain biker to come along (about a ten minute to fifteen minute affair on most of the trails I'll be on, if that) so I can either borrow their cell or have them contact a park ranger.

Until I'm in better shape, I'm sticking to tamer trails, and probably considerably shorter walks than a lot of you folks are used to. Once I start hitting longer walks, I'll be carrying the water bottle holder and other supplies. For just getting into shape, I'm pretty much in overkill mode at the moment for what I carry. I just want to get used to carrying it, if that makes sense.

What kind of holster, please? Do you always wear a light jacket or something to keep it hidden?

Dave

Very interesting. I might have to take a look!

Brian.
With all this fitness talk it sounds like soon you will be getting a small pack like Comms suggested, just to load it with rocks so you can do some weight training.

I liked your photo set of the trail.
For that plant you can't ID I suspect it is Maianthemum dilatatum
I added a comment to the photo.

Try this for more about it;
http://www.paghat.com/maianthemum.html

@Dave: Uncle Mike's Super Belt Slide Holster. I need to upgrade it when I get funds. Works well enough for now, though. At the moment, I do wear a jacket, yes. Thinking about getting an IWB holster for warmer weather.

@scafool: Thanks for the ID! I haven't yet dug up a good plant guide online. I may have to buy a field guide off Amazon.


Hmm, speaking of not being able to find an online plant guide, while looking up Maianthemum dilatatum, I found:

http://green.kingcounty.gov/GoNative/Photo.aspx?Act=browse

So, thanks again! Now, maybe I'll be able to put names to some of the plants around here.

For the Kimber, look to the tuck-able IWB holsters from De Santis or others. I was pointed in their direction by a friend well met here on this forum....

You mat also like the newer Kydex paddle holsters. I never thought I would move away from leather, but the plastic has really grown on me...


Cheers to the Old Sage, and Friend Well Met..... OBG

Seriously, water bottles filled with water make better weight for pack training than rocks. You can dump the water out if the weight needs to be jettisoned.
Dumping the rocks means you might have to find other, less pack-friendly rocks. Or be accused of littering.....

Just be sure to use either full or empty jugs. Sloshing jugs of water in your pack is a whole other challenge to walk with.

(I've been known to load up a 5 gallon jug or two and carry them in my pack around my usual daily walking path when working up for a backpacking trip.)

Here are refillable grease pencils that I use everyday for
tough to mark on stuff.

http://www.listo.com/pencil.htm

Nice pocket gear. My approach is basically the same - to carry lots of essential gear in pockets. Except I carry a drink (mostly water) even for short trips or for example even runs under 30 minutes long.