How the he$$%#% do you manage your lanyard kit

[Michael Cheifetz]

So i'm working on my 1st aid and emergency kits and of course there is tons of options and data about what could one take.
I have noticed many people talk about a lanyard kit – ostensibly a kit hanging around their necks that usually has something like – whistle, micro photon, razor blade, tinder, striker, mirror, button compass etc.

Now i usually just have a whistle around my neck and it bothers me – if i wear it on the OUTSIDE it dangles and if I wear it on the INSIDE it bulges and interferes with my sternum strap (yeah yeah – you sxul guys dont have straps i know) – so how do you guys manage a full kit on your neck??? – i would imagine its a real bother…???

Mike

[Jeffs Eleven]

Search member Mike Moore.

He's got a nice one.

…Lanyard kit, that is. ;)

[michael levi]

Same here, I dont like things dangling from my neck. I have some Zimmerbuilt xpac shoulder pockets though, very nice. .4oz each and very waterproof.

[Eugene Smith]

Lanyard?

Put all those items in a small ziplock in your pack and call it a day. I think the lanyard thing is a bushcrafty practice, they tend to get overly excited about emergency preparedness and enjoy wearing EDC charm necklaces.

[Michael Cheifetz]

yeah – i now carry stuff in my pack/top pocket…but there is some sense in having something ON YOU in case you somehow get separated from your pack (say searching for wood/ trying out some tricky scramble w/o pack etc)

[Vick Hines]

I agree that a lanyard can be obnoxious. On the other hand, it can keep needed stuff handy. On thruhikes I wear the simplest shorts – no pockets. So I keep a small SAK, lighter, microlight and compass on the lanyard. In really cold weather, a lanyard keeps essential items body warm (so the butane lighter works even near zero) and I don't have to locate pockets under cold weather gear. Works for me.

And a lanyard can save your posterior if a simple mistake or two gets you in trouble. Evidence the time on the AT when I went for water well before dusk and got turned around in heavy brush 1/2 mile from the shelter. Wearing only running shorts and Crocks…and my lanyard. Darkness fell way too fast. Fortunately, I had a Microlight and button compass on the lanyard. Even then it took an hour to locate the trail and the shelter. Stuff happens.

[David Adair]

I tried keeping my stuff on a necklace but it all piled into a knot. So then I used wooden beads to separate things on the necklace. Looked a lot like Chief Plentyjunk. Now I keep it in my pocket on a piece of reflective line.

Lanyard contains: Fox 40 whistle, classic knife, itp eos AAA flashlight, $6 Power puff girls watch, sun compass. Also carry a mini bic in my pocket.

Also pictured is an old friend, Western brand bird and trout knife (2 oz) which I take occasionally for no good reason and a 12 oz hatchet which I have never taken and appears to be quite completely useless in spite of what George Sears may have said.

[Luke Schmidt]

I keep such items in my pocket which I find much more comfortable. My hiking pants normally have pockets so I carry the following items in my pockets.
1. Sturdy lock blade knife
2. Fire starter (either a good lighter or a small fire steel and a couple cotton balls in a small plastic bag).
3. Photon micro light (sometimes on my neck instead).

The theory behind my system is this. If I somehow get separated from my pack I have the ability to make a fire and a light in case I need to hike in the dark. Most places I hike are never more then 10 miles from a road of some kind so I could get out of most areas with forced march going into the night if necessary. If I got cold I could make a fire. Just once when my brother and I hiked in really nasty freezing rain in November we added space blankets and emergency ponchos to our pockets.

[Nick Brown]

I carry a fixed blade knife. I like knives so I carry one. Anyhow, I attach it to my belt loop with a nite ize carabiner run through the scabbards belt hanger. I don't wear a belt. I then attach other possibles such as a fire steel, photon micro light and tinder to the carabiner and they dangle into my back pocket. It stays quiet and secure and doesn't impede leg movement. I figure if I lose my pants I probably deserve what comes next. I have thought about using an MLD belt pouch as a possibles pouch attached with biners to belt loops also. Might try it.

[Mike M]

mine rides nicely, when hiking the sheath is just below the sternum strap

"kit" is an ESEE Izula in a kydex sheath, little spectra cord wrapped around it, small firesteel, a couple of firestraws, photon light, fox micro whistle- everything snugged down w/ a ranger band (inner tube)

ultra-light lanyard setup :)

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

I used about a 2 foot piece of Glowire from Lawson Kline and use a Zipper Pull Whistle to close it on the end (so it is not tied together and can break apart if needed). I have a Photon Micro light, a Ka-Bar Mini Dozier knife, a small compass (with a thermometer) and my Polystriker on it. I don't like wearing this around my neck, but IMO, the point is to have it on one's self, so rather than stow it in my pack, I put it in a cargo pants pocket. So, even if I were to loose my pack, this is still on me.

Here is an older picture of the items, however, when I put the Zipper Pull Whistle on it I removed the REI Whistle…although, I may add it back since the Zipper Pull Whistle is pretty weak…

[Michael Haubert]

I use Kelty triptease and my set up is very similar to Chad/Stick's set up, but my kit is affixed to my belt with the kit placed in my pocket. Compass, whistle, fire steel (if I want to bring it), light and mini Swiss Army knife. Two bowline knots on each end of the string, place all items on the string and then feed one bowline into the other and pull. That locks everything on the line. Then place the belt through the other bowline. There's enough string so taking these items out of my pocket is easy and I can use all them without difficulty. I picked this idea up from another BPL member–just can't remember who.

SoCal Mike

[Michael Cheifetz]

thanks guys
some great setups there..

I like the lanyard on belt into pocket part (I guess you could put on your neck whenyou take off your pants at night if you are wearing sleeping/camp clothes)

Mike

[Michael Haubert]

At night I usually hang my kit from my hammock's ridge line. If I need a light, it's hanging right above me. Everything is easy to find. Other ideas would be to put it around your neck (if you don't mind sleeping with it) or stuff it into your shoes. If/when you have to get up, you'll probably need your shoes… and your kit is waiting.

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

I do the same, except in my tent. I keep it up near my head so I can pretty much reach for it and find it with little difficulty. Sometimes though I will also sleep with my headlamp pulled down around my neck. If it is cold I have a buff around my neck anyway, so I hardly know it is there…

[Roger Caffin]

Easy. I don't carry one. Never have, and never needed one in 40+ years of walking.

The bushcrafty types and the emergency survival types are just playing games.

Cheers
PS: yeah, Roger being particularly blunt and oboxious. Tough.

[Brian Johns]

Usually in a waist or shoulder pocket. Only goes around my knock if I am taking a side trip from camp.

[Ryan Smith]

Hard to argue with Roger.

Ryan

[Mike M]

"Hard to argue w/ Roger"

well I guess I'll have to quit carrying mine then

;lol:

[David Adair]

>"Hard to argue w/ Roger"

>well I guess I'll have to quit carrying mine then

Well gee if Roger says so, I guess I'll have to quit carrying mine too.

edited to add: pffft

[Ken Thompson]

If you're going to wear a necklace, you should have some sort of break-away so you don't hang yourself.

Stuff in my pocket, no thanks.

Stuff around my neck, even more no thank you.

So that stuff is in my pack.

If we packed for every possible what if, we're right back to huge packs.

[michael levi]

^ x2

[Chad “Stick” Poindexter]

The way I saw it, I was already carrying these items anyway. To me, putting it all together on a length of cord was a great way to keep up with these smaller items. And while I was at it, I could keep these pieces in my cargo pants pocket, where it goes unnoticed by me while hiking. And to make it better, it is indeed always with my self, not in my pack. As well, factoring in the "UL" thought process…by putting it in my pocket, it is considered carry weight, not base pack weight… (had to throw that in…) Then of course, I also have another small section of cord to, just in case I need it…

Also, as I mentioned, the Zipper Whistle Pull will break away if pulled on.

[Don A.]

My trail name isn't "Still Lookin'" without reason. I carry my lanyard in my pocket and connected to my pants/running shorts. It's not so much about a safety thing as it is about having a few small items I use all the time in camp close at hand. Well the whistle I don't use all the time but the knife and photon lights I do. The small brass tag is for opening a bear canister. I'm often entertained by people trying to locate their quarter/nickle/dime/penny to open their canister. And in the past before I carried a lanyard I was entertaining others looking for my knife, light and coin amongst numerous other things.

[Dale Wambaugh]

A couple small items are okay on neck lanyard, like a Photon light and a whistle. Past that, it gets bulky and prone to tangles. I decided to go with a pocket kit instead.

I have the following items on a ring:
Olight i2 AA LED flashlight
Fox whistle
Victorinox Classic knife
Bison Designs spy capsule with Tinder Quick tabs
Exotic firesteel with scraper

In addition I carry a 3.5" folding pocket knife and a K&M match safe with the long REI/UCO storm matches inside and a button compass in the cap. I also carry a one liter water bag in crown of my Tilley hat.

This might seem a bit much for UL, but I hike solo and in a wet climate. I want just enough in my pockets to navigate, signal, make fire and some crude shelter. It is survivalist oriented and I have no qualms with that.

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