Hip belt pockets yea or nay?

I vote yes. I usually wear clothing with minimal pockets, so it's nice to have easy access to small essentials. Plus I hate the feeling of stuff in my pants pockets when hiking, climbing, and especially running.

Mostly nay. Whatever you put in them gets smashed on the ground every time you take your pack off. I broke a headlamp that way. It limits the items I want to put in there. Usually too small for a map. I could never figure out what to put in them other than snacks.

I like hip belt pockets, and have had them in my Circuits and now my Arc Haul for five or so years. Worth the weight for me.

Left side gets snacks and drink mixes for the day. Right side gets personal hygiene stuff, like alcohol gel, water treatment tabs, foot powder. In cooler weather I stick my beanie and lightweight gloves in that pocket in case I need them.

I use them on both my packs.

Yea I say. I have grown very accustomed to keeping the small items in them that I am frequently using (phone for gps app or camera, lip sunscreen, regular sunscreen, etc.).

Yes for me. I use the right side for the camera and the left side for Aquamira, Purell, headlamp, compass, etc.

I find they get in the way of my arms when I walk. I also have a hard time getting them to stay on the hip belt and I struggle with the weight of the hip belt pockets twisting around the hip belt straps making it a struggle every time I put the pack on. Built-in hipbelt pockets on a stiffer belt work great. I've got a minimal hip belt and my struggle has been with add-on hip belt pockets.

Yes, I like hip pockets. In fact, I have custom pockets, 6" L x "6 H x 2" deep that are larger that the standard versions that normally come with the pack. I put one days of food in one and the heavy stuff like phones, cameras, lotions, flashlights in the other.

I like them. I like to have snacks close at hand. I find that I don't eat as often if I have to stop and grab something out of my pack. And, I'm simply not coordinated enough to pull snacks out of a lid pocket without dumping things on my head.

Yea — use it for the dense stuff or frequently used items. Agree with Justin about forgetting how easily items can be trashed in them. I have removable pockets so I can position them to get out of the way when I walk. Also re-use one of them for my air-plane/hotel bathroom bag.

I like mine. Printed zoomed in map in left side with pen for notes. Snacks and a drink mix powder packet in the other. compass sometimes if needed.

My setup has a total of six. I can carry up to four liter of water (or food) and misc commonly used items. that amount of weight transferred to the hipbelt makes a huge difference especially with an eight lb. base. I also like that I can hike 20 miles without stopping or taking my pack off. I will likely never be without these as long as I hike. These were gen 2. My current version is even more integrated together to eliminate bounce.

Good heavens, yes. They hold my camera and my snacks, two of three things I reach for over and over all day long (the other being my water bottle, which straps securely onto a shoulder strap).

Easily accessible snacks, camera, sunscreen and more. I like them.

I don't really like them, especially the ones attached to a hip belt. They don't usually hold that much. However . . .

I do carry shoulder pockets for small things and on my last hike I carried a Gossamer Gear Hipster Fanny Pack which I liked, so I do like at least some kind of accessory pockets.

As others have expressed here, I like having fingertip access to certain things, particularly camera and snacks. But another reason I have come to like them is that my old pack had a lid with an inner and an outer pocket plus a small doo-dads pocket, and when I got my Arc Blast I lost all those organizing pockets, so I got the big Zpacks hip belt pockets and put almost all that stuff up front. I wasn't sure I would like it, but I do, a lot. Now at my fingertips I have not only my camera and snacks but also my PLB, first aid kit, headlamp, head net, note paper and pen, ID/permits, and parts of my repair kit and essentials. The pockets bulge because I put so much in them, so I connected them as far front on the belt as possible and they are out of the way of my swinging arms. And I'm loving the functionality, things I used to have to take my pack off for are now always within reach without even needing to stop. Added bonus, by moving items from the back to the front it balances out weight distribution / center of gravity a bit.

Yes for me if – they are big enough to be functional. Too small and I find them useless. I will keep my head net handy when in bug season, small knife or razor blade, and compass when carried in one side and snacks in the other. I also find I will keep energized with food if it is handy, if not I pass on digging it out which leaves me lagging sometimes.

I too am using a pack now with out top cover with zip pockets, leaves me more reliant on the side pockets but in no way do I miss the top. I find it much easier to put all my small items in a UL ditty and keeping it stowed toward the top inside the pack. I VERY rarely need anything in my pack before making camp. Only other item I keep handy is my bandana and that gets tied off on the outside of the pack.

jimmyb

A definite YEA from me… women's clothing often has craptastic pockets, so my hipbelt pockets store the day's snacks, hand cleaner, bug dope, my handydandy bandana, and (if big enough) my cellphone…

Yea for me as well. My packs hip pockets aren't very big, but they hold small stuff that I might want to get to while hiking like chapstick, energy bar etc. Digging in my pants pockets for stuff while I'm trying to watch where I'm walking, messes up my rhythm. Then again I'm not coordinated enough to use two hiking sticks, so you may not want to go by me lol.

It was hard to wrestle my camera in and out of the hipbelt pocket – and it smacked the ground when I took the pack off and set it on the ground, or moved the pack towards me when sitting at a rest break. Keeping my camera in my front pants pocket was MUCH easier :)

I usually keep my map in my front pants pocket when I need one to navigate. It wouldn't fit in most hipbelt pockets anyways.

I keep my daily snacks in a quart freezer bag at the top of my pack, or side water bottle pocket. They are too big to fit into the hip belt pockets, and I like to eat when I stop for a rest break rather than eat while walking.

I keep my all my small stuff in a small stuff sack in the top of my pack or a water bottle pocket. It's easier to root around to find stuff, and I can set it next to me when I might be using the stuff (like at rest breaks, while dinner cooks, or inside the tent). My map is in that same stuff sack if I'm on well marked trails.

I also keep my water bottle in the top of my pack more often than not too. That way my drink, snacks, and accessories are right next to each other and I don't have to get things out of multiple pockets at a rest stop. (I drink at my 3-5 minute rest stops every 45 minutes or so rather than continuously while walking).

You clearly have taken hip belt pockets to the next level. Very intriguing. Will you share with us the details of your set up? What mods have you made for gen 3; particularly steps to minimize bounce?

I purchased a used GG Kumo from a forum member and was wondering if I should change the hip belt to one with pockets. I have used them on larger packs but transitioning to Ul backpacking has its learning curve. Thanks for all the input.

Sometimes yes
Sometimes no

I like to keep light , AM , some miscl items in them, but can do with single ziplock in pack too .

Get removeable, use them only when feel like it.

gen 1 used Commercially available bottle bottle. (With elastic tops.)
Gen 2 I made myself out of the same Dyneema used in my MLD Burn. I also switched out the elastic with a very thin drawstring to cinch the top tighter to reduce bounce.
Gen 3 changed the attachment to the we belt and made that connection much more robust. I also sewed the bottom corners of the pouched together to essentially have one side pair of pouches per side. This really eliminated bounce and I have used this setup for trail running.

here is a picture from the inside. You can see the attachment. it work better to have the attachment partway down the pouch vs. Having the pouch hang from the top, again reduces bounce. gen 4 would likely move it down an additional inch. Toward the bottom of the pouches you can see where they are tacked together.

Here is a picture from the outside.