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

The real question is that since you are carrying most/all of this stuff anyway, why not carry it "on your person" instead of in your pack? Even if slightly less convenient, it might come in real handy in the very unlikely event you are separated from the rest of your gear. The odds are small, but then so is the effort.

Well SOMEbody's gotta be the smartest person in the room, it might as well be Roger. I think we are misreading his use of the terms HYOH and YMMV. It's more like "HYOH/YMMV… and you're stupid".

In my case I wear a small Inov-8 waist pouch with a few basic survival items, food for the next hour or two of hiking, and navigation tools. I think of the waist pouch as the lid of my pack, relocated.

A few years ago I started experimenting with a lanyard, because I had down-weighted everything and there were no longer all the places to keep things (like pockets). I generally found the lanyard an inconvenience.

Nowadays I usually hike with a Photon II and a Fox Whistle on the longish trip-ease lanyard. It is not noticeable. So here is my reasoning…

I usually hike solo and usually off trail. Also I am getting older, so there might be a greater chance of slipping/falling/etc. So a whistle around my neck might be a good thing. However, since I often get distracted with curiosity and deviate from my planned trip (itinerary left at home) a whistle might not be any good anyhow. Lets face it, someone needs to be looking for you and know pretty much where you are if you hope to get their attention with a whistle. The sound from these little plastic whistles don't travel far.

Also, I now usually use my shoes as a pillow wrapped in a puffy or other clothing item. For years I carried a little plastic flashlight and stored it in my boot at night so I could find it easily. So it is extremely handy to have the Photon on a lanyard where I can easily find it. But all the other stuff… I can find a better place for it, which is at home.

Now this little kit might throw the SUL folk into spasms, but it would hardly draw a Bushcraft aficionado's attention. I'll sit happily (and safely, I think) on the fence between 10 pounds of iron and a single edge razor blade. I don't think it is quite on the survivalist side of the spectrum, but it is done with that in mind, while applying some UL sensibility. It is simply a short list of items to help a solo hiker in trouble to make it through a cold wet night.

I carry the "key ring" in my right pocket and the match case and the folding knife on the left. IMHO, there is just enough to get by and there is some redundancy here and with a couple items in my pack. The knives thinly duplicate each other, but only in terms of opening a meal bag; from that point they are very different tools. I use a "full size" sighting compass for map navigation, backed by the little button compass that is in the cap of the match case. You can see two kinds of fire starters there, and that red capsule is jammed full of Tinder Quick tabs— you will also find a mini Bic lighter in my cook kit. The AA flashlight is duplicated with a headlamp in my pack. I could go with a smaller and lighter pocket knife, but I like this one and I'm willing to take the extra couple ounces. So there you are, with no regrets or apologies. It's just the way I do it.

"Chief Plentyjunk" – I love it! LOL

Solid set up Dale. That gear would make a luxurious night in the woods if you got separated from your main pack. I don't like things hanging from my neck, I've even tried using a necknife. It just irritated me. So I think its up to the user, if you can carry it on your neck comfortably, I think by all means carry it on your neck then. The likely hood you will be separated from a lanyard is slim to none.

I carry a small, lightweight, minimalist Personal Survival Kit. Its housed in a Solkoa SUMA container made from billet aluminum. I carry it in my pockets apart from my main pack. I read someone's comment earlier "I'm not going to get seperated from my pack, its never happened" or something to that effect. The year before last when I was in Montana January time frame, 2 guys died because they couldn't find their way back to their pack. There packs contained survival gear. So I'm sure they believed the same thing and it cost them their lives.

> It's more like "HYOH/YMMV… and you're stupid".
Not so. HYOH/YMMV really do mean exactly what the words say, and no more.

You will all know when I want to call someone stupid!

Cheers
PS: snack food and nav gear in a waist pouch seems like a fair idea to me. A bit like the kangaroo pocket on my MYOG windshirts.

Hi Roger,

I find it pretty funny that you make a big deal about people carrying
a few items around your neck and claim:
"Easy. I don't carry one. Never have, and never needed one in 40+ years of walking."

And yet I read your description of what you do carry and learn
that you DO have a lanyard kit you wear it all the time
and it contains one item — a compass. It can be pretty handy
to keep things we use a lot around your neck don't you think?
I guess that is what your "experience" has found.

cheers
Al

It's not about if you have ever needed to use it. If you do need it, and don't have it, it could easily result in death. Your body doesn't have any neat tricks to keep your warm in an emergency. If you get caught in freezing temperatures without a way to make fire or an emergency space blanket bivvy, you are screwed.

I've never been in a situation where I needed my seat belt either.

Hi George

Hum. OK, I see your point. Is a compass on a very thin bit of string the same as a typical lanyard kit *in principle*?

I can see one big difference. I use the compass all the time when walking. It is not a sort of micro emergency kit meant to save my life when I lose my pack. Rather, it is a convenient way to carry one thing which is in regular use every day. My wife carries her compass in her pocket, tied to a loop there.

One could argue the point at great length, which tells me that such a debate would really be futile. I will leave it to the world to decide.

Cheers

"It's not about if you have ever needed to use it."

Justin, that is exactly what it IS about for many who have learned from this site and try to follow UL principles. My goal for Ultralight backpacking is go into the woods with exactly what I need, for the expected conditions, to keep my body warm in an emergence and nothing more. It is all in my pack, and I'm quite comfortable with not having it around my neck.

I don't see the need for space blankets, big knifes, axes, whistles, trauma kits and all that other stuff that comes with the "what if" mentality. The more time I spend in wild places, the less stuff I feel the need to take, and the more comfortable my pack feels.

Why are you guys gettin after Roger for not liking lanyards? If y'all wanna carry them go ahead- but I'm w/ Rog (cringing minion)

If I put my pack down and am going to walk far from it I take the things that keep me safe. On a lanyard? -No

Personall I think fire starters in general are ridiculous. Ever had a Bic fail? I carry three. Pocket, stove, and FAK. Done. DONE!!! and I live in a wet environment!!

Sorry but if you *need* a knife to start a fire… you aint doin it right. I've NEVER been separated from my pack. Hell I dont use a compass. My lighter is my Photon Light.

If the man has walked extensively for 40 years and never used one????!!!!??? I havent even been alive that long. (so I'm inexperienced now??)

If you take your pack off and go for a walk take the essentials.

Wearing them around your neck with your pack on? asinine

Do you have water purification on it? no… oh but you may need it.

Al writes of Roger's experience in quotes: "I guess that is what your "experience" has found." Yeah … 40 years is not experience…. it should be put in quotes to trivialize it. 40 years, dude… that's a lot of walking. AND in wikked weather (I've seen the pics)

Its not that carrying "essential' things is stupid.. its that on a string around your neck is… well… weird. There is this invention called pockets.

Lanyard cats are in the minority- prepare to be hosed.

Well, time to weigh in, I guess.

Yes, I use a lanyard. With over 40 years of hiking and canoeing, you learn which pieces of equipment are really needed.

I have to agree with Roger, though. All that is on my lanyard is a compass. I don't carry a whistle. My pack and I are rarely seperated, but a lunch bar, drink and lighter all fit into my pockets. Same for the Steripen, if I think I will need it.

When I first started, I had a laynard kit similar to yours. I glued a small compass to a whistle, added a small fingernail clipper (with an edge added to the file as a knife) and a metal match box. I used it once. The bulk of all that stuff caused hairs to rip out of my chest and/or caused a lot of itching. I did away with it, putting it in my pocket, never to return.

I decided to try again about 8-9 years ago when I found the setup in an old bag. I was always using the compass, it often hung around my neck anyway. So, I simply decided on a larger, but much thinner compass. In my time hiking, I never needed a whistle. My lighter was in my pocket, as was my knife and steripen. Only the compass remained. Using it for prevailing winds at a campsite, finding your way if you are off the beaten path, or navigating the canoe (with the pack buried behind me,) it is too handy to do without. Off track, I look at it every few minutes. It needed a better home than in my pack. Certain tools have a way of finding spots for themselves…the compass is really best kept handy, if you use one. Since, I have bumped into several people that do the same. My opinion, not that it is worth that much.

I think everyone carries some type of fire starter (and if your smart you have a backup source), I'm pretty sure most everyone carries a light of some sort and I'm pretty sure most carry some kind of cutting instrument

if you carry it in your pocket, on lanyard (or up your nose) it's there in the (yes unlikely, but after fording many swift streams and rivers I've come to the conclusion it's possible) IF you were to be separated from your pack.

not seeing what exactly the fuss is where said items are carried? granted stuffing said items up your nose could be difficult

"granted stuffing said items up your nose could be difficult"

I tried this when I was looking to get rid of my lanyard. The lanyard is preferable.

Ryan

If they put decent pockets on women's pants, I would not use a lanyard. However, the pockets on women's pants are so shallow that I don't dare carry anything there for risk of its falling out.

There's also the problem of pocket contents vs. pack hip belt, again an issue because women's pockets are so shallow.

Hi Mary

> If they put decent pockets on women's pants,
I hear you!
MYOG.

Cheers

Mary D wrote, "If they put decent pockets on women's pants, I would not use a lanyard."

I recommend using a lanyard in your pocket and securing that to a belt or belt loop. A number of hiking pant models have security loops for just that purpose. I still don't want a lot of weight and bulk in my pockets and my kit has reached the practical limit for me.

If you can tolerate wearing a necklace, the problem is solved and it probably keeps things within reason and UL. A little stuff sack, like a "medicine bag" could be used on a necklace or hung on your pants, keeping everything clean and quieter too.

I am a horrible sewer (don't have binocular vision closer than 3 feet), but I could probably manage to sew a patch pocket on my pants on each thigh, with a snap closure. Of course I need the pockets only when I don't have my pack with me.

The only things on the lanyard are compass, tiny photon light and whistle. That's enough to have dangling around my neck! I've used all three at one time or another, but the photon light only in the tent, when I can't find my headlamp groping around in the dark (one time my dog was sleeping on it!).

Related question. How many lanyard users have a hairy chest? Split ring + hairy chest = OW!!

"Lanyard cats are in the minority- prepare to be hosed." LOL!

The pockets issue with women's trousers drives me insane! I think for everyday wear the theory is that most women carry a purse (I do not) and therefore do not need pockets, and this has (bizarrely) transferred over to outdoor wear. I bought some new hiking trousers recently with a "cargo pocket" that is about 3×3 inches. Not sure what cargo I'm supposed to be able to fit it there!

Ken pondered, "Related question. How many lanyard users have a hairy chest?"

You *could* wear the lanyard outside your shirt.

My medicine bag approach would add some comfort to the follicular afflicted and quiet the mess as well. Imagine a stuff sack used upside down with a hole in the closed end for the lanyard, covering the array like a bell with the usual drawstring at the opening (now at the bottom). You could open it up and slide it out of the way as needed. It might work without a drawstring, or just a bit of Velcro.

;-)” height=”319″ src=”https://dpcr19kltm61a.cloudfront.net/backpackinglight/user_uploads/1349544883_69721.jpg” width=”480″ />

Add lanyard and whatever goes into your kit. ;-)

Party On,

Newton

It certainly appears that you have a solution in search of a problem.

–B.G.–

Don't be this guy. You can go too far.