What gear do you carry on your person?

I do not like carrying items in my pockets. I’m very focused on not separating myself from my pack.

I do move some items into my pockets during sketchy water crossings, namely my phone (aka backup map/compass/etc) and InReach. My thought is to have a backup plan in case I had to ditch my pack. I have a tiny plastic capsule with a couple quicktinder(?) fire starters and a couple matches. I suppose that might be a good item to pocket as well at a water crossing.

I recently ordered a fanny pack as an experiment to see how I’d like moving a pound or two out of my pack and onto my waist. A side benefit would be the safety factor of keeping some items on my body when I take my pack off…

Wallet, knife, eye drops, relevant keys, a small lighter, a small flashlight and a sidearm if I’ve been traveling through anyplace that seems sketchy…at least in the US.  If I’m somewhere overseas I ditch or check the stuff that would be on the TSA Naughty List, add my passport and/or other relevant documents, and then re-acquire the knife and small lighter at my destination.  I don’t worry about being separated from my pack.

I’ll carry an actual blade in a front pocket, but that’s about it.  Maybe some change I’ve forgotten about.  I’ll usually have a fresh change of “city” clothes at the end of my hike, so I’ll transfer what I need into those pockets.

I had a cargo pocket rip when postholing and falling through the snow.  Nothing was lost, but since then I’ve tended to keep things in the pack or a pouch during outdoor recreation.   Now I’ve gone to running type shorts but if I ever got a cargo-type pocket, I’d consider putting a flat hygiene kit in it.  No more rummaging through the pack “… thought it was in the outside pocket”.

Maybe a “satellite“ pocket hygiene kit with the main supply in the pack?

The only thing I keep in my pants pocket while hiking is a sandwich-sized ziploc that I use to hold trash I pick up while on the trail (usually protein bar or candy wrappers).  When I get to camp I put my headlamp and knife in my pocket and empty the collected trash into my main trash bag.

I do not worry about being separated from my pack, but I’m not crossing rivers or streams any deeper than my knees.

First off, I hike with people who don’t have light packs and they love to come up with scenarios on trips where we “drop our packs” and go explore. I never ever ever drop my pack. I take it with me. Always. I never separate from my pack.

I always have in my pocket some chapstick, a tiny knife and a tiny bottle of hand sanitizer. Those things are hard to find if they’re not in my pocket.

Sunscreen and lip sunscreen.

Around camp a bic lighter.

Nothing in my pockets. I also do not worry about being separated from my pack.

Whistle and Signal Mirror!

I think getting separated from one’s hiking partners and/or gear is a scenario no one expects or purposefully enters into but everyone should plan and be prepared for.

Its how a lot of bad stories start and no one ever thinks it could happen to them…

Try your whistle, its probably not that loud and get a mirror with instructions on the back (all the good ones have them).

Personally I don’t mind items in my cargo pockets (REI sahara) and can fit a lot at once: map, compass, fire kit, knife, signal mirror, whistle, SOL emergency bivy, and water treatment tabs with room to spare. They won’t be able to justify stopping the search for me!

But in all seriousness a real whistle (SOL pea-less whistle) is super small and lightweight and capable of making a signal you probably can’t improvise.

I carry a small REI fanny pack with my “wallet”, some day snacks, my phone, and my glasses (usually swap between regular and sunglasses depending on conditions). I might start carrying some lip balm, I’ve not considered that before, but definitely needed it at times. Maybe a small first aid kit, like some bandaids and alcohol wipes. I tend to not leave my pack either, as it is pretty comfortable and light (sub 20lb usually).

All that stuff in your pocket is carried in my pack.  My pockets are stuffed with food snacks, maybe a paper map copy, and a THC pen.  My pack is securely strapped to me; I don’t see any type of scenario where I am unintentionally separated from it.

Happy trails!

I carry stuff in my pockets I use frequently

• iPhone for the camera and GPS mapping
• reading glasses for the iPhone
• knife
• aaa flashlight (in the dark seasons)
• paper towels and paper matches in tiny pouch (toilet and tinder)
• bandana or buff
• sometimes a tiny two way radio if coordinating with others running a shuttle, climbing or hunting

I never get separated from my pack, learned the hard way.

I prefer to carry most everything in my pack, if my pants pockets are laden with too much stuff they bulge out and the weight swings around and counters the efficiency of my movements on the trail. I keep things handy with big hip belt pockets that hold phone, satellite device, camera, snacks head lamp, flashlight and more in easy reach. Whistle is on a bit of cord clipped to a shoulder strap, mini compass is clipped to wristwatch band.

I do keep a few small and light items in my pants pocket that I want easy access to and would get buried if carried in a hip belt pocket: paper map, chapstick, DEET, hand sanitizer, sunscreen, and towel / bandana.

Wallet and the zipped off legs from my pants.  Sometimes a map, if I am checking it often.  Usually, the map just goes in an outside pocket of the pack, to be checked at a rest stop/trail junction.

That’s it.  I don’t carry a phone, and I don’t get separated from my pack.  Al the other stuff that people have mentioned here go in the hip-belt pockets of my pack;  compass, tiny knife, nail clippers, car key, headlamp…camera in a little pouch off the shoulder strap of the pack.

This changes a bit if I go off somewhere without my pack–usually I’ll take the camera, and if it is for short day-hike, I’ll take a tiny day pack with the rest of that stuff.

A lot of good ideas here! Definitely adding some tissue, mini bic lighter, and keyfob on my person in the future. I’ve had a close calls with keys almost getting lost from hipbelt pocket before (there was a hole in the hipbelt pocket and I didn’t realize it till we got back to the car. It seems like a rodent chewed through it during the trip)

I should point out that another reason why I carry a knife and a flashlight is because I consider these to be self-defense weapons should I or a hiking partner get attacked by a mountain lion/bear/coyote. The threat could also come from another 2 legged animal (think a Sasquatch, Bigfoot or Human). I realize none of these scenarios are likely ever to occur but the separation anxiety from pack + self protection is the main reason why I carry at least a knife and flashlight with me at all times

bandana in front pants (or shorts) pocket, that’s all.

Knife and lighter in my pockets. I usually have my wallet in a zippered pocket. I don’t trust myself not to lose it when I empty out the pack. The sidearm usually rides on my chest. If I lose the pack I can make a fire and hike towards home.

On rafting trips I usually tie a puffy around my waist under the dry suit. I also put my InReach in a pocket and maybe a headlamp. If I lose my raft I can hike out with what I have.

In hunting trips I keep a small Vortex monocular on the chest rig with the sidearm and my license goes in my pocket. If I want I can ditch my pack to chase a caribou.

I find it hard to image this scenario: You go relieve yourself and a bear swipes your pack

That would be some amazing serendipity for that bear, hiding behind just the right tree right at the moment you need a wee, and there’s something in your pack the bear wants, and he takes the whole thing instead of just tearing it open, etc. etc. This one will not keep me up at night.

Falling off a cliff sounds bad; that one sometimes keeps me up at night. I’m not sure my pack would be the first concern. Assuming you’re conscious and still want to live, having your inReach or signalling device might be helpful. Stay further back from the edge when you take your selfies.

Base camping and carrying what you need for a day hike – I would have all my 10 (or whatever number) essentials in a slack pack, not in my pockets, if I were leaving my camping gear behind for the day. I do this regularly. I could get myself out of a remote area safely with just the stuff in that slack pack.

The river scenario I can definitely envision, having to ditch the pack during a bad crossing. I personally wouldn’t cross that river by myself though, so I still wouldn’t think about what is in my pockets. Ditto for river trips; I don’t do deep water alone. There are others who can help me, or vv.

My pockets, if I have them (not in my shorts), contain a hanky or tissues, and that’s about it. So far so good. I also tend to have my little knife in a pocket, for easy access to my bear can or to prepare lunch.

I  heard one prepper say he lost his pack when it fell off a cliff while he was sitting near one.

In the pocket is worn weight, which doesn’t count.  The more stuff in your pocket, the lighter you are.

I very consciously DON’T carry my car key with me since twice I’ve inadvertently dropped it on the ground and had to hike back (fortunately, on day hikes) to get it.  I leave it in a hidden place on my car.

I usually only have a banana/handerchef in one pocket and bits of litter in the other pocket.  I should more consistently bring a sandwich baggie for the litter like Kevin does.

There’s a fanny pack I keep all the dog-walking stuff in (leash, treats, poop bags).  I also have some EDC things in there in a little baggie – mini-Bic, Victorinox Classic, some TP.  Plus DEET and sunscreen in the summer.

When crossing a big river?  Yeah, then I think about what I would most want if I wash up like a wet rat 500 yards downstream never to see my pack again.  If I know there are such crossings, I’ll organize my stuff beforehand with those items into two baggies that fill the large cargo pockets on the chest of my LS nylon fishing shirt.

That stuff varies a bit but would include: two Bic lighters, some fire-starting materials (usually wax paper or waxed cardboard for me), cordage (130-pound-test Dacron line), Vic. Classic or whatever small blade I have along, headlamp, trash-compactor bag, phone and EPIRB (if I have it along already).  If I still have space, I’d include my warmest synthetic hat.

Hanky (I blow my nose a lot). That’s about it most of the time. Occasionally if I run across a few blow downs I will get out my (little) saw, and keep it in my pocket figuring I will see a few more. I put it back in the pack on the way down.

Like David I’ve come close to losing my keys when I forgot to move them from my pocket to my pack (where they sit in a special compartment, attached to my wallet and an inside loop of the pack). I’ve never lost my pack (hard to imagine I ever will). I’ve lost plenty of things out of my pocket.

Dog treats and phone … sometimes a map. I use my hip-belt pockets for some of the other things that were mentioned.

I interpret this question to mean what I take with me when separated from my pack.

It is all about exposure. If I hike around any distance at all from the pack I take the minimum I will require to survive the night separated from the pack and not die. Usually that includes some water, bic, Inreach, puffy, waterproof poncho or jacket, hat, iphone, snacks, knife, torch, whistle, sunscreen. I have had enough experience with falls, location confusion and extreme wet-cold to take this very very seriously.

As others have said, river crossing might present the highest chance of becoming separated from your pack and then finding yourself in a survival situation.  Like others, I can’t stand to have my pockets full of stuff while hiking–I like for my shorts/pants to move and flex freely with my legs, I don’t like things poking me or making me sweaty unnecessarily.  I also don’t like wearing anything around my neck, so that is out as well.  However, per the Equipped to Survive philosophy, I always have a small fixed blade knife with firesteel clipped inside my waistband just in case (via Ulticlip, won’t come off unless I lose my pants!).  Also, I’m pretty blind without my glasses/contacts, so in my hiking shorts/pants I have a side zippered pocket that I always keep a second pair of glasses in a microfiber case with a whistle on the lanyard.  I figure as long as I have the ability to see, to make fire and to make noise, I should have a fighting chance of making it back to civilization without my pack.