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View Full Version : How to carry the stuff not in your pack?



daveiniowa
08-26-2015, 20:46
How do you other hikers prefer to carry stuff like a camera, phone, wallet, bear repellent, gps, etc. that you want to have quick easy access to with your pack on? I use an external frame pack most of the time and it does not have any side waist pockets. My smaller internal frame has side waist pockets and I like them for this. Cargo pants? Thigh bag? I would like to carry a few things like this also when I take my pack off with out interfering with the pack so I don't really want to add something to the pack.

rafe
08-26-2015, 21:09
A wallet really isn't necessary at all. Nor is GPS or bear repellent. I do have a small camera-holding thing attached to one of my pack's shoulder straps for ease of access.

Vegan Packer
08-26-2015, 21:32
I started out with my camera in the pocket on the hip belt, but then I moved it to a pants pocket, and I moved the tripod to the lower pocket on the pant leg. It just made it faster to pull out when needed.

My bear spray came with a holster that I slipped onto the hip belt, behind the pocket.

Instead of using the side pouches for water (too much hassle to reach back for the bottles and to store), I used bungees on the chest. It looks busy, but it really isn't in the way at all. I use the pouch on one side for my PLB (personal locator beacon--my call for help), figuring that, if I become seriously injured, I can get to it better if it is located outside of the pack. On the other side, I stowed my head and camp lights, and then I put my cap or separated neck shade flap for the cap, when I didn't want to wear it, which was a rare occasion. The headlamp will only come out if I am delayed enough to have to use it to get to camp at the end of the day. I like using the pouches for things that I will only likely have to pull out but not try to store, since you have to reach back to get to everything, if you don't want to start taking off the pack.

My wallet goes in a small pouch that fits just above the water bladder sleeve pouch. However, my pack (ULA Epic (http://www.ula-equipment.com/product_p/epic.htm)) is out of the ordinary, in that it has those pouches outside, separated from a waterproof back. I can also squeeze my phone into that little pouch.

shelb
08-26-2015, 22:35
I saw many people this year carrying their phone mounted on a case that attached to the front chest strap of the backpack.

Heliotrope
08-26-2015, 23:14
I keep food for the entire day in back mesh pocket. Water in side mesh pocket. And going rig something to carry my camera on shoulder strap. Things I want the most easy access to: snacks, water, camera.


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Odd Man Out
08-26-2015, 23:45
I have two belt pouches on my pack. One holds my camera. The other holds a zip bag that contains the daily ration of snack food. Wallet goes in my back pocket as always. I tried keeping my wallet in my pack but I just can't get used to not having it in my pocket. I do have a nylon hiking wallet and I only carry the minimum stuff I would need for the trip. The other back pocket is for maps. A Small SWK knife goes in one front pants pocket. The other has an eyeglass cleaning cloth an a 0.5 oz bottle of hand sanitizer. I have two 20 oz Gatorade bottles for water strapped to my pack straps with bungee cords. I keep my rain jacket in one pack side pocket . The other has headlamp, bug spray and toiletry bag. I don't have a GPS or bear spray

Gwilli
08-27-2015, 00:20
I attach my phone to the sternum strap of my pack. Easy to take out and snap some pics and stays put.
I use the hip belt pockets for small stuff like sun screen, bug spray, head lamp, compass etc.
I use the cargo pockets on my convertible pants to store my map and that days trail snacks.
I put my I.D., insurance card, a credit card and some cash in a sandwich baggie and carry it in my front pocket. Hope this helps.

daddytwosticks
08-27-2015, 07:18
Bear repellent for an AT hike? :)

Traveler
08-27-2015, 07:23
I use a fanny pack strapped to my backpack when I take the larger DSLR camera with me, I can slide it around the pack body so the camera is easily reachable without taking off the pack. With a small carabiner, I can also leave the top of the fanny pack open so the camera rests in the pouch and I don't have to worry about a zipper in the way. When I use the small digital camera I attached the case to the pack straps for access.

Printed maps I keep in a cargo pocket (or within reach in a pack pocket), inside a resealable freezer or sandwich baggie so it doesn't get wet with sweat or moisture on the trail.

ID, CCard, and money I keep in a small waterproof billfold in the pack so I don't drop it on the trail and can take it out when I need to use it.

RangerZ
08-27-2015, 12:24
Phone is ziplocked in an inner pocket of the pack. I don't need it handy.
Hip belt pockets have sun screen and deet on left side and trail mix baggy on right side.
Camera is in a pouch on the hip belt, dummy corded so I don't have to keep it completely closed.
ID, money and cards are in a flexible plastic ID card holder, zipped into back pocket.
Map goes in right side cargo pocket, notebook in left side. I try to keep front pockets empty for hands.

Uriah
08-27-2015, 13:08
How do you other hikers prefer to carry stuff like a camera, phone, wallet, bear repellent, gps, etc. that you want to have quick easy access to with your pack on?

Be hip...use a hip belt! AKA: fanny pack, bum bag, hip pack, "growth under your belly", etc. Every year I see more and more hikers rocking the fanny pack (worn kangaroo-style, with pouch in front), presumably because everyone seems to think they need their gadgets with 'em. Connect, share (tell), and disconnect from what they're walking through. Anyway, my apologies about the tangent; the fanny pack is your answer.

daveiniowa
08-27-2015, 13:42
Oh man thanks for all the great ideas! What a great response. I may be new to this forum but to hiking I am not. I just took a 20 year break is all. To clarify, bear spray is for Alaska, Minnesota, etc. I think its a good idea to just get in the habit of always having it on you if you hike in remote wilderness other than the AT. which I do more of than the AT. just because of where I live, in the upper mid-west. I have hiked many miles in Georgia when I was younger and never saw a bear either...but. Does any one know where I can buy some of these accessory "pouches" to use on my shoulder straps, hip belt, etc.? I can't seem to find a good selection on line. I like the idea of the fanny pack kangaroo style, I could be like a marsupial, or we could call it a crotch pack?? Again thanks for all the quick responses! What a great forum this is!!

Odd Man Out
08-27-2015, 19:24
Be hip...use a hip belt! AKA: fanny pack, bum bag, hip pack, "growth under your belly", etc. Every year I see more and more hikers rocking the fanny pack (worn kangaroo-style, with pouch in front), presumably because everyone seems to think they need their gadgets with 'em. Connect, share (tell), and disconnect from what they're walking through. Anyway, my apologies about the tangent; the fanny pack is your answer.

I used a fanny pack (worn in front) last year, but this year switched to pockets on my hip belt. I like the size and location of the fanny pack a bit better, but it was a pain to put on. I would put my pack on first, then I would have to loop the fanny pack belt around my back and fasten the clip on the side then rotate the pouch to the front. To stop, reverse everything. It took a while to get the process down, but it was still inconvenient. Is there a better/easier way to use a fanny pack in the front?

nsherry61
08-27-2015, 19:38
I frequently carry a fanny pack in front, with, or without my backpack, especially in the winter, often under my coat. It can be a bit warm in combination with a backpack in the summer, but it really rocks for convenience and versatility.

Uriah
08-27-2015, 21:43
I used a fanny pack (worn in front) last year, but this year switched to pockets on my hip belt. I like the size and location of the fanny pack a bit better, but it was a pain to put on. I would put my pack on first, then I would have to loop the fanny pack belt around my back and fasten the clip on the side then rotate the pouch to the front. To stop, reverse everything. It took a while to get the process down, but it was still inconvenient. Is there a better/easier way to use a fanny pack in the front?

Alas, not really. But it depends on the buckle placement. If the buckle is closer to the pouch itself it makes the process a little less troublesome. I just hiked the Colorado Trail with one like this (as opposed to my old trusty Eagle Creek fanny pack, which has so far survived roughly 15,000 hiking miles!) and it was much easier to put on or remove when the backpack was already donned. I got it at the local thrift store for a buck and it weighs next to nothing (nylon, one zipper, no dividers).

I met one guy who wore a fanny pack the normal way, pouch in back, because he swore it helped support the weight of his backpack, even though the backpack had a plush hip-belt. Oh, the characters you meet while hiking!