Pocket Dump

Pocket Dump – What I carry always
Pocket dumps are popular to do as many folks like to show what they have on them. Mine I’ll admit is not as pretty as most of those I’ve seen. The stuff in my pocket is not shiny and new, it has been there seven days a week for a year or more, even to church. I do have an EDC I’ve been using for a few years that I put together like many using a small Maxpedition pouch. I’ve found I don’t like to carry it with me all the time, although it is generally within reach. I will admit what I carry does change at times, and it should, a person should keep most handy those things used most often and some helpful items, just in case, and over time needs will change or a better alternative will be found.
So let me do a quick review of what’s in my pocket dump, but first you have probably already noticed a couple items that are not actually in my pockets, ok so I broke the rules of pocket dumping, sorry, I like to do things my own way, I’m not much of a conformist. To have some sort of organization to this, I’ll start at the left, since I’m left handed, haha, then I will go around sort of clockwise.
Left Pocket Items
• Victorinox little knife, isn’t that sweet, I don’t even know the model, it is 2.25” long. I’ve had some Swiss Army knife in my pocket for 40 years or more. These little mini’s are great, I use this one every day many times. It has a blade, flat screwdriver, file, and scissors. I abuse the scissors, I cut stuff with them that is so hard to cut it hurts my fingers, never broke the scissors. Notice I have added a 1” split ring, I did that for our PSS Poncho, that ring makes it easy to attach paracord and drop it through the cord sleeves to make a hammock.
• Lip Balm – I use different brands at times, the one shown here is by Melaluca, had it about 9 months. Lip balms are good not just for chapped lips, but fingers, ears or whatever. Also a fire starter, tear a piece of cotton shirt and rub in a little, light it and it will burn a few minutes.
• Whistle – this Fox 40 Micro is my favorite as it is small, flat, loud, can’t be overblown and takes very little effort to blow loudly. Most survival situations can be shortened by a good whistle. Nice for communication too.
• Bank Line Disk – that is my little invention, well it’s not much, but it is very handy, easy to carry, easy to dispense. It’s the best way to carry bank line I’ve ever had. It’s made of Kydex (0.015”), 3.75” diameter. The amount of bank line it will hold depends on the size. On this disk I carry #12 which has 105# test. This is the most practical size for everyday use. I use this many times each week.
By my left pocket
• Mora Companion HD – I love having this on my side, it’s cheap and very good quality. I use this knife many times each day. The sheath it comes with allows easy retrieval and holstering so it’s natural to reach for it often, no hassle. I’ve beat the tar out of this thing over the years.
Neck
• This Boker Plus Vox Gnome was given to me by my good friend Ben several years ago, and I have carried it with me ever since. I made a neck cord out of glow stripe paracord. I also use this knife every day. I love this knife. The only thing about it is when I got it I abused it a little too much and bent a little kink in part of the cutting edge, made me sad. I straightened it the best I could, works great now, just a little harder to sharpen.
Hmm, Patch pocket or rear right pocket
• Fresnel lens – no I don’t use it much for fire starting, although it does work pretty well for that. Seems like every so often I need to see something I can’t quite make out, so a little magnification is needed. It’s light, thin, cheap and multipurpose.
• DMT Dia-Sharp Fine – I really love this little jewel, well it is diamond, haha. Ragnar fixed me up with this one, he gave me a piece ultrafine grit paper that I glued on the back side, making it a 2-in-1 sharpener. This takes care of me 90% of the time. I try to clean up my edges before they get bad and I can do that with this.
• EZ Clips – I usually carry two or three of these with me, they are so freakin’ handy. I use them on our tarps or ponchos, on plastic, or on webbing, anywhere I want a quick secure tie out point. I also use them to clamp two tarps together or to make a door, etc.
**OK, so this post is getting longer than I expected, I’ll continue but not elaborate too much. I am going to make a podcast/audiocast with more info and commentary.
Right Belt Loop
• Fenix P1D – Yes I also love, love this little flashlight, if I didn’t I wouldn’t carry everywhere with me. I know it’s not the newest thing in town, I’m sure I’ve had it about 8 years. I don’t just buy stuff, if I like something I’ll use it till it’s dead! I’ve never had a problem with this light. It’s only about 2.75” long and it’s light, so often I hold it in my mouth like a poor man’s head lamp. I use this light probably every day. I like it more since I got a better battery setup (details in podcast).
Right Pocket
• Olive Oil – This small bottle is used in our religion as an oil to anoint the sick, for healing and with prayers.
• Wenger Esquire or Executive 81 – This knife may seem redundant, but hey what’s redundant about an extra knife? This one is just slightly larger than the one in my left pocket (2.5″), blade is a hair larger too, the file blade comes to a point and I often use it for small Philips screws. Scissors are also a bit larger with a heftier spring setup, another feature of the scissors is that the blades are slightly serrated which provides excellent grip on slippery surfaces. I don’t use this knife as much as the Victorinox, mostly because I’m left handed and grab that one first in my left pocket.
• Bic Mini Lighter – I use this little guy most every day. In our work and all the gear we make there can be a few stray threads, a quick flash of flame easily singes them back. We use lots of lighters at work, to us Bic is the best value. We have almost no problems with them. I favor my Doan Magnesium bar (in my EDC) for starting fires, but sometimes for convenience I use this lighter, again never had a problem no matter the conditions.
• Business Cards – I carry these little mini business cards by MOO cards (1” x 2.75”) in a small ziplock pouch to protect them, so they aren’t too gross when I hand them out. On the back I have a QR code so folks can take a picture with a smart phone app and go right to our website. I always have these with me, since I’m always working.
Well I suppose that’s it, that’s my Pocket Dump, done my way. Be sure to check for the podcast for more details and comments on our YouTube channel, yeah, so it’s really an audio cast.
Until next time, this is Perry Peacock, “Simplifying Survival”