Earplugs
A towel.
“Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with.”
You hoopy frood!
A tiny keychain tape measure. It’s one of those things you have no idea how much you’ll use until you have one on you all the time.
Looking at something online? How big exactly is it? It says 16.5" but can you picture that in your head somewhat accurately? It’s just easier to pull out your tape measure and see.
I’ve also started carrying around a small flashlight everywhere I go. I have an Imalent LD70 Mini. It’s small enough to fit in my change pocket and it’ll put out a blinding ~4000 lumens on turbo (for about a minute before it gets too hot). I do admit that it’s not the best flashlight ever. It has a ridiculous magnetic proprietary charger that will short on whatever if you leave it plugged in but it does what I need it to do.
Gerber Shard multitool. Thing has come in handy so many times.
Bonus: Only useful multitool I’ve found that the TSA won’t give you shit over.
Seconded. My partner has had hers for well over 10 years and it’s barely scuffed. One of the best 10$ I’ve ever spent!
Came here to post the same. Been carrying mine for at least eight years now. Always useful.
Titanium whistle, one saved my life when I was incapacitated and freezing to death.
Does it have to be titanium?
Of course, it’s tacticool’
If you’re willing to share, I would be interested in hearing your story.
I think they were freezing and somehow got incapacitated. Thankfully they had a whistle, so they blew into the whistle and someone heard it and came for the rescue. I think that may be the story.
Yes that’s basically it. Not one of my proudest moments, so I’ll leave it at that lol.
Were you floating on a door in the North Atlantic?
Floating on something.
- Leatherman. I carry a Wave. Got a Gerber and a couple others, but the original (this replaced my 1st gen) is best.
- Pen & notepad. Always having your own pen that is kept full, and some paper to write someone a physical note, is an amazing superpower.
- Face masks. COVID is still a thing, don’t be dumb. Also carry hand sanitizer or alcohol wipes.
- Flashlight. I have a small tube 9-LED that’s usually in there, but also a 1-LED watch battery thing for the keychain, and I’ve got a few more around here. Yes your phone has a flash that can be kept on, but it burns battery, and is often awkward. Having light whenever is magic.
- Switchblade, survival knife, folding knife, etc. Defensive uses, but also heavier utility knife than the Leatherman.
- Pepper spray, derringer, etc. if you live in a dangerous area.
- Survival kit. This is more of a backpack item. Get a tiny survival, first aid, etc. kit, there’s a million uses for having some cord, bandages, shiny foil blanket, etc.
- Cigarette lighter or box of matches. Even if you don’t smoke, being able to make fire is another magic skill. I keep this with the survival kit.
- Headphones, I have slightly-better-than-earbuds tucked in my coat. Noisy annoying people just stop being a problem.
And then my phone, keys, wallet, shades. Yes, I buy clothes with a lot of pockets.
Do you carry a fuckin lifejacket too mate, fuck me if you fall into water you’ll sink like a stone
Do you rattle when you walk 😂😂
I haven’t figured out how to keep a lifejacket in my pockets or pack yet. Perhaps a puffy coat that doubles as a flotation device? Good idea, keep workshopping it.
A bottle opener.
I second this. Worth it just for the countless “I got you, bro” moments when you’re with friends and family.
I used to carry a bottle opener but it had been YEARS since I used it and decided that 99% of the time that there’s bottles that aren’t twist, that it’s at my house and I have to walk further to get my keys than the opener that is attached to my fridge.
A bic lighter works good too, or anything about the same size and shape.
I don’t know about pockets, but my bag usually has(besides the usual stuff) a tiny sketchbook with a pencil. I use it as an alternative to browsing my phone whenever I have time to kill.
Mostly because I feel I spend way too much time on this thing… like now…A variety of Linux live USBs, you never know when you might want to convert someone
Knock knock knock knock knock…
A security key for your online logins.
A bottle opener. You never know when a wild beer might appear
I have a tiny led light that fits on my keychain that I find really useful. It’s better than the light on my phone and is a good backup light when I go camping. I also really like the Victorinox Rambler knife. It has a Phillips screwdriver, bottle opener, and scissors.
If you really want to go deeeeep down this rabbit hole, the words to search are “every day carry”. Hide your credit card first though 😬
I’ve found a Gerber Dime to be really handy when I can’t carry my Leatherman. I usually carry a lockblade knife, multitool, and Fischer space pen. Also have a USB drive on my keychain partitioned with NTFS (bulk storage) and Tails with persistence.
Calm down there Mr Bourne.
A tracker on my key for when i lose it.
