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​PFD Pocket Contents?

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The recent threads on thwart bags and new PFD selections got me wondering: What do folks keep in their PFD pockets or on lash tabs?

Mike McCrea said:
I have enough stuff in my PFD pockets as is, largish carabineer, whistle, pouch with spare truck key and $20 bill, teensy amber flashlight.

There is always temptation to add to the PFD pocket load. I sometimes stick the little digital camera in a pocket, but it is easier to get out of the little cooler essentials bag and usually gets put back in there. The biggest impediment to re-entry is probably the rescue knife on the lash tab.
Click to expand...

I ponder this as well because I just got a new driver’s license in the mail. Same LIC #, address, organ donor, etc on the old one expired one; same me, just 7 years younger. Nice thick well laminated card with sundry security features and holograms.

Any reason not to tuck the old expired license into a PFD pocket? I carry my (skinnied down to the basics) wallet and license with me protected in a dry bag, but that’s not actually on me.
 
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On my PFD, there is a river knife, a watch and a whistle. In my PFD, there is fire starter and a ferrorod, duck tape and lip/sunscreen tube... Usually a snack, like a small bag of cashews or a bar. that is it. I like to keep it as low profile as I can!
 
On the PFD, blunt end Rescue knife, whistle, strobe/SOS light

In the pockets - small sunscreen, lip block, about 15 yards of duct tape rolled around a small diameter section of pvc pipe, compass, signal mirror, small waterproof note pad with golf pencili in the spiral binding, one energy bar, key to the cap on my truck.

I probably need to add some fire making capability to this mix.
 
Since the pockets of my pfd aren't secure enough for anything important the only thing that is always in there is a foot from a snowshoe hare. I pick them up when I come across them and have been known to pass one along to trippers I encounter with neither gun or pepper spray. So far it has worked, as I think luck is the biggest factor in staying safe out there with the things you can't control.
 
Lip jive, zinc oxide sunscreen, Leatherman Wave, Princeton Tec League flashlight, signal mirror, whistle, Princeton Tec strobe, Exotac Matchcap XL match case, three Clif Bars. In the two pockets of a Kokatat Orbit Tour.
 
1 whistle...and a pocket camera when I remember to bring that.
My pfd has only one pocket with velcro closure on the flap. Items are securely contained. The camera is often at the end of a carabiner and paracord tied to the thwart unless we're having one of those beaver dam hurdling days, or if the weather is keeping us too busy to snap pics. I really ought to carry a small emergency kit in that pocket instead. I think I'll work on that.
 
My whistle is attached to the buckle strap that closes the pocket and the pocket might contain a granola bar but that's about it. Everything else of importance (keys, ID, etc.) is in a small dry bag I keep by my feet, buckled to my foot brace.

That's all for now. Take care and until next time...be well.

snapper
 
FWIW, I saw no reason not to stick that expired license in the PFD pocket.

It is flat, well laminated and takes up no space. I’m not particularly worried about someone stealing my PFD and my identity; I have yet to meet my doppelganger, or many people who could pass for me. However:

I have contact info on all my other gear, and used to Sharpie my last name and phone number on our PFD’s, but that was ugly even written inside the jacket and needed yearly Sharpie refreshing. If I lost the PFD, which is not a cheapie, it would stand some chance of returning home.

I like the idea of having an ID always on me. Other than the DNR when sneakboating I have never been asked to produce ID while paddling, and rarely at launches or landings, or in camp. But right in the PFD pocket is handy enough.

If I lost the dry bag with the wallet at least I’d have some “That’s me” ID, even if expired.

Speaking of, um, expired; not to be morbid, but. . . . . . .ehhhh . . . . . that’s another reason to have ID on your body.
 
Odyssey said:
1 whistle...and a pocket camera when I remember to bring that.
I really ought to carry a small emergency kit in that pocket instead. I think I'll work on that.
Click to expand...

I’ll be interested in what you come up with. I’ve seen examples of some “Ditch Kit in a Can” or “Pocket Survival Kit” ideas, fitting in something as small as a waterproofed breath mint canister.

Much of those miniature “ditch kits” seem kinda farfetched in actual use to me. Google “Altoids Can Survival Kit”. For example:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Altoids-Survival-Kit-20/

A teeny weeny knife that fits in an Altioids tin? For the teeny weeny fire and shelter I will build. Right after I find a four leaf clover and turn into a teeny weeny leprechaun.

A hook and some monofilament line? Really, I’m going to sit by the lake hoping for a strike on a hand line? Right after I’ve built my shelter with a 3 inch knife. I don’t see it happening. If I were some truly remote survival situation I’d want a small gil net instead, legality be danged.

Dental floss. If I’m bringing a hook and monofilament I’d rather have more monofilament. Admittedly I’ve never caught a fish on dental floss. Moving to Montana soon, raise me up a crop of dental floss. . . . .

A Mylar blanket that will be hopelessly stuck together if I ever actually unfold it to use? Oh boy, I’m warm and dry now!

First aid. Three band aids and a safety pin? I’ll tough out that boo boo on my pinkie.

Water purification tablets or coffee filters. By the time beaver fever gets me I’ll have starved waiting to catch a fish with my hook & handline, or frozen under my tattered Mylar blanket.

Needles and pins? Yeah, I’m on needles and pins if this is what I actually have to survive on.

A dollar bill for Christ’s sake. $1 worth of gas isn’t going to get me far, and a cheap draft is going to cost more than a buck even in a backwoods cinderblock roadhouse. How’s about a $20 instead? That’ll get me up the road a piece, or buy a couple cheap pitchers.

My choices, for things I want on me; Knife, illumination, lighter, whistle, $20 bill, spare vehicle key. The large carabineer is probably superfluous after 20 years of never needed (I carry others and use them). And now ID.
 
Odyssey said:
Here's the multifunctional container (B) I have in mind to fit in my PFD pocket. Still working out the contents.
I like the idea of having an emergency cup for making a nourishing hot drink.
https://www.canadianoutdoorequipment...mess-tins.html
Click to expand...

I had to convert it to the US, Myanmar and Liberian system of measurement to get an idea of size.

6 ½ x 3 ½ x 2 ½ inches would pretty much fill up one PFD pocket, and I know I don’t want the whistle or lighter in another container to open container. I like the small Trangia Mess Tin as an emergency cup idea, and may add one to my Spares & Repairs bag. There is plenty of stuff in there that could be further segregated into a small tin

Truth be told, I do carry a lot of that stuff I called out Altoids Tin Survivalists on. But I carry a bit more of it in a 10L dry bag labeled “Spares and Repairs”. If the fecal matter really hit the fan that dry bag would be among my priorities to recover.

I don’t carry that big Spares & Repairs bag on daytrips. I don’t carry it one some simple/easy/shorter campers. I do carry it on trips on more (still not very) remote locations, and anytime I am tripping with a group. In those guises, especially around other people’s needs, I use some item, if not several on every trip.

Overkill, I know, but * indicates something used within the last few years. And probably half of those uses were for people not in my group.

On the bottom of that dry bag:
A 4 foot x 6 foot thick-mil garbage bag*
16 feet of stainless steel rudder cable and twist-on cable-clamps for emergency rudder repairs, and a couple shorter sections of SS cable.

Inside the bag, in a 3-compartment roll out medic’s bag, segregated into:

Tools, parts and materials:
Swiss army knife*
Hacksaw blade (1, cut in half)
Wire (stainless steel and braided)*
Webbing (15’ of 1”)*
Quick release buckle*
Parachute cord (50’)*
Bungie Cord*
Stainless steel machine screws with nuts and washers (4)*
Sandpaper
Foil and wax paper
Nails*
Needle and thread*
Cordlock*
Whetstone
Cable ties (4)*
Small/skinny rat tail file
Rudder cable crimps
3/8 and 7/16 wrench*

Tape, epoxy, glass, kevlar
2-part epoxy weld syringes
Duct tape (Nashua 357)*
Radiator tape
Glass tape, kevlar, glass screen
Resin putty
Thermarest repair kit*
Vinyl and rip-stop patch material*
Super Glue
Seat drop dowels and machine screws with nuts/washers*


Spares & emergency
Compass
Mylar bivy sack
Garbage bags (small)*
Zip lock bag*
Lighter*
Candle*
Cyalume (2)*
Water purification (iodine crystals)
Fire Starter*
Whistle
Magnifying glass
Carabineer
Paper, pen & Sharpie* (Sharpie only)
Coffee filters
Surveyor’s ribbon*
Sunglasses*
Fishing line & hooks
Driver’s license photocopy
Health Insurance copy

Resting on top of that compartmentalized bag is a pair of retractable stainless steel bypass pruners. Left most easily accessible on top because they get used a lot more than I would have ever imagined.

Yes, the anal labeler strikes again. Those 3 compartments are labeled, and there is a laminated index to each pocket’s contents, so I’m not grubbing through 3 compartments looking for the dang magnifying glass I never use.
 
Yes, the emergency dry bag will be the first thing I'll reach for in a capsize. It's a rude bright orange colour and floats. I assured my wife it'll probably provide a little buoyancy to her/my swim. That's my plan anyway. But my BOB is way more basic than yours Mike. Yours is, well, how can I word this...have you ever considered a job placement with Her Majesty's Secret Service? But before I get carried away poking fun at your thoroughness I might add that I've lost count the number of times I'd been at work and responded to a minor job emergency with "I've got just the tool for this...at home."
Being a semipro procrastinator I haven't figured out the tin contents much less purchased it yet. And if our PFD mess tins are anything like the rest of our gear I'll likely forget what went where and when. I'll be danged if I label an itty bitty mess tin.
 
Point of order . . . or is it . . . point of information:

Does it matter for this topic what's in or on my PFD when I don't wear it?

((we're among friends, right?))
 
Glenn MacGrady said:
Point of order . . . or is it . . . point of information:

Does it matter for this topic what's in or on my PFD when I don't wear it?

((we're among friends, right?))
Click to expand...


I keep my essentials in the zippered breast pocket of my paddling shirt. I hate to say it but I have stuffed my pfd in a pack when I have short paddles and frequent portages, but only in the heat of summer.
 
Ughhhhh yes that is me...or rather it was me. I am now fully committed to wearing my PFD. I have one big pocket on the front and so far the only FOD that I have stuck in it was my camera and the Hoopomatic fire starter. This thread opens up entire new worlds for me...lol.

One idea that I saw Bothwell do is to make a small pack that clips to the back of the PFD much like where a water bag might go. Stuff your essentials in there and just forget about it. Super good idea.

My bailout emergency kit is in the top pocket of my Tilley.....contains my fishing licence and some toilet paper.

Christy
 
For the Yukon River Quest, according to race rules: The following items must be attached or in a pocket of each PFD: whistle, emergency space bivy sack, fire starter (waterproof matches/lighter and fire starter material).
For the Yukon 1000 mile, add $20CDN, with $20 US, and a credit card, plus a small knife and signal mirror.
 
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