Pocket Survival Kit

I get a lot of hell from people about the amount of stuff I carry in my pockets. In fact, a few years ago, when I was in my wilder days, I even had a police officer comment that I "carried more stuff in my pockets than he had in his entire apartment." This, coming from a guy who wears a utility belt every day, seemed especially funny.

So, prompted by a coworkers comments this morning when I was fishing out change for a Coke, I decided to list everything I carry on a regular basis.

Here is a shot of everything in my front pockets today.


A - Non-key keyring - Seems like everything these days is designed to carry on a keyring. So, rather than have all of these devices take up space with my keys, I carry a separate ring with the following items.

• 2 USB Flash drives
• Bottle opener
• LED Flashlight
• Sharpie marker
• SecurID for access to servers at work
• Lockpick - because you never know when you might need to open something

B - Car keys - I don't know why I carry this by itself. I just do

C - Key ring - All of the other keys I might ever need. You would think that I use these a lot. I don't.

D - Change - I always carry 3 quarters, 1 dime, 2 nickels and 4 pennies. With that, you can make any amount of change. I usually also carry an additional $1.50 in quarters, because you should be able to buy a drink at any vending machine for that.

E - Pocket knife

F - Digital camera - Because you never know when you might need a picture of something, and I phones with cameras still don't quite cut it.

G - Pill case - Ibuprofen and Immodium. With those, you can solve almost any pressing problems.

H - Cell phone - Right now, I am carrying a smart phone.

I - Lighter - You never know when you need to burn something.

J (not shown) - Black pen - A basic black pen is always useful. I always carry a twist-style because there isn't the risk of it accidentally coming open.


What do you carry in your pockets? Post a comment and let me know.