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Pack, Vest Or ?


geospyder

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What do you use and why?

 

I have a small "geopack" that I keep in the Jeep but I find that if the cache is less than a half mile from where I park, I don't take the pack. One of these days I'll wish I had, like when batteries die.

 

I've been debating about augmenting my supplies with a vest that would be more convenient to wear and could still hold the basics - first aid, swag, batteries, pens, etc.

 

Any opinions?

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Vests (VOMPS) have a high geek factor look and where I live, if you walk into certain parks looking like a geek, you might be in for a whupping.

 

Seriously, I prefer packs. A vest is convenient, but its hot in the summer and may not easily fit over your clothing in the winter. For short walks fanny packs work well.

Edited by briansnat
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I wear what I guess is called a "fishing vest", has many pockets in front for batteries, compass, digital camera, maps etc. For the long "treacherous" hikes I carry a pack also, has our camel water pack in it, also sandwiches, extra socks, emergency poncho, flashlights, you get the picture.

Sounds like you have it down pat. I use a vest for the urban caches and a back pack for the hike to caches. I got my fishing vest at Walmart for a very good price. Come to think about it, I got my back pack there too. Wally World shopping comes with being over 55 I think.

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Thanks for the fanny pack suggestion. I just dug out a small fanny pack. It now has the very minimal basics - small first aid, Leatherman, spare batteries, pen, mini-Maglite and a dozen of my sig items. This can be used for the short walks (quarter mile or less) from the Jeep.

 

If the terrain looks like it would need it I can always throw on the pack which is stocked with just about everything under the sun from spare parka to a portable CB.

Edited by geospyder
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WARNING!!!!!

 

Be careful with the term "Fanny Pack". My cousin and her husband were cycling through Australia a couple of years ago. Everywhere they went they got MAJOR weird looks when using the term "Fanny Pack".

 

Finally somebody took them aside and explained that in Australia it's called a "Bum Bag". It seems that in Australia the word "Fanny" is a slang term for female genitalia............ :blink:

 

As for a caching bag - I use a canvas shoulder bag - I call it my "Indiana Jones" bag. It has several zippered pockets and a flap that covers them all. It works pretty well for me and carries all kinds of stuff including my swag.

Edited by Thrak
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I used to wear cargo pants or BDUs because of all the pockets. I am very prone to just falling down for no apparent reason and I do it often. Its quite the sight to see. I almost broke my Palm last time so I tried a fanny pack. The one I had was too small so I went to my favorite Mart, I like to call WallyWorld and bought a great one for $12. It has two water bottle holders and a large pack that holds my PDA, extra batteries, bandaids, wetwipes, pens and small swag. It also has two caribiners (sp) to attach other stuff. I found it in the camping section. Its perfect for me. :blink:

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Vests (VOMPS) have a high geek factor look and where I live, if you walk into certain parks looking like a geek, you might be in for a whupping.

 

You must live in the same area I do!!!!!! :ph34r:

 

I use the backpack that came with my Xterra. Can you believe I bought a $25,000 dollar Nissan backpack and got a free '05 Xterra with it!!!! What a deal!!! Good little backpack for Geocaching.

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I just found a perfect bag for me for Geocaching. Not too big, not too small. It is the Mountainsmith Messenger S (theire small "messenger" bag. I love it, and I own more bags than any man should ever admitting to own. It was $30 at a local store, but I've seen them on eBay for 1/2 that (although you always have to watch "shipping" costs on eBay). Anyway, it is a shoulder/messenger style bag that also has a handle on the top to carry like a briefcase. It is disturbingly purse-sized, but it's great. There is a padded side pocket with a little inlet for an iPod and snaking your headphones out. The other side has a mesh pocket for a water bottle (which is also perfect size for an Etrex.

 

There is also an open pocket on the back side which is convenient for a PDA, note pad or to slip your GPSr in and have quick access when you need it again. The main compartments are under a messenger-style flap that is held down by clips instead of velcro. This is nice because you can roll up a jacket and carry it easily without taking up space in the bag itself. There is a decent sized main compartment (fine for books or a surprisingly large size) with a full size pocket on the back and two other compartments that are good size for pads of paper, digital camera (point and shoot) or GPS. The front of the main compartment has two zippered pockets, a cell phone pocket that is perfect for the Etrex, three pen/pencil spaces anda business card holder. The front outside of the bag has a zippered pocket.

 

Anyway, it's a great bag for $30 and has quickly become my favorite.

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For winter, and short ones I use a large hunting coat that I got from L.L. Bean. Super comfortable, warm and lots of pockets to stuff swag for those urban park grabs. I also currently carry my hunting day pack. I got it at the BIG hunting/sporting goods store. Over the shoulder, lots of pockets, has space for water pack, and tons of stuff. I use it for hunting/Fishing/hiking, and could carry enough supplies for several hours in the woods. It comes in camo and tan so it blends in. I refuse to carry a "fanny" pack as it seems to touristy to me and well, I just won't do it. The pack blends in well enough for woods and urban walking, plus a pack just feels more natural to me

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Pack. If its a short trip I'll leave the pack in the truck and take as few things as possiable. But for longer hike caches, or where I need to carry of junk I take the pack. Slip in the water blatter, check that that the usual items are there and go.

Its also very helpful when hiding / retrieving caches. For some reason people are less curios about someone who straps on a pack and disappears down a trail, than one who's carrying an ammo can like a lunch box... :ph34r:

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In the summer I'm usually in a vest and utilikilt. I guess I better avoid briansnat's neck of the woods...

 

I like the vest instead of a pack because I can not only organize everything and keep it all from banging together, but access stuff while heading at full trot down the trail.

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WARNING!!!!!

 

Be careful with the term "Fanny Pack". My cousin and her husband were cycling through Australia a couple of years ago. Everywhere they went they got MAJOR weird looks when using the term "Fanny Pack".

 

Finally somebody took them aside and explained that in Australia it's called a "Bum Bag". It seems that in Australia the word "Fanny" is a slang term for female genitalia............ :laughing:

The same goes for the UK :anitongue:

 

- Jen.

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Vests (VOMPS) have a high geek factor look and where I live, if you walk into certain parks looking like a geek, you might be in for a whupping.

 

Seriously, I prefer packs. A vest is convenient, but its hot in the summer and may not easily fit over your clothing in the winter. For short walks fanny packs work well.

What I wear is dependent upon the time of year and the nature of the trek. Few things are more useful than a Camelback with a decent amount of storage. During hunting season, however, it obscures too much of the orange. At that point, a web belt-mounted system comes into play that has multiple attachment points and various configurations of pouches available. A really convenient option is the "high geek factor" vest. I can conveniently load gear enough to support a bivouac in one of these if necessary. Here we are, roaming the woods, mountains and hills carrying all kinds of high tech equipment in search of surplus ammo boxes, Tupperware, and 35 mm canisters that more than likely contain nothing more exciting or valuable than some Mc Toys. And worry about geek factor? We're probably the largest natural assemblage of geeks since the Dungeons and Dragons craze! Live with it. I've never had anyone make an issue of it, but then people tend to be intimidated by me. Never have figured out why that is and I've made concerted attempts not to cause any sort of intimidation. Think you're "gonna deliver a whuppin' " ? Bring it on; Just let me know who's your next of kin.

 

So wear what works for you given the time of year, the nature of the hike, and the gear that you "need" to carry.

 

Bag o' Tricks

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