Small Day Hike Kit

One of the things I have been meaning to make recently is a small day hiking kit.  What I want is a hiking belt, rather than a backpack, because sometimes on a shorter hike you just don't want a pack and the sweaty back that comes with it.

All I need is enough space for my EDC items and a hydration pouch for a Nalgene bottle which should provide enough water for two people for 2-3 hours of gentle hiking in the sun.  In addition, it might be handy to have a place to store my rolled up rain jacket, just in case of inclement weather.  A large pouch or a couple of straps might be handy for that. 

The Hiking Kit

When out for a walk or a hike, its good to carry a few things with you.  

• Water - dehydration sucks and its dry in CO
• Snacks - I am a fat man and need snacks often
• Phone and keys - I might need to call an uber to get home

But in addition I like to carry a few other useful things:

• Knife or multi tool - for repairs and odd jobs while on the march
• Flashlight - just in case we get caught in the dark
• Sunscreen - the direct sun here is brutal sometimes
• Boo-boo kit - band aids, bug bite cream etc.
• Pocket survival kit - waterproof matches, P51, tinder & whistle

Some of these things are overkill of course.  It's unlikely I will need the flashlight for a walk around the lake in the morning, or the pocket survival kit if I am on one of the trails in town, but the point here is that I could carry them if I needed to.  Things happen.

With regards extra clothing, if its winter I will be more likely to carry a pack but on a warm summer day I will be more likely to use the hiking belt.  It is unlikely that I will need to carry any extra clothes, but I could pack a cap and gloves in there if I need to. 

The Belt Pack

I picked this up from Amazon for a few bucks.  I could have gone with something like Mountainsmith but did not want to spend the money so I got this cheap thing. 

Seen here with a 16oz Nalgene bottle

My EDC

As for my EDC, most often that can go in my pockets, but it is handy to put in the bag when I am wearing sweat pants as I often am on my daily walk.

My EDC

My EDC consists of a pocket knife, Swiss army knife, small AAA flashlight and a small tube of factor 40 for my delicate skin. I also have a para-cord lanyard on the Swiss army knife just because.  All of this fits nicely in the pack with plenty of space to spare for another 16oz Nalgene and some snacks.  Of course the phone, ear buds, battery pack and cables could also easily fit in here as well, as could an iPad mini.

In case of inclement weather I might need to bring my raincoat. It packs up into a small roll, so I could secure it to the outside of the pack with some straps but honestly if I expect rain, I am either not walking or I am bringing a pack. 

How does it feel?

I walked about 3 miles at a brisk pace last night as the sun was setting and the kit felt quite comfortable. I can see me using this frequently, especially when I don't want to take a pack with me.  I have no objections to a pack, its just sometimes I don't feel like it.  All in all, I think this is a keeper for short walks.

Burrito Tool Kit

Sometimes I do things for no apparent reason other than I have the things to play with.  That sort of makes sense but bear with me. 

I was being a couch potato today and scrolling Amazon as I do sometimes, looking at pocket tools (I have a fascination for them) and it occurred to me that I could use a small tool kit.  We have a move coming up in late September/early October and this means odd jobs about the house.  Now I have a small tool bag that I keep my regular tools in (one of these) and it works well, but I want something smaller I can throw into a messenger bag with other things on moving day. 

So I scoured my garage and collections and came up with this handy tool kit:

Click to embiggen 

• Leatherman Skeletool CX
• Leatherman additional tool bits 
• Leatherman drive extension
• Victorinox Classic SD
• Measuring tape
• Flashlight (Felix EO1)
• Prybar multi tool (Kershaw PT-1)
• TI toothpick
• Pocket razor blade
• 4 in 1 screwdriver
• 1/4" driver
• 1/4" Sockets and bits

This is actually a cable organizer

The only thing missing is a small hammer, level and pen for marking with. I have a small plastic level on its way from Amazon as we speak.  

It's a burrito!

This will be handy for odd jobs as we move and the occasional job about the office.  What else should go in there? Am I missing anything?

Reorganizing my Bags

See the previous post about bags.  I freely admit that I am a bit of a bag freak. No idea why, but I think it has something to do with my OCD. I like to have stuff organized and I guess bags go along with that. 

Just to recap where I am at the moment with my bag collection, they can be broken up into groups:

• General purpose (Man Bags)
• Travel
• Hiking
• Prepping
• Other

General Purpose Bags

I have a few general purpose bags that I keep around. 

Patagonia Minimass Messenger

I like this bag because its not too large, but is big enough to fit my iPad and a few other odds and ends. I can get an umbrella in there and a water bottle, some snacks (you should never be without snacks!) and so on. 

Shoulder Bag

The bag is modified Vanlison Crossbody Small Shoulder Bag.  The flap over the top was a pain in the ass so I removed it.  Now I can open it easily, and the additional storage in the flap is not really missed. I use this bag when walking about town, as I can get my glasses, phone and keys in there, plus a snack and maybe a Multitool or other odds and ends.

Fanny Pack

In much the same way that I use the shoulder bag, I can use the fanny pack, (worn millennial style of course, I am not a boomer).  It’s not too big that it gets in the way but at the same time I can carry a snack, phone keys and SAK.

Now why do I carry my phone and keys in a bag and not in my pocket? Well I am a slob who works from home so I wear sweat pants all the time.  Elasticated for comfort but with no belt, there is no ability to support weight so I spend a lot of time pulling my pants back up.  That’s just not dignified.

Travel bags

• Cotopaxi 18L
• Rothco Parachute Bag (70L)
• eBags Motherload Weekender (42L)

Obviously there has been no travel this past year so I have not used these bag but I will travel again one day so I will keep these around.

Hiking Packs

• Maxpedition Pigmy Falcon II 
• Dakine Poacher 32L
• Small Hydration Carrier

One day I will also go hiking although the bigger pack might also be handy for the shopping.

Prepping

• 40L Red Lightweight - Apartment BoB
• 32L Red Lightweight - Car Get home bag

These are cheap (<$20) very lightweight packs and I have them for prepping. The apartment BoB and vehicle get home bag.  I might make separate posts about these bags and their contents.

Other

• Rothco GI type mechanics tool bag - My apartment tool kit
• Rothco GI type mechanics tool bag - random stuff
• Camo messenger bag - Vehicle tool kit
• First Aid bag - vehicle trauma kit
• Laptop Case - for the laptop if I ever travel again
• SOG First Responder bag - range bag, just in case I ever decide to go shooting again.

So what is the point of this blog post.  I wanted to get an idea of what I have and can I simplify this down to a smaller number of bags. Maybe is the answer I think, maybe.

Day One and the Human Syslog

So for a while now I have been trying to figure out how to make a sort of syslog for humans.  The theory goes like this:

We do things in our lives that we may (if we are OCD like I am) want to keep track of. Things like doctor visits, life events, emails to people, social media posts and so on. 

Some people are good at this journal thing and can quite easily keep a diary or journal of the things they need to remember, but I am not one of them.

However I figured out that a lot of this information can (and should) be able to be imported into a Syslog, automatically.  If this is the case, then the volume of manual input journal items becomes less, and thus less of a chore.

My wife uses an app called Day One, and recommended it as it does have some simple hooks into other applications.  So I downloaded it and this is what I have created so far. 

I paid for the premium version of the app so that I have the ability to use multiple journals and the various input methods.

I have the following journals:

• All Entries - this is stream showing all your log entries, This is auto created.
• My Log - this is where I write my own log entries
• Work log - this is where I write work log entries
• Physical Health - I log anything to do with my physical health here
• Mental Health - Currently empty ....
• Instagram - all my Instagram posts are reposted here
• Auto Log - this is where all the auto generated content is directed to,

For the manual logs (mine, work, and the health logs) I can create templates to make the job a little easier.  

The Auto log journal accepts inputs from a variety of sources.  All of these currently feed the auto log.

• Blogger RSS feed - puts a link to any blog post I publish
• Pocket to Day One - any link I put in pocket is also pushed to the log
• Google Calendar Import - any even on my specified calendar is pushed to the log
• Email to auto log - I can cc or bcc emails to the log

This is my first attempt and I suspect I am over complicating the thing. 

Do I really need to have the links to my blog in the feed for instance?  What problem or purpose is that solving?

What I want to do is have a clear visibility into activity that potentially goes back a few years.  In a recent doctor visit I was asked the dates of certain procedures that I have had, and if I had something like this on my phone I could have looked it up,  Of course, I did not have that information when I needed it.

I suspect this will require a lot more noodling but I think I have the right app at least.

Phone Plan (Revisited)

I made a post a while back about changing my phone plan.  Currently I am on the unlimited Verizon plan which is one of their legacy plans.  I get unlimited data, but the hotspot performance is capped to 600kb/s. 

So given that I am home all of the time and almost never go anywhere because COVID, my phone is on WiFi all the time. My data usage this past month was measured in MB. So I think it is clear that I don’t need much in the way of data. 

I have not used the hotspot data either.  In fact, before I hotspot with the phone, I have three USB modems with data plans, and can hotspot from a router if I need to. 

All of this is to say that any decision to move off the current plan can be put on hold, until such time as the  current pandemic is done and I start traveling again.

Thats a decision that help limit what’s rattling around in my brain, and taking up space. Now on to the next decision.

I have a bag habit

For some reason, I am obsessed with having the right bag for the occasion. I love collecting bags and I have for many years now, carried a man bag of some sort, weather it be a shoulder bag or pack, its been there. I carry and have carried a lot of different things depending on what I was doing at the time.

One time my wife and I were eating chocolate on a bench outside the shop we purchased the chocolate from. It was a warm day making the chocolate sticky. Guess who had wet wipes in the man bag. Yep, and a passer by was apparently impressed enough to comment!

But I am starting to put some structure around my purchases rather than just purchase the new shiny bag because I like it.

Looking at the bag collection, I have:

• Cotopaxi pack*
• large duffel bag
• Maxpedition Pygmy Falcon II
• Patagonia Minimass Messenger
• Small shoulder bag
• Small Hydration carrier
• Ebags Mother Lode Weekender
  

* I can't find a link for this as it is a discontinued model. I think it is about 20L. Good enough for overnight travel.

For a  day out or overnight, the Cotopaxi pack works just fine. It fits a change of clothes, basic electronics including my laptop, and my toiletries. Its a nice pack with a clean design and fits under aircraft seats just fine.

If I am traveling for longer periods up to a week, I have used the Ebags Mother Lode. I can carry enough clothing for a week, my toiletries and my laptop. In addition there is space for a water bottle, umbrella, more electronics, and some snacks (very important to have snacks)

I have used the large duffel for a three week trip to Europe. That time I did check the bag, and used the Cotopaxi as my carry on.

For everyday use I switch between the small shoulder bag, and the Patagonia Minimass. If all I am carrying is my phone, pocket knife, and glasses, the smaller bag is perfect. Adding a sweater, or jacket and a water bottle, and I will use the Patagonia bag.

The Laptop that I carry for work is a little cumbersome (Lenovo W540, 15.5inch) but I hope my next machine will be a little smaller and lighter. The Lenovo just fits in the Cotopaxi bag, so something a little smaller will be nice for that bag.

What is the point of this post?

Well I am considering swapping the Maxpedition for a larger, more traditional pack. I don't hike much but I feel like the Maxpedition is not quite the right pack for me. When I hike now, I carry the small hydration pouch (holds a 32oz Nalgene, pocket knife, phone and that's about it).

I think I need a pack about 27-35L with a pocket for a 32oz Nalgene, and a soft pocket for glasses and phone. I suspect I need to think about it a little more.