Hip or Fanny Packs for Every Day Preparedness

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Weedygarden

Weedygarden

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Do any of you use a hip or fanny pack? I have here and there, but I have been using one daily for several months now.

Fanny packs are a good way to keep several things handy and be hands free. This is important for me as I am walking leashed dogs, carrying a jug of water, Chuck-it, and sometimes a few other items.

What can you carry in your pack? EDC items!

With the right pack, you can conceal carry. I know that there are a variety of styles and sizes, so you want to make sure you are buying the right size to CC.

What else do I keep in my fanny pack? Phone, cards, tissues, mini first aid kit, pocket calendar (which I use daily), pencil, pen, keys (carabiner hooked on a loop), comb, tissues, cash, lip protection (very important in Colorado), elastic hair band, small Swiss army knife, whistle, nail clipper, dog waste bags, note pad.
 
I use something very like this:
https://www.amazon.com/G4Free-Outdo...ords=shoulder+pack&qid=1699468514&sr=8-5&th=1In it:
Taurus Gen 3+6 clips
2 boxes of JHP.
Cold steel S-R1 lite.
Upgraded home medical box.
LED flashlight.
Poncho.
canteen.
Zip ties.
respirator.
gloves.
3 go bars and canned crap enough for 3 meals.
Smokes, a half pint of whiskey, and a spare lighter.
I'm hardly ever more than ten miles from home, so I pack light.
 
Magus said:
I use something very like this:
https://www.amazon.com/G4Free-Outdo...ords=shoulder+pack&qid=1699468514&sr=8-5&th=1In it:
Taurus Gen 3+6 clips
2 boxes of JHP.
Cold steel S-R1 lite.
Upgraded home medical box.
LED flashlight.
Poncho.
canteen.
Zip ties.
respirator.
gloves.
3 go bars and canned crap enough for 3 meals.
Smokes, a half pint of whiskey, and a spare lighter.
I'm hardly ever more than ten miles from home, so I pack light.
Click to expand...
That holds a lot!
I have a fanny pack that has pockets for two water bottles. It is great for hiking.
 
Back when I got this camper I tested it by putting NINE days worth of food in it plus a few goodies, then proceeded to live on it before I moved another crumb.
 
Good topic

I have 2 of these in my truck and DD. They are older and a little different, but very similar. I also have a rain cover and the shoulder straps for them. It's basically set up similar to a butt pack that was carried by the military up thru Vietnam.
2023 Day

They are loaded for Get home bags. I have enough food for at least 3 days, fire starting, some dry clothes, warm gloves and leather work gloves, bonnie hat and tobaggon, medical kit including a TQ and Isreali pressure bandage, and some meds. A tiny stove and a canister of propane, metal cup with folding handle that a 32oz water bottle will nest in. 2 quart bottles, Sawyer Squeeze purifier. Becker BK-17 fixed blade knife. Map, compass, 100' of paracord, 2 carabiners, headlamp and spare batteries, 9x5 tarp with guy lines attached, and a light weight bivy sack/reflective bag. I probably left stuff out, but you get the idea. There are also several other items in both vehicles I would add, and if I'm leaving from work, a jar of peanut butter and multiple packs of bagged tuna.
When I was doing long range backpacking, I usually carried a small fanny pack in the front with some hard candy, jerky, dried fruit, comapss, map, etc. It made it easy to snack while racking up miles, and didn't require dropping my pack to take use the map and compass.
 
Strange there are abundant fanny/waist packs for compact and sub-compact handguns. There are very few choices for "full size" handgun.
 
A couple of decades ago I used to wear a small waist pack every day. Nowadays, I am very in tune to "senior citizen + fanny pack = gun", as are most people. As we get up in years, we are kidding ourselves if we think we are concealing anything by using a fanny pack. In fact, we're advertising that we're carrying.
 
I don't know that a fanny packs advertises a senior is carrying but it does say there maybe something of value in the fanny pack, thus making it a point of interest to a thug. IMHO, a fanny pack might be good to carry extra mags but it would not be ideal for quickly retrieving a concealed handgun.
 
TMT Tactical said:
I don't know that a fanny packs advertises a senior is carrying but it does say there maybe something of value in the fanny pack, thus making it a point of interest to a thug. IMHO, a fanny pack might be good to carry extra mags but it would not be ideal for quickly retrieving a concealed handgun.
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I agree. I've never carried a pistol in one. I have carried a couple mags in one.
 
I think if you have a better way to pack or CC, a fanny pack, at least for me, is still a very handy thing to have for someone who may be walking or biking for miles. As a woman, carrying a big purse around is not my thing, especially to dog parks and walking dogs, but the fanny pack frees up my hands and is not a backpack which can be too much sometimes.
I have a backpack for a bug out/ get home bag, and I don't want to carry that around every day. The fanny pack is for the things that I might use on any given day, and the list I gave earlier are all things that are in there and get used. It is practical things.

I also don't see my fanny pack as a bug out bag or a get home bag. I use it daily, for the things I use while on the go. I would never expect for it to sustain me. It is for the things that I need on a daily basis.

My fanny pack couldn't hold three days worth of food, even if I had nothing else in there. And I wouldn't want to carry that around every day. Even my backpack would be pretty full and heavy with 3 days worth of food.

I do have a bag for over the shoulder, but it is not something I've been very comfortable with. Need a tissue? Its at my waist. Need my keys, at my waist.

backlash said:
The problem with bags is I tend to keep adding more and more stuff in them till they are full. Mostly useless stuff though.
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I am the same. And I also have to be careful so that things are organized so that I can find them.
 
I wear cargo pants almost exclusively, so lots of pockets for my EDC stuff. If I were to change to a small fanny pack, the stuff I'd put in there would be Tylenol, Advil, antacid, Sudafed, Benzedrex inhaler during allergy season, sunglasses, small pkg of kleenex, swiss army knife or small multi-tool, small flashlight, a pair of earbuds, if any room was left maybe a granola energy bar.
 
My butt packs are set up for very specific tasks. The only time I use them for anything else is to unload some of it for a day hike. Or to change some seasonal stuff. I've never weighed it, but I'd bet its less than 10 lbs. My food is less than 3lbs and could be stretched to 5 days if need be.
I haven't carried a fanny pack it quite a few years. Other than what I described, I never cared for them, other than to throw over my shoulder. I much prefer a small day pack/booking type. I always set one of those up for a road trip and again have very specific things loaded.
EDC stuff goes in my pockets day to day
 
My fanny/waist "holster" pack is currently touring southern California, without me. It has been in San Bernardino the last few days.
 
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Haertig said:
I wear cargo pants almost exclusively, so lots of pockets for my EDC stuff. If I were to change to a small fanny pack, the stuff I'd put in there would be Tylenol, Advil, antacid, Sudafed, Benzedrex inhaler during allergy season, sunglasses, small pkg of kleenex, swiss army knife or small multi-tool, small flashlight, a pair of earbuds, if any room was left maybe a granola energy bar.
Click to expand...
I use one of these for all that stuff.
https://www.ttmilitaria.com/product/flu718/You might want to trim off the grenade straps, you might not. maybe you can figure out a use for them?
Mine has
Rolaids.
4 goodies powders in a fold of cardboard.
a pack of lucky strikes+Bic
Sting swabs.
Cheap LED flashlight+batteries.
Handkerchief.
Cheapo tactical knife+multi-tool
Alka-seltzers
ESBIT tabs-
4 zip ties.
4 band-aids.
https://www.amazon.com/Esbit-1300-D...locphy=9011111&hvtargid=pla-343244691514&th=1
I have a tiny bit of room left for something. I just put this one together for goofing off in the local woods that no longer exist. :p
 
I had a fanny pack set up as a trauma kit when I worked the ambulance. When I rolled up at a scene in my PV I was ready to go to work. It is wrapped around the passenger headrest of my truck right now.
 
I use fanny packs and slingpacks a lot. I keep two in my car. One is a mini survival kit, and the other is a self defense kit.

My EDC is a slingpack, and I always have a fire kit, at least one, more often two, knives, a multitool, a mini first aid kit, a Goal Zero battery to charge my phone, flash light, a mini toiletrty kit, a pen and sharpie, a small note pad, and extra cash in small denominations.

I probaly have a dozen fanny packs all stashed away in the closet. They are the little brother to backpacks, and it is widely known that I have an obsession with both of them.
 
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Morgan101 said:
I use fanny packs and slingpacks a lot. I keep two in my car. One is a mini survival kit, and the other is a self defense kit.

My EDC is a slingpack, and I always have a fire kit, at least one, more often two, knives, a multitool, a mini first aid kit, a Goal Zero battery to charge my phone, flash light, a mini toiletry kit, a pen and sharpie, a small note pad, and extra cash in small denominations.

I probably have a dozen fanny packs all stashed away in the closet. They are the little brother to backpacks, and it is widely known that I have an obsession with both of them.
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I don't have a dozen fanny packs, but I do have a couple. I do have an obsession for backpacks, but I have no expensive ones. I buy mine at garage sales and get them for little. I keep them packed with a theme. I have one that has my hand held radios. One has stoves and fuels. One is a BOB. And I have more. But I also have some stuff in other kinds of bags ready to go.
 
Years ago I had one that was handy when traveling on biz which I did often. A quick place to stash hotel/car keys, boarding passes etc. I never used it day to day. For a time when I grew peaches and produce it was handy at the farmers market for making change, place for large bills etc.

Haven’t used it in years though. These days if I need more space than my pockets I usually need a lot more than a fanny pack can provide.
 
Weedygarden said:
I don't have a dozen fanny packs, but I do have a couple. I do have an obsession for backpacks, but I have no expensive ones. I buy mine at garage sales and get them for little. I keep them packed with a theme. I have one that has my hand held radios. One has stoves and fuels. One is a BOB. And I have more. But I also have some stuff in other kinds of bags ready to go.
Click to expand...

I do much the same thing. We have BOB's for the three of us and one for the dog. There are two food bags and a medical bag. There are two dedicated to self defense. All ready to go at a moments notice.
 
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