My Murphy Pouch

Hi, my name is Joe and I'm a preparedness junkie... 

Some folks tend to laugh at me and suggest that I may carry too much stuff... silly people.

They've obviously never been introduced to Mr. Murphy. 
Murphy's Law states that "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong".

If I had a dime for every time I've been asked by a female coworker for feminine hygiene goodies, I wouldn't necessarily be rich, but I could afford a nice meal at McDonald's! (yes, I do carry some feminine hygiene goodies in my first aid kit... they're a lot cheaper than trauma pads...and there's an intimidation factor as well... If I'm crazy enough to carry tampons, I'm crazy enough to be left alone...).

A dear friend asked me for the list of contents of my Murphy Pouch. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to impress everyone with my picture posting skills (as well as stand as photographic documentation of how really weird I am...).

This is my Murphy Pouch.  There are many like it, but this one is mine....

 

It's a 4x5 inch zipper pouch that I picked up at Academy Sports.  It could, of course,  go in what ever different container someone wanted to use.

I put blaze orange duct tape on it to make it stand out.  While camping, I've dropped stuff in the dark and couldn't find it... didn't like it very much.



             The contents laid out in order:

                       Left
Super Glue,
Diamond Knife Sharpening Rod
Replacement Batteries for both my headlamp, and my INOVA light that lives in my pocket.

                   Middle
Match case with duct tape (I prefer Gorilla Tape) wrapped around the outside.
Little tool kit in mid-sized Altoids tin (contents to be shown later),
Sewing Kit in small Altoids tin. (contents to be shown later).
Small piece of tin foil (hey, one never knows when one might want a baked potato, or to light a candle and keep the wax from getting on expensive furniture, or improve reception on a radio antenna...).

                            Right
Length of paracord (great stuff!)
Length of mason's line.
One small elastic strap (got from Academy Sports).



                                    "Tool Kit"

Eyeglass repair kit,
Length of florists wire (actually had to repair the car's bumper road-side with this once).
Small pocket knife (never can have too many knives).
Twist ties (for when the florist's wire is too much).
Safety pins.




                                        Sewing Kit

I glued a piece of a refrigerator magnet in the top of the small Altoids tin to hold the needles in place.

A "borrowed" bobbin for the heavy outdoor nylon thread along with the simple black and white thread completes the thread assortment.

I am going to add a length of dental floss at a later date.  Dental floss is handy stuff. I use it to sew Elizabeth's point shoes.
I've included a heavy gauge tapestry needle for repairs on packs, shoes, etc.

I used to have a Bic Lighter in my MP but I pulled it out to replace the one I usually keep in my pocket and haven't gotten around to replacing the replacement.  Probably going to go with a "mini" Bic for space reasons.


These are the innards of my MP.  Other folks will probably want different stuff in theirs depending on their environment/conditions/experiences/etc.   One can never go wrong with duct tape.  Most of Murphy's tricks can be fixed with a creative application of duct tape.

I carry much more than this (Leatherman multi tool, whistle, little compass, fire making goodies, etc)  that live in my pockets.

The MP and first aid kit live in my Maxpedition Fatboy (man bag). It's so much easier to keep things compartmentalized.

I will admit that I tend to stray to the "over kill" end of the spectrum, but I've never regretted it. I've often regretted getting caught unprepared.