Girl Pants

R

Raymond1000

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Oct 8, 2006
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I’m instructing two daughters of a friend in emergency preparedness. I have been, for discouraging years. Convincing them to light a fire in the backyard is hard. Getting them to EDC a few basic tools is worse.

In a recent conversation with one I said, “I was thinking you didn’t get the concept of Every Day Carry. Then I realized that was nonsense. Of course you do. How often do you walk out your front door and realize you’ve forgotten to put your clothes on?”

She said, “If I do that I’ll get arrested. If I don’t have a pocket knife, nothing happens.” Sigh.

Eventually I understood. Much of the problem lies in the girl’s pants. Or rather, the pockets in their pants.

Forget Bilbo’s “What have I got in my pocket?”

Forget getting into their pants, you lecher! :mad: If there isn’t room for a slip joint knife, there isn't room for you. :D

The problem lies in their complaint, “I can’t fit anything in my pockets!”

Samuel Delany described an incident in the 60’s. A female friend donned a pair of his pants. He saw her, hands in pockets, with a look of wonder in her face. “Do all men’s pants have pockets like this?”

“Sure.”

“Girl’s pants pockets don’t have room for anything.”

Things haven't changed. Once a girl stops being shaped like a boy, her sartorial options narrow. Girl pants are cut to fit girl bodies. Fair enough. But then…Girls pants are given pockets. Girl pockets think girls carry everything in girl purses.

Putting all your survival eggs in a second layer of equipment is Not A Good Thing. Didn’t some Rabbi write a book about it? Why Do Bad Pockets Happen to Good Pants?

However it happened, this tailor’s idiosyncrasy complicates distaff EDC. E.g., I sent the girls Ritter Pocket Survival Packs. I sent them Victorinox Farmers. (With red Alox, so they imitated real Swiss Army Knives. They live in Boston.) Do the sisters carry either as first layer emergency gear? Of course not. Why not? Because girl pockets lack sufficient room.

How do advertent females deal with this speed bump on the road to preparedness? Any suggestions are welcome.
 
I think the problem is girls wear a size too small so they are skin tight. At least that is what my daughter did. I think the only things she can get in her pockets are her key fob with keys hanging on the outside of her front pocket and her I-phone in her back pocket.
 
Sad thing is their pants are so tight that they wont/cant edc a knife, your trying to show them how to start a fire(no interest). So no knife and no fire skin tight pants that have no hope of keeping them warm if it were cold out, in an emergency situation. At least with loose fitting pants they would tend to be warmer, which could be a life saver.
 
Both are rock climbers. One practices Aikido. The other, Karate (first Dan) and Ju-Jitsu. Both would prefer decent pockets. Neither are willing to modify boy-jeans into girl jeans. Since I couldn’t modify them myself, I give that a pass.

Nor are they entirely refractory. Once they joined forces to start a backyard fire, using found wood, after weeks of rain. In the end they succeeded by using a tampon for tinder. This without advice, since I live on the Pacific and they live on the Atlantic.

It isn’t a case of invincible ignorance. It is a case of needing to make things as easy for them as possible. What EDC they carry lives in purses or book bags. That is good for a second layer of gear. Lose the purse or book bag, and supplies on your person are suddenly a Good Thing.

Skin tight pants are not the problem. The problem is finding pants with the right hip-waist ratio so they will fit comfortably. Pants that also have usable pockets. Surely someone makes such things.
 
All girls pant pockets have room for the most important thing
The cell phone

Have you noticed?

Get a Victorinox Secretary Silver Alox that is ultra thin and with a short nylon lanyard that can go on their cell phone
Or a classic if that is not too small, lots of nice colors
 
Maybe instead of trying to adapt their pants to fit your edc you should adapt your edc to fit their pants. First thing you could do is get them a knife with a pocket clip so they can clip it to their waistband and ditch the pocket knife idea all together. Second is to minimize the amount and size of gear you think they should have. Start with a small firesteel and a whistle and then work your way up the important gear to get the max they'll carry reliably. If all they'll carry is a small firesteel and a whistle, they're already ahead of the game.
 
Very thin blade that will fit behind a cell phone in its carrier. Modify the cell phone holster. Maybe a horizontal sheath that fits behind a belt?
 
Well, remember that the #1 carrying implement for a girl is her handbag. Now, most will (rightly) have a problem with everything being carried off-body, but in the late 1800s-early 1900s, women started carrying the "possibles bag" and men stopped doing so.

The secondary carrying implement for a girl is called a boyfriend.

Now, this may not sit well with the fathers here, but I've convinced girlfriends in the past that a woman's ass looks fantastic in BDUs. And the way the seat is stitched and reinforced it does accentuate such. They seem to like the tan and navy blue BDUs best, with black being a close third. They quickly come to like the thigh pockets.
 
Uh.....:barf: Just thinking of some woman in a BDU's makes me think of those nasty female soldiers. I'm going to throw up now. :barf: Different taste I guess.

For my imput, A small SAK and a small ferrocium rod on the key chain is a good start.
 
Might I suggest outdoor retailers such as REI. Seems most outdoor/camping clothing companies would make pants that both look nice and have pockets that are functional.
Tight pants are attractive, but knowing she carrys gear and knows how to use it is just as attractive.
 
What about something like an ESEE Izula? Nice and flat, should slip right into even a skin tight back pocket.
 
dafabricata said:
Might I suggest outdoor retailers such as REI. Seems most outdoor/camping clothing companies would make pants that both look nice and have pockets that are functional.
Tight pants are attractive, but knowing she carrys gear and knows how to use it is just as attractive.
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This. Columbia, Patagonia, TNF, Mountain Hardware, ExOfficio, Outdoor Research, Marmot and a host of other outdoor clothing makers produce girlpants that look fasionable, fit the female form and yet have multiple functional pockets. They don't look military at all but are designed for fashion and utility. Christmas presents are in order, IMHO.
 
There are quite a few online sites to do comparison shopping and, if you want to check them out and compare in person, almost all outdoor shops have good stocks, like Gander Mountain and REI, etc. Don't overlook the major store brands either for some great prices. Most of the major store brands (Gander, REI, Campmor) are made by the same makers used by the likes of Patagonia, etc. Also, most of the brick and mortars are switching over from summer to fall/winter stocks now and killer deals can be found. I picked up a pair of canoing pants and several shirts last weekend at Gander Mountain for less than the pants alone normally cost.
 
Codger_64 said:
This. Columbia, Patagonia, TNF, Mountain Hardware, ExOfficio, Outdoor Research, Marmot and a host of other outdoor clothing makers produce girlpants that look fasionable, fit the female form and yet have multiple functional pockets. They don't look military at all but are designed for fashion and utility. Christmas presents are in order, IMHO.
Click to expand...

Dafabricata, Codger, mollyhatchet, thank you. That’s exactly what I was hoping for.
 
Girls don't just lose their purses. The only way that's going to happen is if someone were to steal it. If someone did steal it then they should be way more concerned about their stolen credit/debit cards, driver's license, car keys, cell phone and identity theft than about starting a fire with a firesteel in the middle of the city.

Even if you do find some awesome pants, you're going to run into an insurmountable problem: Most girls aren't going to wear the same pants every day. They probably won't even wear the same style of pants every day. So while getting them a few pairs of pants with cargo pockets sounds like a great idea, they aren't going to wear them every day so trying to build an EDC system around the pants won't really work unless they actually wear the pants with pockets every day.

I think you're better off and have a much higher chance of getting them to carry some items in their purse rather than trying to change/control their fashion choices for every day. Keep in mind that a woman's purse is a pretty safe place to keep a lighter, firesteel, emergency blanket, small flashlight, first aid kit, some paracord and a few other small and light emergency situation items. Girls aren't just going to give up their purse and if they're careful they won't get their purse stolen easily. Then the girls can have the things you think they need on hand and they will actually have them around if they need them, whereas with the pants it's all dependent on whether or not they're going to wear them to begin with.
 
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