I'm officially done with pocket clips...

[BladeScout]

Sucks losing a well liked knife and/or flashlight. Good, that an honest person found your knife and you got it back.

I concur with the OP on pocket clips (or rather clips fastened directly to the side of small(-ish) pocket flashlights and ditto knives). I loathe pocket clips.

Ive experienced the car scratching and recently lost a flashlight, that Ive carried for years and years. It simply slipped out one whilst I was carrying it inside the pocket (I wouldnt dream of having a flashlight or knife clipped to the outside of the pocket, as some has discussed). I friggin' liked that old beat up Novatac (I dont care if the HDS is better!).

What I can recommend is using a suspension clip. For a small flashlight and a SAK, the suspension clips works wonders. I heartedly recommend them - you should give them a try.

You can even mount a split ring to the flashlight or knife and in that split ring fasten both the suspension clip and loop a fob through it (most people write 'lanyard' - I assume most mean 'fob').

I carry my flashlight that way but for a knife, it would be exactly the same; suspension ring and fob (i.e. just a small length of paracord in my case) in the split ring attached to he flashlight or knife and the choice of having an inch or two (or how ever much you choose) of the fob peeking out of the pocket to grab.

 

[BladeScout]

Here a few of the available suspension or dangler clips: Ti Gearpull, Munroe Mega Dangler, Obstructures Small Pry/Open Tool, Pangea Designs Pickpocket Torq, TTpockeTTools TT-Capper, Atwood Hangman, TEC P7 Suspension Clip. I use a clip similar to the last one and couldnt be happier with it in use.

 

[joshf128]

I too can relate to OP, as I lost a pocket clip knife about 3 weeks ago ( & thankfully found it) that somehow came out of my pocket.

I believe a significant factor with my lost knife however, was that I was wearing board /swim shorts that have thin, smooth fabric, which made it much easier for the knife to slip out. My bad.

Lesson learned on my part, and moving forward I will use the same cliped carry method I use, with swim shorts that have no pockets. In this case, I clip the knife into the front of my shorts, at about 1 o'clock / appendix carry.

I find that the pressure between my stomach, and the shorts fabric, adds significant tension to the knife, and I personally find it to be very, very secure for a pocket clip knife. I have carried this way swimming and boogie boarding in 4-6ft waves, and have never lost a knife. Accessibility is practically as good as in the pocket. This method of carry can be used with any pants, and if also worn with a belt, it would now add another angle of tension and pressure on the clip, from the opposite direction, making it even more secure.................not to mention that it is much less likely to scratch up your car (and with a belt, the clip is covered)........

May be worth trying, before giving up on pocket clips...............

OP here again. I think I mentioned this earlier, but my issue was definitely related to the combination of slick synthetic shorts and a weak/smooth pocket clip. My Manix 2 Lightweight now rides loose in my pocket and just disappears in there (which is amazing considering the blade size, but the thin profile and light weight make all the difference).

IWB carry is more comfortable for me at 4 O'clock personally. I have been carrying my Blur clipped to the pocket with zero issues but that clip is at least twice as strong. The same shorts come with it when the knife starts to come out.

I also have since inherited some traditional knives (no death involved fortunately, just early gifting) so I have some other in pocket options for future outings.