Pocket organizers and pocket organizer setups

SharpBits said:
I'm using a YBO pocket organizer as well. One of the GEC dealers had a combo deal on GEC knife, so I grabbed it. Mine has the vertical zipper pocket and on the other side only two slash pockets. A single large pocket at the top. I can slip a DMC fixed blade in there or other small fixed blade. It's worked the best out of numerous others I have tried. Looks like mine is taller than yours.
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Their products sure are great.
I don't know all the models, but I know they have some larger ones which it sounds like you have.
 
I have found that a proper pocket organizer only makes sense if you're going to carry it in your pocket.

I'd never personally use a pocket organizer as the basis for a tool kit, because it makes no sense to restrict yourself to such a small little tool kit if you're not limited by need for it to fit in your pocket.
I don't think I'd go below a roughly 8"×5" or so pouch, but that's just me.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I have found that a proper pocket organizer only makes sense if you're going to carry it in your pocket.

I'd never personally use a pocket organizer as the basis for a tool kit, because it makes no sense to restrict yourself to such a small little tool kit if you're not limited by need for it to fit in your pocket.
I don't think I'd go below a roughly 8"×5" or so pouch, but that's just me.
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For work I have full tool carts stationed in several locations. But I can do 80% of what I need with what is in the condor pouch. I fix stuff for a living. The home pouch gets a lot of little projects done. I have 3 rolling toolboxes 3-4 carry tool boxes I've been a tradesman for 38 years
 
I've been going to an office job for a long time, up until Covid anyway. I had fine tuned my carry to the items that I use- ink pen and small flashlight in front left pocket, smartphone and folding knife (clipped) in front right pocket, wallet in rear pocket, keys clipped to a beltloop, sunglasses sometimes in shirt pocket. I thought I was well covered and didn't miss anything. Being a knife enthusiast I experimented with carrying 2 folding knives or making my main knife a small fixed blade. I went back to just one folding knife. I get interested in EDC things and that got me interested in multitools. I tried carrying a small multitool but stopped doing it on a daily basis but sometimes carry a Leatherman Charge in left front pocket.
I've gotten interested in EDC again and found people on youtube who make these small EDC kits including bitdrivers, bandaids, etc. I'm not sure I want or need to carry more things but I'm open to it. One advantage of the tiny kits is they have everything but since I will always carry a separate folding knife and separate writing instrumet the tiny kit provides fewer advantages for me.
Some things I don't carry that might be helpful- a few tablets of Excedrin, small scissors
I see people carrying those small Knipex pliers. They look a bit thick and heavy to me but I haven't handled them in person. Are they really small and light enough to stick in a small pack when you're trying to economize space and weight? I see people carry tiny charge cables but nobody carries a flash drive.
In post-Covid world where I don't go to the office every day I find that some days I'm in office mode, some days I'm fooling around the house or working in my garage, and I have more time these days for travel so I might be way out in the middle of nowhere on a Jeep trail. This calls for more variations in EDC, I'm not sure a pocket pack would help me but I might go to a belt pack at least for travel. I'm still evaluating options. A lot of the time I wear cargo pants or cargo shorts and certainly for travel I could easily carry a small pack in a spare pocket.
 
plumberroy said:
For work I have full tool carts stationed in several locations. But I can do 80% of what I need with what is in the condor pouch. I fix stuff for a living. The home pouch gets a lot of little projects done. I have 3 rolling toolboxes 3-4 carry tool boxes I've been a tradesman for 38 years
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If you're smart enough to know which tools are or aren't necessary you can set up something like that effectively, I'm not so my tool boxes and tool kits tend to be overkill because I never know what I could need
 
bdmicarta said:
I've been going to an office job for a long time, up until Covid anyway. I had fine tuned my carry to the items that I use- ink pen and small flashlight in front left pocket, smartphone and folding knife (clipped) in front right pocket, wallet in rear pocket, keys clipped to a beltloop, sunglasses sometimes in shirt pocket. I thought I was well covered and didn't miss anything. Being a knife enthusiast I experimented with carrying 2 folding knives or making my main knife a small fixed blade. I went back to just one folding knife. I get interested in EDC things and that got me interested in multitools. I tried carrying a small multitool but stopped doing it on a daily basis but sometimes carry a Leatherman Charge in left front pocket.
I've gotten interested in EDC again and found people on youtube who make these small EDC kits including bitdrivers, bandaids, etc. I'm not sure I want or need to carry more things but I'm open to it. One advantage of the tiny kits is they have everything but since I will always carry a separate folding knife and separate writing instrumet the tiny kit provides fewer advantages for me.
Some things I don't carry that might be helpful- a few tablets of Excedrin, small scissors
I see people carrying those small Knipex pliers. They look a bit thick and heavy to me but I haven't handled them in person. Are they really small and light enough to stick in a small pack when you're trying to economize space and weight? I see people carry tiny charge cables but nobody carries a flash drive.
In post-Covid world where I don't go to the office every day I find that some days I'm in office mode, some days I'm fooling around the house or working in my garage, and I have more time these days for travel so I might be way out in the middle of nowhere on a Jeep trail. This calls for more variations in EDC, I'm not sure a pocket pack would help me but I might go to a belt pack at least for travel. I'm still evaluating options. A lot of the time I wear cargo pants or cargo shorts and certainly for travel I could easily carry a small pack in a spare pocket.
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my thing is just organizing and more convently carrying the small items I already had in my pockets, with the mandatory ability to retrieve my knife pen and pliers without removing the organizer from my pocket.
I think you'd be more likely to stick with it if you wanted to conveniently organize things you already carry , as opposed to trying to put together a kit of additional items that you haven't needed before and may not actually need.
For example a mini pry bar might be something you never really felt the need to carry before, but if you carried one in a very convenient easy to access way you might find yourself using it more than expected.
If it's in some kind of kit down in a cargo pocket it may not be the handy tool you reach for to remove a rock from your boot tread or open a can of acetone, that is if you even remember it's in there.

All you can really do is try out a pocket organizer and see how it works put for you.
 
Hickory n steel said:
If you're smart enough to know which tools are or aren't necessary you can set up something like that effectively, I'm not so my tool boxes and tool kits tend to be overkill because I never know what I could need
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My kits are always evolving. The work kit originally had a Leatherman crunch, but I cut down the channel locks to fit . The home kit has the long disconnected schrade/ vice grip multi tool. We cover 3 million square feet of buildings there are tool carts in different locations. Plus I've been making a living fixing stuff since 1986 so I have a decent idea of what I need
 
After 4 years my Pocket Pico ccv2 is still going strong, it sure is a shame that Yellow Birch Outfitters had to close shop.

20250724_093524.jpg
I pretty much got my setup dialed in 2 or 3 years ago and little has changed since.

20250724_093224.jpg
there's a couple things that occasionally get swapped with other options, but the types of things I carry hasn't really changed.
 
Hickory n steel said:
After 4 years my Pocket Pico ccv2 is still going strong, it sure is a shame that Yellow Birch Outfitters had to close shop.

View attachment 2933922
I pretty much got my setup dialed in 2 or 3 years ago and little has changed since.

View attachment 2933928
there's a couple things that occasionally get swapped with other options, but the types of things I carry hasn't really changed.
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I have a similar one from them and it too is going strong. Quality product, for sure.
 
SharpBits said:
I have a similar one from them and it too is going strong. Quality product, for sure.
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it's the best design I have found.

I just saw that Maxpedition has some new ones out and they're certainly closer to something I'd use than their old " micro " that I found to not remotely suit my needs and be somewhat lacking in quality , but they have once again proven to be a company I wouldn't turn to if I was looking for a pocket organizers.
They have some great products, but their product engineers just do think about pocket organizers the same way I do.

I have come to realize that small shop custom type makers are the only way to go for pocket organizers, because they're always designed by pocket organizer users who sought to meet their own needs and they understand pocket organizer users better.
The big companies just want to make something too universal that are ultimately just not focused enough to do much as well as they could.
 
Hickory n steel said:
it's the best design I have found.

I just saw that Maxpedition has some new ones out and they're certainly closer to something I'd use than their old " micro " that I found to not remotely suit my needs and be somewhat lacking in quality , but they have once again proven to be a company I wouldn't turn to if I was looking for a pocket organizers.
They have some great products, but their product engineers just do think about pocket organizers the same way I do.

I have come to realize that small shop custom type makers are the only way to go for pocket organizers, because they're always designed by pocket organizer users who sought to meet their own needs and they understand pocket organizer users better.
The big companies just want to make something too universal that are ultimately just not focused enough to do much as well as they could.
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There seem to be some decent ones on Etsy, made by small shops.
 
SharpBits said:
There seem to be some decent ones on Etsy, made by small shops.
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That's where I found the 1st pocket organizer that I accidentally liked.
Gatura was the brand , from the Ukraine if I remember right but they're gone now too it seems.
 
SwissHeritageCo said:
I always love the thought of these, but more for console/glove compartment carry... hate having lots of stuff in my pockets.
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Many of them certainly are large enough that they don't seem useful for much other than car console duty.

If you don't already carry a handfuls worth of small items that you need a solution for, then even a small wallet sized organizer probably wouldn't prove useful for you.
 
Jon gadget -i understand the hate- on YouTube has a 2025 travel set up in the maxpedition mini. I think it's a good setup for travel or other restricted entry pocket carry. I've based mine around it with a victorinox jetsetter for light cutting.


The thinking in that video reduced my bulk quite a bit. I dont have mine filled as full as his either, probably only half as much. But I lean more minimalist than most of what has been posted here too.
 
phatch said:
I dont have mine filled as full as his either, probably only half as much. But I lean more minimalist than most of what has been posted here too.
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You definitely need to look for something better than the Maxpedition.
As my first organizer I didn't know any better, but eventually realized that they kind of suck for anything except putting together a small kit that you won't need that often.
If you're carrying a handful of small things that you use regularly, the Maxpedition organizers are oversized don't hold anything very well and are inconvenient to use.
At least they were for me anyways.
 
I can see why you'd say that.

The interior pockets are good for the battery charger, first aid, cables, lens cloth and the few tools I want to access. I use only two of the elastic holders. I removed the handle for less bulk. So it's very light and compact carrying just what I want when the occasional difficulty arises.

I'm fairly minimalist so it's good for me. And yes I probably access it only once every two weeks. So it's great for that.
 
I have two different ‘go-to’ setups depending on what I’m wearing or doing for the day. I never go out without at least one of them.
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phatch said:
I can see why you'd say that.

The interior pockets are good for the battery charger, first aid, cables, lens cloth and the few tools I want to access. I use only two of the elastic holders. I removed the handle for less bulk. So it's very light and compact carrying just what I want when the occasional difficulty arises.

I'm fairly minimalist so it's good for me. And yes I probably access it only once every two weeks. So it's great for that.
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I'm assuming it lives in a backpack or something?
 
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