Special carry arrangements for your hiking valuables?

[gunwharfman]

Ever since I started hiking I have always sought to find the best way to carry my money, house key, debit, and other cards, passport, tickets, phone, etc. I have tried a waist wallet which I do not like, gets in the way of my rucksack belt and so I now concentrate on 'shoulder holsters' and 'around the neck pouches.' They are all 'good enough' in their own way but I've never found a design that's definitely the right one for me! One of my baselayers has two card pockets sewn to it, this works as well but I still need to carry a small pouch. My present pouch is from Millets, its not bad at all but I've had to cut off the carry string that it came with and sew on a 1" wide comfortable neck tape otherwise it just makes my neck sore. I have a Decathlon pouch but that proved to be too small.

I work on the principle that these special items must never leave my body so I also carry on wearing my pouch even when I'm sleeping.

I keep seeing a 'shoulder holster' being promoted on Instagram (£28) and wonder if anyone has actually bought one? If so are they any good? Or do you know a site where I can view such items?

[Rigel]

when out hiking, I generally keep passport and ticket(s) in a small waterproof map case. I carry phone as normal (in a pocket). Any cards I keep in small credit card holder in trouser pocket (as normal). The only difference is that I will have a secondary bank/debit card stored in rucksack.


When driving abroad or non-hiking, I will use a small branded neck/shoulder bag, big enough to carry passport, driver's licence and car keys when not driving. And keep a back-up bank card and phone in glove box with vehicle documents. If not wearing trousers, I usually still have at least two pockets in shorts for phone and bank cards.


Worst experience I've had abroad, a friend lost his only bank card in Northern Italy. Didn't lose anything else, save his bank card! I initially loaned him 500 euros, thinking this would be enough. after ten days I was owed 2200 euros. And I even hired him a moped.  Upon returning to the UK, it took 3 months to repay the money. And we fell out over currency rates and charges to my account. His refusal to have money wired to him was odd, to say the least. I will hazard a guess any money that would have been sent would have been a fraction of  his total spending. And nine times out of ten, I paid for food and drinks. My friend's so-called losing of his bank card ended up costing me.

[ninthace]

I was given a shoulder holster at one time but the pistol and spare magazine made it a dead loss as an important documents/credit card holder.  I keep things like keys, wallets and travel documents in zipped up pockets.  We also have a separate list with card numbers and bank emergency numbers in case a card goes missing.

[Owen]

Wallet and passport are either in my pocket or once I'm away from the border and shops in the bottom of my sack. Phone goes in a waterproof case in the top pocket of the rucksack. Never bothered with security belts etc. Did punch a pickpocket once in Kings cross.

[Lee R]

I only do day hikes but I have my wallet & phone in my pockets as normal & my car/house keys either in my backpack lid or a hipbelt pocket.

[fernman]

My day pack has a zipped lid pocket inside which is another pocket with the zip running the other way, which makes it more secure.
Until recently I used to put my leather coin purse in it, one of those D-shape things, with the addition of a ten pound note folded in it.
I've now changed to carrying nothing more than my debit card for contactless payment, but after a charge of £6.10 for a pint and a bag of crisps on my last walk I don't expect to use it much!
There's also a split plastic ring in the corner of the inner pocket, which I put my car key in.

My backpack also has a zipped top pocket, in which I put my debit card and a  couple of ten pound notes in a bank plastic coin bag that is folded over fifty percent.  The bag is held firmly inside between all the other stuff in the pocket. My walks are usually so remote that I never expect to use them, but you never know.
My car key goes in a zipped trouser pocket, and my phone without its case in my camera pouch.

Sorry, many edits, due to trying to watch Lake Vrnwy on Countryfile at the same time!   

[BuzyG]

Depends where the walk is. Obviously abroad there are more valuables to tuck away and like most people we split any monies between us. I carry a simple resealable freezer bag in my day bag, that contains my money passport and travel documents.


Other more mundane valuables car key and wallet, I am very careful to ensure are placed into a zipped pocket, following the loss of my wallet on the coast path last year whilst eating lunch on a cliff top.  I only know where I lost it, because a kind and anonymous stranger found it and posted it back too our home.  Thank you who ever you were.