What's in YOUR Coat?

We have been experiencing Pacific Northwest weather (which is to say, cold and rainy) lately and it just seems as if winter does not want to let go – we are actually expecting snow and sleet tonight. So, I have been wearing my coat longer than I planned this year but when my wife took this picture I figured it would be a good opportunity to tell y’all about my coat.

Relatives gave me money for Christmas one year and I spent it at Cabela’s on a Dry-Plus (Goretex after the patent ran out) parka with a fleece liner. I think it cost about $200. I am a size Large but I buy most of my shirts, sweaters, hoodies, and coats size XL. I like to have the ability to layer under them when it’s cold and I like to be able to conceal some useful items on my person without printing. Lately it’s been in the high thirties so I just wear the coat as a shell.

This parka is pretty neat. It has a BUNCH of pockets – 4 exterior and 3 interior and when I first put it on I thought I should just go ahead and put some useful items in there on a more or less permanent basis. That way, if I was ever “caught out” I might be able to make myself more comfortable.

The coat itself makes a fine shelter all on its own – I could sit up against a tree in the rain and just wait it out . It has a hood for rain protection or warmth and pit zips to allow for cooling. It is also the perfect camo-camo color – it blends well in the city and it disappears in the woods.

I did not “load” the coat for this blog post. I figured I’d just empty my pockets, take a picture and talk about it. So here we go. We can start in the upper left and work our way generally counter-clockwise. Try to keep up.



Paper napkin and some tissue – I reckon I was in line for food somewhere and just stuck them in my pocket. I didn’t put them back after I snapped the photo.

Knit cap – it’s not the same one I am wearing in the photo up top – it’s an acrylic Thinsulate hat because wool makes me itch. I don’t know if I’ve ever worn it because I usually grab some kind of hat on my way out the door. So it’s a spare.

Becker Knife and Tool knife. I have never used it and honestly – I forgot it was in there. I like the size, weight, and shape a lot and I guess I should go play with it to see if I like the steel and grind.

A pen and two large trash bags. The bags are for emergency shelter or emergency rain gear for people (like my daughter at a football game once) who get caught out without. I know, I know –she should know better. Actually she DOES know better. Kids...
Oh yeah, there is a Viking Pocket Fire on the one bag (lighter and inner tube) – hey, if you click on the photo it will enlarge for better detail.

Three granola bars and a throat lozenge. I used to have fruit in there too but I must have eaten it.

That’s a space blanket in the bottom right. I have a couple packets of Bio-Freeze a friend gave me one time and I forgot they were in there too – like I said, this coat has a lot of pockets.


A hank of 550 cord and my “EMT knife”. It has a seat belt cutter and is wicked sharp and pointy. I carry it in my off side pocket with that red flashlight you see there.

I keep a simple first aid kit in a one gallon Ziploc bag – two large gauze, some duct tape and a few Band-Aids.

S&W Airweight .38 Special and two speed strips of +P ammo for reloads. I keep it in a slightly modified pocket holster that a friend gave me. I cut it a bit to allow trigger access and I carry it in a pocket in such a way that I can ruin my coat if an up close and personal emergency occurs. I don’t keep the handgun in the coat all the time but it was in there today.

So there you go. I don’t carry a “survival kit” but I could do pretty well with this coat and what I typically carry in it. No, there is no water but I usually have a bottle with me – I had two bottles in the shoulder bag in the first pic.

I hope you found something useful and interesting in this post. I’ll see ya out there.

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. – Matthew 24:15 - 21
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If you have any comments I’d love to hear them.
If they really interest me, I may even post them.
You can reach me at Joe

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