I Finally Get Deep Carry Pocket Clips... For Chinos.

[kennethsime]

With all this hot weather we've been having I broke out my favorite pair of shorts which happen to be chino shorts with slash pockets.

It finally struck me, this is where the deep carry pocket clip, such as the wire clip on my Para 3 LW, really shines. Plenty of room to grab the handle, unobtrusive, and you're not worried about the knife falling out at all. With a spoon slip, a good portion of the knife would be sticking out of the pocket. With pocket openings parallel to the ground, it matters a lot more.

Now with jeans, which I wear 9 days out of 10, I do still prefer the standard spoon clip, with a bit of handle sticking up out of the pocket so it's easier to grab.

The key difference for me seems to be vertical slash pockets (slacks) vs horizontal patch pockets (jeans).

Does anyone else feel this way?

[SG89]

Deep carry for me all day every day

[208 tim]

I'm not yet convinced with the Native Chief, need more time.

[I_like_knives]

I only buy pants, carpenter jeans mostly, with angled pockets. I feel like it keeps my knife and flashlight at the outer edge of the pockets better. And I use the leg pocket for a pen and Knipex pliers.

With that said, I dislike deep carry clips altogether. I value ease of access over concealment. Plus, most deep clips dig into the heel of my hand during use, rather than nestle into my palm like a standard clip.

[Albatross]

There are 2 knives, which I prefer to have deep carry clip on, Para 3 and Delica 4. To me, other knives feel awkward with aftermarket clips. The PM2 and Manix aftermarket clips are usually too deep and some other models lose their ergonomic advantage, when a custom clip is added.

On the Para 3, a deep carry clip makes the knife more comfortable in use and the deeper carry, moves the Spyder hump down a bit, which, with my pants, allows the knife to sit closer to the corner of the pocket. This gives my hand more room, when reaching for things in my pocket. The Delica also seems to sit better in the pocket.

I strongly dislike the idea of deep carry for concealment, but can see why others might prefer/need to be stealthy. The part that never made sense to me, was the visible clip, but hidden knife. Most deep carry clips really can't be confused for something else, 99% look unmistakably like knife clips.

[Notsurewhy]

I don't really care much one way or the other about height of carry. Ergonomics and retention are what I look for in a clip. For Spyderco, it's hourglass over wire clip all day. But my favorite Benchmade clip is their mini deep carry clip.

I haven't noticed deep carry working significantly better in slacks, but the knives I carry most often in slacks are deep carry (chap frn, dragonfly, massdrop gent). I think that's more of a size/weight thing, but maybe subconsciously I do prefer deep carry in that situation.

[TkoK83Spy]

I prefer deep carry clips, but have slowed down a bit on buying them as my knife collection has grown much larger the past few months. I don't like thinking how I have over $200 worth of aftermarket pocket clips, instead of another very nice knife for that price!

[JMM]

I do not care for "standard/regular" clips at all. Pretty much every (90%+) knife I carry has a deep carry clip, or a wire clip, which I love. I really hope that Lynch NW follows up on his new clip design variation that will allow putting a wire clip on a standard 3-hole configured knife.... I have a *LOT* of $ invested in deep carry clips, but I know I'll probably buy the wire clip replacement for the ones I carry most... *Team Wire Clip* indeed. :D :)

[Wartstein]

My personal preference is clear: I strongly DISlike deep carry clips, except on knives of Chap size and smaller and regardless of which pants I wear.
Unless I had to conceil my folder (which I don´t) for me there is no point in deep carry clips:
- They make a knife feel larger in pocket (I rarely say that I "hate" a knife feature, but I almost hated the deep carry clip on my Kapara: Made it feel longer in pocket than my Enduras, despite the Kapara is a shorter package in fact).
- They make it harder to retrieve the knife
- To me (totally subjective of course!) all the knives with after market deep carry clips look somehow weird and disproportioned.

For almost any knife that came with a deep carry clip from the factory, I´d get a NON deep carry after market clip...

[Bloke]

which pants I wear

[MichaelScott]

which pants I wear

Go ahead and laugh. These are both comfy and concealing. Deep Cary clips are a waste of money.

[Bloke]

Go ahead and laugh. These are both comfy and concealing. Deep Cary clips are a waste of money.

Hi Michael, fair to say they'd probably be nice and warm too up in the Austrian Alps. :)

[autoxer]

Count me in as someone who strongly prefers BOTH, and by that, I mean that I really like having both options.

Throughout my normal work day (in an office, but I work in a workshop space), I want my knife with me, but to be honest it barely ever gets used. It's just hiding out in my pocket in case I need it, but with my daily work I am surrounded by cutting tools that are specialized for many purposes. My personal style is to run a pretty minimal and trim EDC, so I don't like a knife sticking out of my pocket all day. I've optimized literally everything in my pockets to be as small as possible, so this is not specific to my knife choices. The Chaparral is perfect for me for this purpose, and is my go-to knife for work days. It just disappears until needed.

As soon as I go outside or am doing some activities, I like something that's easier to grab when needed, and I don't really care about whether it sticks out of my pockets. In that case, I like something with a standard clip and higher ride in the pocket. This especially applies in or around water. Here the function takes over completely, and in these scenarios I no longer prefer the deep carry option.

I also didn't vote, because I rarely ever wear slacks or jeans. 98 out or 100 days I wear lightweight hiking/outdoor pants - they look very nice for the office environment I work in, are stretchy and extremely comfortable, and I have not yet managed to wear a pair out after years of regular use. I think this is likely an outlier scenario though, unless I'm mistaken... are hiking/outdoor pants considered slacks?

[TkoK83Spy]

Those pants and suspenders are epic hahaha! That has to be a movie or TV scene!

[kennethsime]

I also didn't vote, because I rarely ever wear slacks or jeans. 98 out or 100 days I wear lightweight hiking/outdoor pants - they look very nice for the office environment I work in, are stretchy and extremely comfortable, and I have not yet managed to wear a pair out after years of regular use. I think this is likely an outlier scenario though, unless I'm mistaken... are hiking/outdoor pants considered slacks?

I think the distinction I was trying to draw can still apply, and the question is which kind of pockets do your pants have? And also, what is the material?

Jeans have pockets where you insert the knife straight down, because they open from the top. Slacks have pockets where you insert the knife at an angle, because they open from the side.

I think if I were wearing my Prana Stretch Zion or Brion pants (pretty standard hiking/outdoor pants around here), I would most-prefer a wire clip such as on the Dragonfly, but not necessarily a deep cary clip. They have jean-style pockets, but the material is very lightweight and stretchy, and I find the standard spoon/hourglass clip doesn't is a bit too strong for them.

Man, who'd have thought it would get so complicated?

[kennethsime]

image

Come now, I'm sure Warstein is much better looking than that!

[kennethsime]

My personal preference is clear: I strongly DISlike deep carry clips, except on knives of Chap size and smaller and regardless of which pants I wear.
Unless I had to conceil my folder (which I don´t) for me there is no point in deep carry clips:
- They make a knife feel larger in pocket (I rarely say that I "hate" a knife feature, but I almost hated the deep carry clip on my Kapara: Made it feel longer in pocket than my Enduras, despite the Kapara is a shorter package in fact).
- They make it harder to retrieve the knife
- To me (totally subjective of course!) all the knives with after market deep carry clips look somehow weird and disproportioned.

For almost any knife that came with a deep carry clip from the factory, I´d get a NON deep carry after market clip...

Warstein, I think we might agree on the subject of clips more than anything else we've talked about here. Clips + mountains, anyway. :)

[autoxer]

I think the distinction I was trying to draw can still apply, and the question is which kind of pockets do your pants have? And also, what is the material?

Jeans have pockets where you insert the knife straight down, because they open from the top. Slacks have pockets where you insert the knife at an angle, because they open from the side.

I think if I were wearing my Prana Stretch Zion or Brion pants (pretty standard hiking/outdoor pants around here), I would most-prefer a wire clip such as on the Dragonfly, but not necessarily a deep cary clip. They have jean-style pockets, but the material is very lightweight and stretchy, and I find the standard spoon/hourglass clip doesn't is a bit too strong for them.

Man, who'd have thought it would get so complicated?

OK I see where you're going with that! That's helpful. And yeah, its hilarious how complicated it can get so quickly. :D

I wear Patagonia's Quandary pants, the older version (they could possibly have different pockets than the new design, not exactly sure though). The pockets are definitely cut more like a pair of jeans, with my knife inserted straight down. However, they're made from pretty lightweight and quite stretchy Nylon/Elastane, much like your Prana pants (just a slightly different Nylon/Elastane ratio). I think they are quite similar to Prana Stretch Zions, just slightly lighter-weight (from what I hear, not personal experience).

I find I'm able to get away with both clip styles pretty successfully, but I only currently have two Spydercos and both are very lightweight and smaller models. I will be interested to see how the heavier PM2 I just purchased does once it arrives.

[Wartstein]

Go ahead and laugh. These are both comfy and concealing. Deep Cary clips are a waste of money.

Hi Michael, fair to say they'd probably be nice and warm too up in the Austrian Alps. :)

Alex, I´ll certainly consider these pants for next winter! :p

/ And I finally lost count on how many times I´ve been honored by beeing "bloked" already! Always a pleasure and fun! :)

[Wartstein]

image

Come now, I'm sure Warstein is much better looking than that!

:p ... almost there, but not yet! I like Lederhosen (= traditional Austrian / Bavarian leather trousers) to end above (and not below) the knee, and, more importantly, featuring the dedicated side pocket for the "Hirschfänger" (something like "deer catcher" in English) knife that the originals almost always have (but not the one in your pic) - see HERE: viewtopic.php?t=82372&start=20#p1410790 and pic below