Pipes can be annoying to carry outdoors. One pocket on the way out, a ditty bag after lunch, then a log while you filter water. At the next stop, you’re digging through everything.
Pick a place that protects the pipe and makes putting it away easy. Then keep using it.
Where should you keep your pipe?
Choose a spot you can reach without unpacking your bag. The useful part is knowing where it belongs.
- The same pocket. Give it a dedicated pocket with a closure. Keep it separate from keys and other hard gear.
- The same pouch. Put the pouch in one pack compartment. A pouch that moves around still leaves you searching.
- The same clip. If the pipe or its case is designed for attachment, choose a compatible gear loop and check that the gate closes fully.
Pack the pipe empty and completely cool.
What’s the best way to keep from losing it?
Make putting it away part of finishing the break. Lunch is packed, water bottle is closed, pipe is back in its spot.
Before you shoulder your pack, check that spot and look over the log, picnic table, or camp chair you were using. It’s a small habit, but it gives you a chance to notice something missing before you’re two miles down the trail.
How do you keep it from breaking in your pack?
Give a glass pipe some padding and keep it away from hard, heavy gear. Avoid a spot where you’ll sit on it or squeeze it when tightening your pack. A padded pouch can help separate it from the rest of your kit.
Clipping a pipe outside your pack changes what it can bump into. Choose a carry point where it won’t swing against your gear or catch on brush.
Should you use a pouch or a clip?
A padded pouch offers more protection, but it also becomes another piece of gear to keep track of. Some hikers don’t mind that tradeoff. Others prefer having the pipe attached directly to their pack.
A clip gives you a consistent attachment point and leaves more of the pipe exposed. A pouch gives it coverage and takes up some room. Choose the setup you’ll actually put it back into.
Why we built The Rip Clip
For years we carried pipes in jacket pockets, backpack brain pockets, ditty bags—wherever there was room. By the next stop, we’d forgotten which place we’d used.
We wanted the pipe to have a home of its own. That’s where the idea for The Rip Clip started: a titanium smoking pipe designed around an integrated gear clip. It’s still in prototype development.
Planning a stop along the way? Our outdoor smoking etiquette guide covers finding a good spot, checking local rules, and keeping your break easy.
Follow along as we develop The Rip Clip.
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