Shove-it pocket at a glance
- Closure
- None, that is the point
- Material
- Stretch mesh or solid stretch woven
- Best for
- Wet or filthy things
What it is
It's the least engineered pocket on the pack and quite possibly the most used. A panel of stretch mesh or woven fabric across the front, open at the top, no closure. You shove things in. That's the whole design.
Why zipless is the point
What makes it work is that using it costs nothing. A zip means stopping, taking the pack off, or at minimum a two-handed fumble behind your own back. A shove-it pocket takes a shed rain shell at the moment you shed it, which is the difference between a jacket that goes back in the pack and a jacket tied round your waist for six hours.
Where the wet things go
It's also where wet things go. A soaked rain cover, a filthy footprint, a damp tent fly you struck in drizzle: none of them belong inside with your sleeping bag, and the front pocket keeps them outside where air can get at them.
What this means when you're choosing
- Whether it stretches enough to take a rain shell without a fight
- A drainage point at the bottom, since this pocket collects water
- Compression straps crossing over it, which stop things bouncing out on a descent
The common mistake
Trusting it with anything you can't lose
There's no closure, and on steep scrambling or a fast descent things migrate upwards and out. Phones and car keys have a habit of leaving from here. Put those in a lid or hipbelt pocket.
Common questions
What should go in a shove-it pocket?
Anything wet, dirty or needed in a hurry: rain shell, gloves, map, the tent fly, a rain cover. Nothing valuable, because it can and does fall out.
Is stretch mesh or solid fabric better?
Mesh drains and dries faster and holds more; solid fabric lasts longer against rock and brush. Fastpacking and ultralight packs mostly use stretch woven fabric as a compromise.