This is a quick post on how I know what stuff is ‘mine’ as quickly as possible.

About 4 years ago, I was on a trip where I anticipated that everyone would have similar items.  I wanted to ensure that I could quickly, visually, identify what was mine as fast as possible.

I used brightly colored hot pink Duck Brand Duct Tape.

The pink was used on my tripods and cameras.  This can be seen in this photo from the Grand Canyon.  May 2016.

And also this image from a sunrise in Australia.  Aug 2016.

So why do I do this?  The short answer, is so that I can spot my own stuff from far away.

Very rarely have I seen anyone else use the same color to mark their things.  It was only once, when arriving in Sydney Australia that I saw other people using similar color to identify their items.

On one of my trips, I had some of the same bags as the trip leader, except mine had a large ‘M’ in pink duct tape.  At the end of the trip, while we were all somewhat tired and ready for rest, the trip leader, who had the same bag, grabbed my bag off of the bus instead of his own.  I simply said ‘Hey Gary, that is mine’, and when seeing the pink duct tape he said ‘Oh wow sorry’ and handed me my bag.  It was an honest mistake that was solved quickly by my pink duct tape marking system.

Since then, I always use the same system to mark my things.  I am frequently on trips where people tend to buy the same brands of gear, so an easy way to tell ‘that is mine’ is very, very useful.

Until next time.

-Brad