# Am I the only guy who's never put anything in his back pants pocket? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 21, 2014, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815 "2014-12-21T12:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/21 "2014-12-22T01:01:26Z")
Front pockets work as well, and so do those little camera pouches that strap to a belt. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/22 "2014-12-22T01:02:13Z")
> [@Leaper](#): > > At least by my memory? > > I was perusing a thread about the difference between a wallet and a billfold, and all the mentions of keeping stuff in the back pocket made me think of this. Wallet in right front pocket, along with Swiss Army knife. Card case and keys in left front pocket. If I carry a list or something that goes in the back. Why would I want to sit on anything? And a pickpocket is welcome to try to get my wallet out without me noticing. Hope you don’t feel so alone now. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/23 "2014-12-22T01:33:30Z")
I refuse to carry money/credit/debit cards in my back pocket or a wallet in my back pocket fashion be damned. All that accomplishes is giving pick pockets an easy time. I wear tightish jeans most of the time and if a pick pocket wants my valuables they will have to be able to slip their hand into my front pockets and rifle around by my crotch, I’d think I would notice that. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![neofishboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/neofishboy/32/444_2.png) [@neofishboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neofishboy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/24 "2014-12-22T01:42:45Z")
I don’t even own a back pocket. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/25 "2014-12-22T01:43:26Z")
Where did you carry your slingshot? ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/26 "2014-12-22T04:05:00Z")
I hate having things in my trouser pockets at all, front or back. I carry a bag to keep my wallet, phone, handkerchief et al in. If I am wearing a jacket, my phone might go into the jacket pocket, but my wallet is too big to comfortably keep anywhere except for in my bag. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/27 "2014-12-22T04:24:00Z")
I carried my wallet in my back left pocket from about age 15 through 35 or so. Then one day, I finally realized I’d been sitting on the uncomfortable thing for 20 damned years. So I moved it to my left front pocket. I haven’t put anything in my back pocket since. Except, when I’m working around the house or on a car, I might put a tool in there for a while. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/28 "2014-12-22T04:53:22Z")
No, you’re not alone. I suppose I may have tried it once or twice as a kid just to see what all the fuss was about. It’s ridiculous in my mind that anyone would ever use a back pocket - it’s a pain in the ass (figuratively) to get things into/out of a back pocket, and it’s a pain in the ass (literally) to sit on. Plus, I’ve been told that pickpockets have an easier time on a back pocket. As a man, I already have two pockets in the front of my pants and at least three pockets in my jackets (two on the sides and one inside). I don’t have enough stuff to fill up those five pockets - if I really needed more space, I’d go with a fanny pack before I’d start using the back pockets. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/29 "2014-12-22T05:07:54Z")
What’s all this about sitting on it? The back pocket is maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the top of the pants. To be able to sit on my wallet I’d have to sag my pants so low that half of my butt would be exposed. I’ve kept my wallet in my back pocket for at least 40 years, and when I sit it’s behind me, not under. And it’s a heck of a lot harder to get things out of my front pockets when I’m sitting than it is to pull out my wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/30 "2014-12-22T07:07:09Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > What’s all this about sitting on it? The back pocket is maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the top of the pants. To be able to sit on my wallet I’d have to sag my pants so low that half of my butt would be exposed. I’ve kept my wallet in my back pocket for at least 40 years, and when I sit it’s behind me, not under. > > And it’s a heck of a lot harder to get things out of my front pockets when I’m sitting than it is to pull out my wallet. :dubious: Just how high-waisted do you wear your pants? I just looked at all the pants I own and almost all of them had the pockets 4-5 inches below the top. Like [this](http://levi.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pLEVI1-2202803_alternate4_t330x400.jpg), to pick a random example from Levi’s. ---
**Author:** ![seodoa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@seodoa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seodoa)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/31 "2014-12-22T08:20:14Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > :dubious: Just how high-waisted do you wear your pants? I just looked at all the pants I own and almost all of them had the pockets 4-5 inches below the top. > > Like [this](http://levi.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pLEVI1-2202803_alternate4_t330x400.jpg), to pick a random example from Levi’s. Presumably he and my grandmother shop in the same stores. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/32 "2014-12-22T11:35:52Z")
I may put a piece of paper or a letter in my back pocket if I’m carrying one while wearing a t-shirt. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/33 "2014-12-22T14:56:46Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > It also makes it harder to pickpocket if it’s in the front pocket. Maybe harder, but not impossible. I had just arrived in Madrid, looking forward to a 3-week vacation. I was wearing shorts with a front pocket that had a zipper. I went to an ATM to get Euros, put the money in my wallet, and put the wallet in my front pocket, closed the zipper, then went downstairs to the Metro. From the ATM to the Metro, someone unzipped the pocket and removed my wallet. End of vacation. ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/34 "2014-12-22T15:20:35Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > [COLOR=“Silver”]_“The back pocket is maybe 1 1/2 to 2 inches below the top of the pants …”_ [/COLOR] > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > [COLOR=“SlateGray”]_“how high-waisted do you wear your pants? I just looked at all the pants I own and almost all of them had the pockets 4-5 inches below the top …”_ [/COLOR][INDENT] > [@seodoa](#): > > [COLOR=“DimGray”]_“Presumably he and my grandmother shop in the same stores.”_ 😉 [/COLOR][/INDENT] everyone s’got their own prefs … i prefer the look 'n feel of wranglers over levis … hence i lose out on some reinforcements that levi offers its consumers. and, as a result … the jeans get replaced twice as often. :smack: guess money-clip in front pocket rules. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/35 "2014-12-22T15:31:17Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > \*\*Am I the only guy who’s never put anything in his back pants pocket? > > \*\*You may be the only guy I’ve come across who hasn’t. But probably not the only guy _ever_.I keep my wallet in the back left (my left). And a plastic comb in the back right. > [http://www.photos-public-domain.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/purple-plastic-comb-with-handle.jpg](http://www.photos-public-domain.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/purple-plastic-comb-with-handle.jpg) Did you just…post a picture of a plastic comb? In case what? We hadn’t seen one before? I am bemused. My SO wears his wallet (money clip really) in his front pocket only. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/36 "2014-12-22T15:42:17Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > :dubious: Just how high-waisted do you wear your pants? I just looked at all the pants I own and almost all of them had the pockets 4-5 inches below the top. > > Like [this](http://levi.imageg.net/graphics/product_images/pLEVI1-2202803_alternate4_t330x400.jpg), to pick a random example from Levi’s. They sit at my [natural waistline](http://www.primermagazine.com/2013/spend/pants-rise-explained-and-why-low-rise-isnt-always-your-best-choice), the same as most people. The crotch would keep me from pulling them any higher even if I wanted to. If I pull my any of my pants down far enough to sit on my wallet I have some major butt crack showing. In most of my slacks the top of the hip pockets are just below the belt loops. I’m wearing jeans right now and the pockets are a little lower in them, but still not enough to sit on my wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/37 "2014-12-22T15:59:01Z")
Keys in left front, change in right front, wallet in left rear, hankie in right rear. It’s been that way for as long as I can remember. My wallet isn’t usually fat enough to bother me being in the back. If it does, I clean it out. Sometimes when traveling I will keep the wallet in front for safety, but where I live it’s not normally an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/38 "2014-12-22T16:08:58Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Did you just…post a picture of a plastic comb? In case what? We hadn’t seen one before? I am bemused. I suspect he wanted to make sure we were picturing the right comb. Only losers carry a regular comb in their back pocket. I’ve always kept my wallet in my back pocket. I must have an insensitive butt. ---
**Author:** ![albino\_manatee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/albino_manatee/32/2_2.png) [@albino\_manatee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/albino_manatee)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/39 "2014-12-22T16:53:00Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > _“Keys in left front, change in right front …”_ i use the fifth-pocket for keys\*(1house,1car)\* … that way, if hole develops, keys will fall into the right-pocket … instead of down the legs and into someone’s sewer grate. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815/40 "2014-12-22T18:03:31Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > They sit at my [natural waistline](http://www.primermagazine.com/2013/spend/pants-rise-explained-and-why-low-rise-isnt-always-your-best-choice), the same as most people. The crotch would keep me from pulling them any higher even if I wanted to. If I pull my any of my pants down far enough to sit on my wallet I have some major butt crack showing. In most of my slacks the top of the hip pockets are just below the belt loops. I’m wearing jeans right now and the pockets are a little lower in them, but still not enough to sit on my wallet. ^This. I’m sitting as I type, wallet in back pocket. The lower edge of the wallet barely brushes the chair seat. By leaning slightly forward I can remove the wallet and replace it. To get it out of the front pocket I would pretty much have to stand up. It has to be a wallet for me, though I always go with a slim line model. Aside from cash I aso carry a drivers license, carry permit, insurance card, corp. credit card, debit card, pictures, etc. Way too much for a clip of any kind. A man purse or fanny pack is right out. I can’t imagine anything more uncomfortable and in the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-the-only-guy-whos-never-put-anything-in-his-back-pants-pocket/707815.md?page=3)