Pocket Overflow
Let's talk pocket carry. Mine is a phone, keys, a wallet, and a Victorinox MiniChamp. 90% of my outings are short: kids' pickup and drop-off, grocery store, or jiu-jitsu practice. I have minimal needs—almost no needs. My MiniChamp is an insurance policy—wide coverage and low fidelity.
Most people look at small slings as pocket dump—a replacement for normal pockets with a spot for the phone and a spot for the wallet and a spot for the knife and a dedicated loop for the pen. They want everything consolidated in one place. It feels like control.
I think about small slings as pocket overflow. It's like another wearable pocket. Your usual pocket carry stays in your pockets unless you're wearing sweatpants or shorts that don't lend themselves to usual pocket carry. This means you don't need lots of organization in your small sling. It's just another pocket.
The Matador Speed Stash is a special version of this idea. It's attached to your backpack strap, sits on your chest, holds the shit you'd have to take off your backpack to grab. Still pocket overflow, just integrated into the carry you're already running rather than a separate bag decision. It's like a super small sling that you don't have to be annoyed by because the strap is between you and your backpack.
The three layers:
On-body carry: Phone, keys, wallet, and a knife. Pants pockets, or Speed Stash when you're already wearing a backpack and you need a little more quick access than your pockets provide. Pockets are quick access. I'm not sure why people hate their pockets so fucking much.
Pocket overflow: Stuff that doesn't fit in your pockets but doesn't need a whole bag. Refraction Sling or Speed Stash territory. One to two liters and minimal structure. Avoid over-pocketed and overbuilt bags.
Minimum viable bag: Smallest and least organized bag that solves the actual problem. Don't bring along more bag than the situation calls for.
No redundancies. No over-pocketing. No wasted space.
Most folks? They get caught thinking they have to solve for every possibility. You need to solve the problem you have. Not the imagined ones.
That's my carry framework.