Saw this popping up on facebook from BMX legend Eddy King, not sure if link will work here, but food for thought anyway?

MY ACCIDENT : I wanted to share some details of my accident 18 months ago – which left me paralyzed with T11/T12…

Posted by Eddy King on Monday, April 20, 2015

Scary stuff! I have a pump, shock pump and hard tools in the backpack normally. Will worry about these now, making me think about the roady too – recently started to take a pump in my back pocket.

Scary indeed, glad I bought an evoc fr trail pack with a back protector

[edit] wrong to speculate.[/edit]

Having said that, I’ll look at how I load my bag.

i moved away from pump in pocket on road bike for this very reason, infact, all ‘hard’ objects, like multitool etc.

On the mtb I have always assumed, maybe wrongly, that the camelbak water bladder and the pack itself would cushion these items, and I do have a pump, a shock pump, multitool, leaterman etc all in there all the time…

Wasnt there someone on here who hurt their back badly from the fill cap on their hydration pack? I always place the filler away from me and only put tools in the smaller front pocket and clothes or squishy food in the main part due to worry about this very thing.

Poor guy.

Hmm, definitely food for thought. I have pumps and mini tools in my Camelbak amongst other essential items.
I have been looking at the Evoc’s with back protectors for a little while but never justified the cost as I have a bag already.

Evoc FR Trail Blackline just ordered… 😯

I should be on commission with evoc!

Nearly broke my femur at Antur as I had my van key on its key ring in my thigh pocket, the key ring is a miniature Hope Hub, same shape effectively as the end of that Marazochi shock pump handle. It rolled deeply into my thigh muscles when I stocked it landing hard on it…….the bruises were rigid and swollen for a week and bloody sore…..lesson learnt on the uplift days with no pack, key will be placed against hard armour somehow….plus I’ve invested in some armoured shorts!

Just about to order one of the new Camelbak Kudu backpacks, which has an inbuilt spine/back protector and offers an alternative to Evoc and POC

As the post above points out, it’s probably a very good idea to not put keys/phone/etc in short pockets too…something I need to stop doing asap

I haven’t been able to get on and off my bike properly since good Friday. Not injured seriously, but slipped, walking down the Ranger Path on Snowdon.
Had my 35ltr rucksack on my back.
Conditions were appalling at the summit, it was cold, windy and wet. As a result I was wearing all the soft stuff which had been in my pack.
Still in there were a stainless steel flask and a good quality, strong sandwich box, which had in it a lovely , fresh, rock hard Granny Smith.
My right foot slipped off a rock and the left one never hit the ground. I landed , hard , on my back .
Sandwich box shattered top to bottom. Flask no longer stands up on its own . Granny Smith pulped.
Minor injuries unit suggests damaged intercostal muscles , poss broken rib.
Still hurts to take a full breath. Hurts to cough and have trouble sleeping.
Feels like I’ve been kicked in the kidneys.
I was only hill walking . Lord knows how a broken back must affect you. It’s made me think.

Safety first! Chances of landing on a pump in your pocket and dying are NOT WORTH THE RISK

Be safe. Wear appropriate PPE!!!!!

If they could ride a horse into battle wearing it, you can easily mince your way down a blue route and be in great condition to drive your Passat back to your 3 bed semi with only minimal chances of dying to death from boredom!

^^ Absolutely fekin useless without the chain mail under suit ….Ffs please!

My better half cracked a vertebrae following a fall from a ladder in a cave. She was carrying a tackle bag on her back that contained a rigid plastic water proof container and it was that that did the damage as she landed flat on her back. Luckily it was only the bone that was damaged and she was able to wear a brace for a few weeks and has no lasting damage. Could have been a whole lot worse though

I cartwheeled down Minton batch 10 years ago, smashed everything in my camelback, bent pump, burst bladder etc, broke my collarbone.