I did the same thing with old pill bottles. I slid one in the loop on the shoulder strap on my backpack and thought "That's not going to come out". I got to my tree stand to find the bottle was missing. So I got home filled up another pill bottle, put it in the same loop and turned the back pack upside down, shook it, wiggled it and did everything I could think of. The pill bottle didn't move. Next time I went hunting, I climbed up got set up, reached for some milk weed and the bottle was gone. I don't use that loop anymore.
Okay, I know I'm gonna sound anal about handling milkweed, but if there's a good reason for doing something a certain way, then it ain't being anal.
I have a long history of using milkweed and I've tried all sorts of ways to handle it. My method has evolved thru trial and error into what I feel is the best way.
In the very beginning I just shoved a pod in my pocket. That plan didn't last long because the pods open and all the floaters become a mess in the pocket, not to mention that they are damaged and wasted.
Then I tried the container method. It just doesn't make any sense to me to remove them from their perfect little cocoon that's the size of my thumb and stuff them into another container that's twice as large. Meanwhile the floaters get damaged and don't fly as well.
So I went back to the pod in the pocket but I added the rubber band. Problem solved, but the system still wasn't perfect.
I can't tell you how many times the "pod in the pocket" ended up being the "pod on the ground"...20 feet down.
So I added the clip and I haven't dropped a pod in 8 years.
But there's another good reason for the clip. I can release floaters one handed. With a container, you need one hand to grab and hold the bottle and pop the lid (possibly dropping the lid) and the other hand to grab a floater to release it. That's twice as much movement and both hands are occupied.
With the clip, I can have the pod located just outside my
right pocket...and there's a couple reasons for that location.
1st... I usually have my right hand in my pocket to keep my fingers warm (I shoot fingers with a tab). I barely have any movement to slip just one hand out of the pocket and pinch a floater from the pod that's hanging right there. (And the pod on the right side will never interfere with bow string clearance.)
2nd...The reason I don't keep the pod next to my left pocket is because I may be holding or reaching for my bow. I want to be able to pluck a floater with my right fingers while I'm holding my bow in my left hand. My draw hand that's pinching a floater is just a couple inches away from grabbing my bow string...once again, less movement. And the reason for that is that I'm often releasing floaters as deer are approaching. I have my bow ready, but I may also worry about the deer that I may want to shoot possibly getting down wind. I might have a couple (or more) openings on my down wind-ish side. I want to know exactly where "down wind" is when deer are approaching. Knowing where down-wind was 10 minutes earlier when I last released a floater doesn't necessarily mean that's where down wind still is. Knowing exactly where I risk getting winded can mean all the difference in which shot the deer presents that I may choose to take. Yeah, it's nice to be able to wait for that perfect quartering away shot, but sometimes waiting until the deer walks another 5 yards will put him in my scent stream.
So, am I being anal? I don't think so...it's a system based on logic and practicality.
Let's not forget the real reason behind why we want wind detectors. If we don't learn and understand wind patterns we're often going to choose the wrong stands, and we're gonna educate more deer more often.
And even if you believe that your odor control is bomb-proof (which is unlikely but it might very well be), understanding wind patterns will help better understand and predict deer patterns .
Wind indicators are essential gear. And there's no better wind indicator than milkweed right out of the pod.