What pockets should Spider-man use?

Question

Before we get into the question, I'd just like to say that this isn't specifically for Spider-man, but more of a general "character who moves around a lot and finds themselves upside-down quite often". There are plenty of characters this question could be applied to, and that's where this question is coming from.

Anyway, on to the question.

What type of Pockets should Spider-Man wear on his suit?

In Spider-Man: Coming Home, the question of being able to carry things with him without needing a bag is brought up, so he thinks about installing some pockets in his suit.

But pockets wouldn't work. Hanging upside-down and swinging around will just make things fall out of them.

Zippers might be useful, but the loud sound they make when opening them might make them impractical, like with other ways of keeping pockets shut such as Velcro. Buttons would be silent, sure, but would be very time consuming to open and close, as well as the problems of them potentially falling off.

So here's the criteria:

• It must be able to be a pocket that can be closed shut like a zipper, able to keep things from falling out when hanging upside down
• It must be silent (or at least pretty quiet) to open and close
• It must be quick and easy to open and close

Answer 1

Magnets

Check this "magnetic zipper":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fvrzilGMnc
If you apply that into pockets, you will be able to have a silent and fast closing and opening option.
Of course, you will have to be very careful with your credit cards or other stuff magnetic-sensitive.

Answer 2

The sliding fasteners of modern "zip lock" freezer bags provides the means to seal the pockets shut and open them quickly and quietly.

Example of a "zip-lock" bag

This is much handier than other designs especially if the superhero (or villain) in question uses actual zip lock freezer bags bonded or otherwise attached to the costume, the bag will prevent or slow down any sort of cross contamination between the contents and the outside environment, the suit will remain dry and the plastic does not make a lot of noise.

Since the OP's implication is the suit will be worn by an individual who is very active, one caveat (for any sort of pocket) is it should not be "overfilled", since the stresses of heavy activity may overstress the zip-lock seal, or even rip the bag. As well, heavy objects attached to the suit will try to shift during vigorous motion, which will be uncomfortable for the wearer as a minimum, or could over stress the suit and cause tears at unfortunate moments. Having the hero land in front of the bad guys with a big rip in the pants just doesn't have the same effect.....

Answer 3

Turn the pocket inside out. Essentially a pouch, attached to the outside of the suit. The pocket is attached at the top, but free at the bottom to swing. When standing upright, the gravity holds the contents in. When upside-down, the pouch hangs down, and folds over the opening, closing it.

This would require no additional fasteners, and be as silent as accessing any other open pocket.

Answer 4

Prison wallet

You don't need artificial pockets when biology has already given you a natural one.

Whether it's silent or practical enough for your needs depends on your control, but that can be trained. For real.

Answer 5

Normal pockets, but with some form of elastic in the fabric and around the opening to provide pressure to keep items in when your upside down. You could also have a small fabric flap sewn over the opening to give extra resistance.
People have already mentioned magnetic fasteners, but this is Spiderman were talking about. He could make some sort of reusable "gecko tape" based off his own abilities to seal pockets and pouches

Answer 6

Pockets could be closed with a drawstring mechanism. It is light, strong, easy to make, very reliable, and silent.

Drawstrings are usually quite secure on their own. But if you want extra reassurance that it won't loosen up as you move about, you can put one of these Roly Poly Holdy Boys on the drawstring:

For faster opening you can put a small fabric tab on the outside lip of the pocket. Since the inside lip is presumably sewn to your suit, you'll only need one hand to pull on the tab to open the pocket.

So if you want to put something in your pocket:

1. Put item in pocket
2. Pull drawstring
3. (Optional) Secure drawstring with Plastic Orb of Holding

And if you want to take something out:

1. (Optional) Undo Grabby Thing (what the heck are these actually called?)
2. Pull tab away from body
3. Take item out of pocket

Answer 7

Cargopockets with Fidlock magnetic strap buckles

These can be opened very fast and rather silent by sliding them open and close a slight bit louder but very fast nearly by themselves, which can prove helpful if you want to put your equipment away as fast as possible to chase a villain. Just make sure that you position them in a way so that you will not accidently slide them open.

The pockets themselves should be similar to those of cargo pants, elevated so that they do not hinder your mobility. Slightly elastic if the size of the objects inside changes a lot to avoid movement of the content, rather stiff if it is made for a specific object so that it is easier to remove and put back.

Answer 8

Go with zippers anyway

Do zippers make a little bit of noise? yes. But this is a much less important factor than the one you are not considering, and that is catchability. Ever notice how athletes in various sports don't have pockets in their uniforms? This is because those pockets catch on things snagging both the person with the pockets and who ever is getting their fingers broken that day.

Last thing you want is for your athletic hero to be swinging through the air a bit too close to a flag pole only to get his pocket snagged sending him spinning off course toward the ground with his pants ripped open and hero junior flapping in the breeze. Does this sound improbable? In any single case it is, but heros, like athletes, have to practice everything they do thousands of times to become proficient at them, and every little thing that can go wrong eventually will. So these little snagging hazards will eventually happen.

The thing about all the other solutions so far is that the grip is either not strong enough to resist being pulled on very hard (Ziplocs, Velcro, elastic, and magnets) or they leave gaps that you can snag on even when they stay closed (buttons, Fidlocks, and drawstrings).

Zippers form a strong seal, with no gaps to snag in.

How to make them quieter

When most of us think "zipper sound" we are picturing the sound of a heavy metallic coat zipper, but some zippers are much quieter than others. A plastic zipper using smaller teeth makes a lot less noise, and can still hold up to a fair amount of abuse. Opening technique helps too. When stealth is an issue, you just cup your whole hand over the zipper and pull it open slowly. You hand will act as a sound absorber, and the slower you open a zipper the less force there is when the teeth spring out of the locked position.