Commonly overlooked mundane items?

[hargoyle]

I was curious about the mundane, non-magical items that often get overlooked in Pathfinder. One of my favorites is Wrist Sheath, spring loaded. Costs only 5 gps! Great for stashing your wand of CLW until you need it! It's like having an extra magic item slot!

Any other forgotten great gear out there waiting to get into action?

[Lamontius]

If you think spring loaded wrist sheathes are forgotten then I am guessing either you do not play PFS or that you do so in a very small area

For good mundane and/or alchemical items, I find these useful:
Smoke Pellet: Smog
Smelling Salts
Earplugs
Smoked Goggles
Rope-runner
Bag of marbles
Keros oil

[Bandw2]

rocks

[hargoyle]

@Lamontius

You are correct, I don't get to play PFS very often :(

BTW, can you store a rod in a wrist sheath?

[Lamontius]

Expect table variation

[Lorrraine]

Whips.

Most players ignore the whip unless they have a fairly specific trip or magus build in mind. Even without proficiency or full bab, hitting a paralyzed or unconscious target is fairly easy. A whip has a 15 foot range and performing a drag maneuver can get a teammate out of any number of dangerous situations.

[demontroll]

Get a club (free), some rope(1 gp), and a Badger (15gp). Using Animal Handling, tie the badger to the end of the club. Now you have a truly vicious and intimidating weapon.

[Guardianlord]

Iron Spikes are cheap, easy to make into cold iron/silver for low cost, you carry a ton of them and they have 101 uses. Need a light source? Cast light on an iron spike, then hammer it into a wall. Pitons are even better for a higher price (a loop for rope).

Flour, cheap way to find invisibles, see if someone/something is moving around your camp (footprints), make pancakes. Or use chalk, also good for writing.

Book and pen, makes note keeping by players less meta, plus paper and pens are required for animal messenger, druids always forget this.

Oil, cheap way to make fire traps (when paired with tindertwig), good for thieves trying to break into a home and need to silence squeaky hinges, can create a (temporary) flaming weapon, make a surface slippery, and use it to fuel a lantern. Very versatile.

A whetstone, 15 minutes of work for a single +1 to damage on non magical blades? How long does it take to sharpen 172 Shuriken?

String, and a bell, and 2 iron spikes, instant alarm. Hang bells on door handles, on your belongings at night, etc. A simple lock is cheap, and can hold a dungeon door closed while the party rests, definitely overlooked.

My mage never leaves home without a concealing pocket, enough for 1 spellbook, a component, or maybe a wand. I have never seen anyone else use it.

Everyone thinks spells can solve everything, and then the low level casters run out of spells and the mundane item users shine!

[Deighton Thrane]

I'm always surprised how many people don't have a crowbar or a grappling hook. But for less obvious stuff, vermin repellant, alchemical grease. Skeleton key can help a lot if there aren't any rogue-ish type players.

[blahpers]

Never. Forget. Chalk.

[Shalafi]

A mirror (or similar). Its always useful to see whats behind the next corner, and let you be spruce enough (prestidigitation helps here too) to charm the princess after rescue her.

[Imbicatus]

A sling. It's cheap, everyone can use one, and it's good to have a backup ranged weapon.

A net. Even if you aren't proficient, it targets touch AC and entangled is a great debuff.

[Hmm]

What a great discussion! I will have to purchase a spring-loaded wrist band for one of my characters, provided it's not too heavy.

Also look at: Good and Cheap Equipment, Part I and Part II.

I got a ton of ideas from those two blogs.

Hmm

[Moto Muck]

A Handy Haversack can hold 120lbs of stuff- when I first get one, I virtually always fill it up w/ about 60-80lbs worth of cheap junk- a lot of the stuff I list isn't really overlooked and has rather obvious uses- a lot of players have this stuff on their character sheet in some form or another but I'm always surprised at how many players just have their sword, shield, armor or spell book written down

Rope- climbing, tying things up or together, lassoing and making traps immediately come to mind (add grappling hook here for the climb)- can be cut down to threads for a fuse or string I suppose- also bondage for those S&M D&D sessions :0

chain- see rope for most uses except sturdier and heavier- also the bondage stuff, see whip

oil- fire solves a lot of problems in pathfinder- and it silences hinges and can make floors slippery- I suppose you can also oil up before grappling or showing off your 20 STR muscles

dust/powder/sand- use on invisibles- also lay down to track someone or see if they came through or blow/throw it someone's eyes

chalk- write stuff and make powder

charcoal- write stuff and it can help fuel fires

torch- always have a torch- not just for light- its a fuel source and a weapon on the fly- also broken down into wooden stakes for traps and vampires

knife- ALWAYS carry a knife- virtually every carried one in the medieval period as a tool or eating utensil so it could often be overlooked as a weapon

marbles- quasi-trip attack or trap- you could also play the actual game

net- as someone mentioned above a very formidable weapon if you need to capture someone alive and unharmed- can also be used to trap, hunt and poentially sleep in a tree up high

bags- more room for loot- need I say more?- can be cut up for cloth

mirror- uses are obvious- see around corners and as a signal- scying device for casties- also incredibly useful for your 20 CHA character

periscope- see mirror but less exposure to being seen- very fragile though

crowbar- can be used to open doors, chests and skulls

portable battering ram- see crowbar but lets you bring a friend

acid- dissolve stuff

vials/bottles- can count the number of times group encountered magic pool or fountain etc and I was able to scoop some extra doses up- also used to scoop reagants like troll blood, dragons blood etc...

scissors- cut up stuff or stab someone- just don't run with them

other simple tools- hammer, saw, drill etc... (its not a mundane item but I recommend every player but a Travelers Any Tool if it is avaialable- super cheap and infinitely useful)

whip- outside of its uses as an actual weapon- just going to say Calistria- see rope and chains- also the S&M stuff

string/twine- component for traps, alarm with bells, tie stuff together

alcohol- solvent, fuel for fire(if high enough concentration), antiseptic, barter, information gathering, impromptu party

tindertwig/flint and steel- see oil above- cannot emphasize how much fire simply solves problems in many games

candle- light, earplugs, noseplugs, wax sealant

getting late but other notables are compass, glue, iron stakes (w/ hammer), wooden stakes, block and tackle, signal whistle (I can barely whistle w/ my lips in real life), ink, magnet, perfume (throw off scent and diplomacy bump), club (see torch), pole or long stick (for poking stuff, carrying stuff on it, pole vaulting or just plain putting heads on it), and canvas (tent, bandage and fuel source to name a few)

really theses items get better the more inventive and innovative a player is and a GM allows- watch some Mcgyver- even if you can't think of a use maybe a another party member will and you'll have the stuff available- Boyscout motto: ALWAYS BE PREPARED- you can never be too prepared- most of this stuff is pretty light weight, super cheap (or even free) and can easily fit in a hversack