Originally Posted by sch
Large wallets and heavy belts especially with equipment hanging off, can put pressure on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve, a fairly superficial nerve that goes to the lateral thigh on the frontward side of the buttock. This can be painful when compressed for a long time and mimic sciatica. The sciatic nerve is deep to the gluteus/buttock muscle and is most commonly compressed by hypertrophic ligaments and disc bulging in the lower lumbar spine. Sciatica tends to be chronic, lat femoral cutaneous neuropathy is resolved by getting rid of or moving the heavy belt or wallet.
Steve
Good start, but there is way more to the subject than that and the internet is a bad case to get that extra advice. See someone who's got the training to deal with these problems if you want to get to the cause of the problem and solve it. Because a little knowledge can be a bad thing.