My Everyday Carry Kit (EDC)

Everyday Carry Kit

Since my Everyday Carry Kit (EDC Kit for short) was such a big hit on Facebook the other day, I decided to step up and write a more detailed post about it. A few words about what an Everyday Carry Kit is and what it is not. An EDC Kit is a small and easily portable kit that includes gear and supplies that makes my day easier. An Everyday Carry Kit is not a Get Home Bag or a Bug Out Bag (check out Build the Perfect Bug Out Bag for more on Bug Out Bags). It won’t get me through the Zombie Apocalypse or even a freak blizzard (it can help!) but it does form the basis of a more comprehensive disaster/preparedness kit

Everyday Carry Kit: The Bag

When it came time to pick a container for my Everyday Carry Kit I reflexively thought of a Maxpedition Medium Fatty Pocket Organizer. Maxpedition makes killer gear that is overbuilt and can take a beating. The Fatty Organizer is the perfect size for holding a well thought out EDC Kit and will take all that I can throw at it. The Organizer has plenty of storage inside and the elastic bands readily hold my gear and supplies in place.

Everyday Carry Kit: Tools

The basis for my Everyday Carry Kit is some carefully chosen tools. I picked the tools included in my kit to cover a variety of bases. I won’t be able to rebuild an engine with it’s contents but they have gotten me out of a few sticky situations in the past. The tools I include are:

• A knife. It is hard to build a kit and not include some sort of cutting implement. A knife is one of mankind’s oldest tools and has a multitude of uses. I’m never without one in my pockets so the knife I have in my kit is a back-up blade. In fact since I’m traveling pretty light these days with a small knife the one in my EDC kit is a larger Ontario Knives RAT-1 . It is a great blade and at 35 bucks it is a heck of a value as well.
• A Multi-Tool. If I was building a kit 30  years ago I would have included a Swiss Army Knife but as great as they are they have been supplanted by the modern mutli-tool. A good multi-tool offers a bunch of different options and the better ones are damn near pocket toolboxes. I carry a small one with me at all times but for harder use and bigger tasks I’ve got a Leatherman Charge TTi in my Everyday Carry Kit. The Charge is up for pretty much everything you can throw at it. If the Charge is a bit to rich for your blood the Leatherman Wave is just as capable and costs a bit less!
• A Mini Prybar. This is the piece of the EDC kit that raises the most eyebrows. Someone actually told me I should worry about carrying “Burglar’s Tools”. I promise I’ve never used it for anything nefarious! I started carrying one in my kit a few years ago after snapping the end off of a beloved Buck knife. Now I know that prying with a knife is a big no-no but lets face it sometimes it happens and sometimes bad things happen. I immediately picked up a Gerber Shard for my keyring and put a small prybar into my Everyday Carry Kit. The small prybar currently in my kit is a cheapo bar from Home Depot. It really is in there for the occasional thing that I might need to pry so I don’t have a fancy “un-obtanium” piece of gear. I’d rather save a few bucks here and plow the money into a better bag or multi-tool.

Everyday Carry Kit: Light and Batteries

Another important building block of a good EDC Kit is a source of light. I carry single AA or AAA flashlight on me most of the time (check out the trick one I’ve been testing lately). Being able to see what you are doing comes in pretty darn handy. Whether it is changing a tire or rummaging under the seat for your kid’s favorite toy a light helps get the job done. I like to have a more serious light tucked into my Everyday Carry Kit.

• A Flashlight. I have a SureFire G2X tucked into my EDC Kit. The extra performance a light like this brings to the table is well worth the cost when you need it. The CR123A batteries that the Surefire uses are perfect for a set it and forget flashlight in an Everyday Carry Kit, they last upwards of 10 years and don’t leak like an alkaline battery and they don’t suffer from self discharge like the Ni-Mh rechargeables.
• Extra Batteries. In my kit I carry extra batteries for both my pocket flashlight and the flashlight in my EDC kit. I’m just starting to get into re-chargeable batteries  for my EDC flashlight and so far I love the Panasonic eneloop pro.
  

 Everyday Carry Kit: Boo-Boo’s And Such. . .

As you can see I run pretty light in the medical department with my EDC Kit. I know it has become fashionable to have a “blow-out kit”, an Israeli bandage, or 5  pounds of Celox but I have gotten by fine with my little itty bitty boo-boo kit. I am lucky to work for a company that keeps well stocked first aid kits in all of their trucks and I’ve got kits in my Jeep, my Wife’s mini-van, and at home so I’ve never felt the need to over stock my Everyday Carry Kit. I keep:

•  Band-Aids. These never go out of style. As a Lineman and a Dad it seems like somebody is always leaking a little bit of the red stuff.
• Triple Antibiotic Ointment. This goes hand in hand with the band-aids.
• Hand Sanitizer. I am far from a germ-a-phobe, but sometimes even I can get grossed out enough to reach for sanitizer. Plus in a pinch it is highly flammable and can help start a fire.
• Benadryl. Unfortunately I have become allergic to bee stings, so aside from my Epi-pen I keep a bit of Benadryl in my EDC Kit.

Everyday Carry Kit: Back-up Power

A Smartphone is an amazing resource to have but they can power hungry little buggers. I’ve found that having a way to charge mine on the go is great.

• Anker External Battery Bank. It might only be about the size of a tube of Chapstick but it packs 3350 mAh of power. This gives one full charge for most Android phones and a bit more for an iPhone.

Everyday Carry Kit: Fire Starting

I carry a few items to make a fire in my EDC Kit. Now having fire making stuff may seem to violate my common sense rule when it comes to preparedness, but being able to create some flame comes in handy from time to time. Aside from the obvious and well known uses I’ve used fire to routinely unfreeze stubborn locks in the winter and to light a good cigar from time to time. If you do get lost in the wilderness or the SHTF being able to get a fire going will be pretty high up there on your needs and wants list. Besides lighters, matches, and tinder are some of the least costly preparedness items out there, so stock up!

Everyday Carry Kit: Sundries

I also carry a few things in my EDC Kit that aren’t so easily grouped. I call these my sundries. Mostly because sundries is a pretty cool word and I think it should make a come back. Consider this doing my part.

• Duct Tape. A little bit of duct tape can go a long way. I’ve used this smidge that I carry to hang targets at the range and to tape myself back together after a pretty nasty knife incident (always cut away from yourself…you’ve been warned). There are even books about it’s myriad uses. 6 feet or so carries nicely and is enough to be useful.
• Bandana. Another one of those crazy useful (and cheap!) items that should be in an kit that you design! Wipe sweat…check, stop blood loss…check, makeshift tourniquet…check, keep the sun off of your head…it has you covered, literally! IT can be torn up to make trail markers, burned to get a fire going, looks nifty tied around your head if you want to go roller skating, and if you need to blow your nose it can handle that too (carrying 2 is optimal). Get a few and stash them everywhere.
• A pen. I still write stuff down. Call me a caveman but Evernote drives me nuts, plain old notes work for me.
• Chapstick. Because chapped lips suck. No super secret ninja reason.
• A Knife Sharpener.  Knives are important, knives get dull. This this bad-boy keeps them sharp. It is light and inexpensive. Get 3 they are great to have around.

Everyday Carry Kit: Wrap-Up

This in a nut shell is my EDC Kit. It forms the basis of my larger EDC Bag which I’ll show in the future. It isn’t meant as a do it all survival kit but it gets me through my daily routine with aplomb!

Check out some of these other posts for further reading:

Best Practices: The Every Day Carry Bag aka EDC

Everyday carry (EDC) gear – what I carry

Everyday Carry Gear – The Megalist of EDC Items

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