I just ran across this site: Everyday Carry Basically, it's a site of pictures of what people carry with them on a daily basis. I have to admit, when I first went there, I thought it was a fucking catalogue or online store, because more than a few of the pictures look like pro layouts. I just ran across a self-professed academic (troll?) question the premise. And the Site Editor responded: I will admit that the gadget/tool freak in me lusts after some of those things posted. I have a crap-load of various knives and gadgets like that, but would never dream of posting on the site. I get the feeling that most of them are Mall Ninja wannabes. FOCUS: Discuss the site and the various submissions. ALT-FOCUS: Go ahead. Post your own EDC. You know you want to.
It's...so beautiful. I wish I could have written that myself. Did he perhaps leave contact information? I should like to purchase this gentleman a libation. TACTICAL FLASHLIGHTS AND TITANIUM SPORKS! That is fucking poetry. The only way that site would be better is if they could resurrect Desmond Llewelyn and have him recite each of the entries as if he were provisioning James Bond. "Now Bond, this small item may look like an ordinary tactical flashlight, but if you squeeze here you will note that the back opens to reveal a small but effective titanium spork. Not quite as good as a full-size stainless, but lighter and useful if you find yourself in an unfortunate situation with a fruit cocktail." My guess on site demographics: 25%: Mall ninjas. 25%: Ex-military/law-enforcement longing for the glory days. 20%: Guys that work in a warehouse or shipping/receiving and have to open shit all day. 15%: Preppers with a tinge of OCD. 10%: Best Buy / Future Shop "Loss Prevention Associates." 5%: Vigilante superheroes Honestly I can never be one of these "preparation as a lifestyle" people because I could never decide which equally-low-probability events to be prepared for. For example, it's about equally likely that I will have to remove a golf ball from a beached whale's blowhole and have to deliver twins in an elevator during a power outage. Should I carry forceps, a retractor, what? More importantly, what KIND of retractor? Too many choices. What's interesting is that I can tell a lot about what these guys worry about just by looking at the shit they carry. It's remarkably similar from person to person: What if I am alone, in complete darkness, in an underwater cave, and I desperately need to know what time it is? What if I am faced with a sealed cardboard box and the only device to cut through the tape is in an adjoining room? What if I need to stab somebody, but only a little bit? What if I kill a bear with my bare hands, and then need to skin, gut, and clean it without walking back to the truck? How can I check my fantasy football scores while I am on the shitter? Well, good luck with your EDC. Don't buy the Illudium-Q235 Total Wilderness Spork, though - the Skamco T1550 Eddie Bauer edition is coming out next month and the grip is FAR more ergonomic IMHO.
Why do so many of these guys carry flashlights and like 4 pens? Do they think the sun is going to go out and pens will cease to exist? Jebus, when I fly, our vests come with a ton of survival stuff: Ka-bar (10" knife) PRC-19 (emergency radio) 4 qt fresh bagged water flashlight for night flights and signaling Mirror Strobe light Pen Flares Smoke Grenade HABD (Helo Aircrew Breathing Device: A Mini scuba tank in case we go down in the water) Survival inflatable vest We also carry a bunch of flight publications depending on our route of flight, like maps, approach maps, emergency books, etc. Everyday stuff is my car key, sunglasses, phone and wallet. I used to carry a knife, but stopped.
I'm pretty sure that the Discovery Channel and/or James Franco have proven that all you really need is a knife and two hefty testicles to make it out of any situation alive.
I never leave home without it: Thanks for relinking the mall ninja page, there goes two hours of my life again. I thought itd be hilarious to turn into a movie but then they ruined that chance by making Observe and Report which I think was largely based on the concept. I seriously wanted to buy a Larue Mount for my AR15 just because they threw in a free "tactical beverage entry device" ie a bottle opener. It is friggin awesome. I have the bottle opener from Tuckers tour on my key chain and it is the only survival tool I carry at all times. edit: My favorite line by the poster on the MallNinja site. I fucking die every time I read it.
Alt Focus: Camera's out of batteries at the moment, but I carry these two all the time: (Top one) How often do I actually use my EDC? At least once a day, though it's hard to quantify it. They are very useful in construction. I use it so much and it has become so natural that asking how much I use it is akin to asking me how many times I blinked. I almost feel naked when I notice at least one of those is not in my right pocket.
My phone has a flashlight on it, so I stopped carrying a mini maglite with me years ago. And I used to have a knife on me at all times, not for defending myself (If shit is going down, I plan to bravely run away), but in case I have to actually cut something to free myself or someone else. Or, god forbid, I have to clean a caster wheel of loose string and gunk in the wheel. I honestly think half the time I've ever used my Swiss knife, it's the saw blade being used to free string from caster wheels. Works amazingly well though. THIS IS NOT FOR KILLING PEOPLE. At least not every day.
Alt-focus: I have my CCW in Virginia (because our gun laws fucking rule) and used to carry all the time. When I did, I carried my Glock 23 in a Comp-Tac IWB holster (strong side), one extra mag on my belt (weak side), and a Streamlight in my left pocket (weak side). However, I haven't been going to the range more than once a month now and haven't attended any sort of serious shooting school (Larry Vickers, Magpull, etc) in over a year, so I see carrying as irresponsible without regular practice. As a result, my Glock now lives in my glove compartment and rarely comes out. There are a lot of legit people who conceal carry and know what the fuck they are doing. Unfortunately, most of the mall-ninja types fuck it up for us by acting like immature retards with a god complex.
Focus: Be as prepared as you feel necessary. I mean I was trained in Boy Scouts until I got my Eagle Scout that you should "Always Be Prepared" and it's something that I can't argue against today. Sure, some people take it very seriously and have the tools to defend the shit out of themselves (maybe not the training, but many definitely do), but they feel the need and can equip themselves however they see fitting. That's the highlight of what I see in that blog, otherwise the posts would just be photos of wallets and phone covers and sturdy watches with big, awkward flashlights. However, there is always the chance of an event may occur where such tools would be beneficial, maybe necessary for an advantage. Anti-Focus: Alright, I'll contribute. This is what I carried every single weekend while on the job this summer. (From left to right): A notebook with a sharpie for staying organized and marking styrofoam coolers (this was before the smartphone entered my life), a lighter for starting stubborn grills and stuff, bubblegum (always had it since cutting weight in wrestling), lip balm, my keys on a light carabiner, my wallet, eyedrops for my contacts (after standing over a grill for 6 hours), a pen for the notebook and writing/signing things, a Bucktool for opening and/or fixing almost anything, and finally my trusted Bucknife for cutting things open and cutting meat extremely fast (I keep it razor sharp and can open it with a snap of my wrist). I had all of that on me because I managed bratwurst stands at a farmer's market and at events in the metro area, and I focused on sales and marketing but still had to plan and operate the foodservice portion of the business. Thus, there was a lot of different tasks I had to fulfill and I needed a wide range of things to complete them. This is what I carry daily. Alright, a lot more tame, but I keep a thin notebook I got from school that stays in my other back pocket and I use to write down and draw out any idea that I come with during the day on projects I'm always thinking about (like in my workshop). It's a very good way for me to refine those little ideas that pop up into things I can really do to add value to my projects and I have yet to get down to the same detail and flexibility with apps on my phone yet. I used my HTC Hero to take the photos and it's on me and running 24/7. I like it a lot and it has become very handy for me to do things like connect to people and contact them through the web while I'm on the run or search for places and navigate my way to them while searching too. It's great for managing people too when you need to be able to juggle communicating with several people on the run and making decisions at the same time.
Being that in Melbourne, Australia it is illegal to carry a knife, I often carry a pen with me that has a nice metal sharp end to it (albeit with a plastic body). If used the right way I think it could very well be used quite effectively to defend or attack and I don't think any cop would have a legal leg to stand on if they were to question me on why I'm carrying it.
Same as Victoria, it's illegal to carry a knife in Queensland unless you have a legitimate reason. For protection is not legitimate. If it's used as part of your job, and you're currently working, it is. Besides, anyone coming at me with a knife will be holding it in their own hand when they get stabbed with it so there can be no question who the aggressor is. I carry wallet, car keys, phone, Blackberry and handkerchief. I find that's all I need.
Aside from the obvious - wallet, keys, I always have my smartphone (and hence always have a flashlight and MP3 player). For a pretty large part of my working life, a knife was an absolutely indispensable EDC item. A few manual labor jobs and volunteering at Habitat for Humanity every weekend made it a habit to grab my knife. Then, when I worked as a general IT contractor, I was always opening or cutting up boxes, cutting zip-ties or tape. It's not until last year when I spend virtually all of my time in my office that I actually quit carrying a knife... and I still frequently reach for it instead of hunting around for scissors or whatever. Bought a Benchmade several years ago because I've always liked their designs and locking mechanism. edit: One odd thing I used to carry when I was doing IT contracting, was a set of tweezers I found at some department store. They were ~4" or so long and had sturdy wedge tips... Very useful as a screwdriver in a pinch, and for fishing screws/jumpers/anything small out of computer cases. Some of those guys must have to put their EDC kit into a frickin' backpack, though.
I'm not kidding- I seriously never leave the house without one of these in my back pocket. 'Cause, you know, you never know.
I usually just carry my wallet, keys, phone, a pen and one of these (in case I need to open a box or cut a hangnail): It also comes in handy when I need somewhere to store my materia.
HA! Y'all are cute with your knives and things. I carry a 10 lb. purse daily. Why is it 10 lbs., you might ask? Good question! Inside my purse are the following items: -Keys (for jabbing an attacker in the eye) -Cell phone (for calling 911) -iPod & earphones (in case I'm kidnapped and stuck without entertainment for hours) -Wallet (ransom money and identification in case my body is unrecognizable) -Roughly $10 in loose change in a side pocket (Bear Gryllis did a cool thing with a quarter one time that may come in handy...) -A handful of paper clips (aka makeshift lockpicks) -A handful of bobbypins (hair accessories and also makeshift lockpicks) -Hair ties (hair accessory, potential restraining devices) -Lipsticks (leaving messages behind for my trackers/police) -Eyeliners (see above) -Eyeshadow (camouflage) -Regular and waterproof mascara (first one is for manipulation of my captors, the second is in the event of an underwater hostage situation) -Miniature bottle of concealer (camouflage) -Pressed powder (the attached mirror is an excellent fire-making tool) -Small tube of concentrated perfume (sensory camouflage) -Mini-toothbrush, toothpaste, and mints galore (potential escape ruse in event of a kidnapping...no one can deny you the right to brush your teeth in private!) -Sunglasses (spy paraphernalia) -Tampons (plugging wounds) -Coupons to local restaurants (potential escape route- I can totally bond with my kidnappers over cheese biscuits at Red Lobster and they will let me go because cheese biscuits are so delicious) -Deposit slips (to prove my vast net worth in the event of a kidnapping...oh. Wait. I should dump those) -Pens (makeshift weapons) -Valentine's Day card from my Grandma (emotional manipulation of my captors) -Digital camera (police will need visual proof later) -Mini-umbrella (I am assuming that I will, at some point, be forced to flee in rainy weather) -USB drive (evidence preservation device) -Massive bottle of Tylenol (I get bitchy during migraines and this could prove deadly in a hostage situation). I am clearly more prepared than all of you.
Damn near identical list. When I was breaking horses, I always carried a knife and often carried a rope. Yes, I can rope a horse, steer, or as the ex learned, a running, drunk man.
Don't you guys know that a person can be a threat even if they're as much as 21 feet away? Your knife accuracy is going to go way down at those ranges. That's why I always carry one of these bad boys. Alt focus: I typically do carry a knife but it gets more use as a box opener than anything else. I frequently carry a small flashlight because it comes in handy for visual inspections and finding stuff I drop behind other things.