I am a journeyman in the reviving art of EDC

[Shion]

EDC = Everyday Carry

It seems to be becoming trendy lately, that there's now a shortened term for it. Your EDC...the things you carry with you on a daily basis. I once saw an interview on what Japanese people think of Americans. One quote stuck with me; they said Americans always look like they're preparing for just about anything. I must say we have a tendency to do that. Is it the fact that our leaders always bring a smorgasboard of the world's troubles home with them like a buffet of souvenirs? Or is it the fact that we're being led down a cold-war-level trail of panic that spurs us to prepare for any and all troubles? Whatever the reason, building an arsenal for adventures is just plain fun. When I finally make the capital to leave this city, I plan on becoming an adventurer, traveling around and seeing what the world has to offer. To survive an expedition, you have to be strong and smart. Well PE is just one area that should be well-kept. Strength is important, educating yourself is important, and so is using your head. And beyond that, it's the STUFF you carry. My wife is from a family of survivalists. They prepare for the upcoming apocalypse. A real one; not a fake zombie-style one. Though after listening to a McElroy podcast called Bunker Buddies about preparing for the apocalypse, the most important thing I took away from it is that preparing for the apocalypse is not unlike preparing for the pre-apocalypse, learning skills and gaining resources that will give you the edge in battle.

I've been trying to stay away from "Tacticool" lately. I think I've assembled a pretty good balance. I buy clothing from 5.11 because they're strong and durable, but also creative with storage space. It's expensive, but I've worn the same single $70 pair of pants for 4 years and it hasn't ripped or tarnished in any way. If you wore it in a warzone you might wreck it, but 5.11 is for the urban battlefield. Their Stryke line makes it easy for me to store away stuff on my person.

A few of the celebrities at 5.11 as well as Youtube channels that feature their stuff follow a principle of "tiers" with EDC.
- Tier 1 is what you carry on your person. Your phone and keys, a pocket knife, a sidearm, a wallet with a bottle opener on it, a flashlight, pair of sunglasses, whatever fits your fancy. The most underrated thing I carry is the GPD Win, which is a Windows 10 computer the size of a DS that charges via USB. I saved up for it, and it's fairly low powered, but you can run older games on it, surf the web, read ebooks, anything a computer does really. I carry a lot of expensive gadgets on my person at once but I also have several weapons on my person. After a few near misses, I refuse to live in fear any longer. Call me stupid, but it's all or nothing with me.
- Tier 2 is your bag. Y'know...it's the bag. You know the one. It's the one you keep next to you at work or put on a shelf. It's the one your wife brings you when she picks you up from the doctor's office. You keep things in here that you can't keep on your person, like an iPad or a water bottle. Mine's got a hidden velcro pocket where I keep a sidearm.
- Tier 3 is your car. You'll keep stuff like a change of clothes, some emergency food, and all of your car tools of course. Cars are great places to camp out when you are too far from any home, and you can leave in them anytime. I make it a habit to keep a CB radio in there, along with many USB chargers.
- Tier 4 is your home, where you keep everything ever. Of course by the time you're home you don't really need travel stuff, but I keep my EDC beside me even at my desk in case I need to gear up super quick.

Well my latest project has been to outfit my bag with anything I would need while traveling. So I bought some 7-day pill containers, and I'm gonna get various OTC medicines and keep a small amount of each in each container, and label them. This will turn my bag into a walking TSA nightmare, but I don't plan on flying with this bag. Just basic stuff like Naproxin or Acetominophen or Diphenhydramine. Then I bought these little spray bottles off Amazon that are color coded. Gonna label those and keep useful liquids; water, isopropyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, my cologne, unicorn spray, vinegar, etc. Lastly I bought these plastic vials which are taller and thinner and much easier to travel with, and I'll keep things like instant coffee or coffee whitener in them.

So what's your EDC like? What do you prepare for? What do you keep on hand?

 

[stillwantmore]

Cool man. I'm not as detailed as yourself, but I do EDC. I'm licensed to carry a handgun and do everywhere I legally can. I also carry my G&G Hawk a Deadlock. It's a custom double action out the front auto knife. It's pricey, but I've literally dreamt of a knife like it for half my life.

Review vid I did a couple years ago:

My gun is a Glock 42. It's got extended magazine spring/mag caps to give it an 8+1 capacity. I carry it loaded with Underwood brand ammo. Their Xtreme Defense load. Pushes a 65 grain, solid copper, fluted bullet with a hollow base and heavy front end to around 1200 feet per second out of my gun. Potent, accurate round.

He's got a few other vids he's done on the round. I've considered putting together a carry bag of some kind with a 'back pack plate' in it to keep in my car for just in case situations. Some of these plates will stop most handgun and rifle rounds.

 

[DLD]

Subscribed

 

[arkailija]

I used to carry so much more stuff around. Now when I go out it's quite little that I carry, although some might argue about that. I hate to carry stuff in my pockets, I always have a backpack.
Guns aren't very allowed here in Finland, although many own guns but more for hunting purposes I think.

Anyway, been a fan of Victorinox Swiss knifes and usually I have one in my backpack. Then again I bought a cute Japanese multitool with scissors, clippers, file and small blade, that's also likely in my backpack.
Always some small fragrance bottle(s) to freshen up, usually lipbalm (yeah, starting to sound like a girl's purse), breath refresh spray or some mints ...
Pretty much always a lighter of somesort, not always a cigar cutter and cigars. (I smoke cigars here and then, quite rarely.)

Naturally wallet and "smart" phone. A scarf and small towel. Always a small towel! And usually a canvas shopping bag unless I've forgotten to put it back after shopping. Passport as I don't have other picture ID.

Oh, almost forgot, always carrying condoms and some lubricant, Sildenafil and a cockring. I haven't got lucky in a long time (well, haven't put myself out there really! ) but I'm always prepared for that.

Be prepared! I used to carry duct tape as well but haven't done that for a longer time, could get a small roll.

 

[stillwantmore]

I'm always carrying condoms and some lubricant, Sildenafil and a cockring...... I carry duct tape as well.

*Fixed!

 

[arkailija]

*Fixed!

Oh you! Well, I'm going to the town by Monday, better get a roll!

How about you guys? I've carried condoms for years, always fresh ones, naturally. What I've heard from few female friends it almost seems that I'm an exception, I can't be ... Be safe out there!

 

[DLD]

Swiss Army knives are the shit! I carry nothing to protect myself, I have 3 Men who watch my back 24/7! But I do like a Heckler and Koch ? and my fallout shelter ?

 

[Shion]

Stillwantmore - does that blade count as a switchblade? I love those kinds of knives but there's a bit of controversy regarding their legality in Washington. Here's the thing; "spring assisted blades", i.e. mmbasically a switchblade, are legal now; they were specifically fought for and won in court. Switchblades still aren't. What's the difference? They say it requires momentum from the hand to open where a switchblade doesn't. The button placement might change it cuz it's a slide rather than just pressing a button. My go-to knife has been the Statgear T3 Tactical Auto Rescue tool. A lot of people look down on Statgear and for fairly good reason, though my knife has a flashlight, seatbelt cutter, and glass breaker in addition to the serrated knife. I've also broken it in to where I can open it with one hand, so there's that

Swiss army knives, always a good choice! A lot of EDC nuts will say that although the metal is good, they come dull. But just get a good sharpener and you're good to go. Others will say that a Leatherman is better because it has more tools like pliers. What most people may not realize is that Victorinox ALSO makes Leatherman-style multitools that include pliers. The one my wife got me is about the same price as your average Leatherman and is full metal, no weaknesses. When referring to it I often call it a Leatherman for that reason. It's one of those words where the brand becomes the generic term for the item.

arkailija - No judgment on the cosmetics in the bag! It's important to stay fresh on the go. Why, we were just shopping today and my wife was telling me from experience that men's versions of most cosmetics actually really suck. Also would you believe chapstick has many survival uses? Apparently you can use them to fashion candles in an emergency.

For guns I just have an M&P shield. Wife got it for me. She's more gun than I am. But I make minimum wage. The gun I want to get is the Kel-Tec PMR70. Some people don't like .22s, even if they're .22 Magnum. Me? I say if the gun holds 30 bullets, you can't miss, especially if you triple that to 90 bullets with a couple spare mags. And they're just small enough to coneal. OH! And when I'm rich I wanna get the LifeCard. Look it up - it is the shape of a credit card and fires a single 22LR. Basically makes it a liberator.

My wife has an Ultimate IUD in her so I've not needed to use condoms for a while. I fear I may have gotten spoilt. I'm new to my PE routine so I still have trouble with my length and girth. Of course I've also not carried them because I'm not in an open relationship and don't plan on cheating, but you never know. Maybe circumstances change temporarily. I'm revamping my bag, so I might stick some in there. If we ever do get to that point, we agreed to use protection for all third parties.

 

[stillwantmore]

Yes that's a "switchblade". More accurately, an automatic knife. You push the switch forward, the blade unlocks, springs throw the blade forward, or backwards. "Assisted" actions only move the blade part of the way. Here's a video the maker Gavin shared of the insides and explains how the knife works:

 

[Shion]

Here's what I've been working on all week. I bought a couple of day/night pill boxes, and a pack of these 10ml atomizer bottles with clips on them, and I measured out the space and made labels for all of them in Photoshop. I printed them on this special weatherproof label paper on our big industrial printer.View attachment 1821241

 

[DLD]

Wow! That is amazing! @stillwantmore checknit out!

 

[Tmn8364]

I have a belt buckle knife, a folding CRKT in my right pocket and usually a cold steel fixed blade in my left boot. Habits from back in my youth trapping n hunting. The CRKT folder i did some blade training with a crotchety croatian who taught me blade defense and to use my right hand even tho im a south paw lol and the cold steel tanto has got the best blade design for strength. Cant carry firearms up in canada openly even tho i have my restricted license and can own them. I envy your 2nd amendment rights....

 

[Shion]

I have a belt buckle knife, a folding CRKT in my right pocket and usually a cold steel fixed blade in my left boot. Habits from back in my youth trapping n hunting. The CRKT folder i did some blade training with a crotchety croatian who taught me blade defense and to use my right hand even tho im a south paw LOL and the cold steel tanto has got the best blade design for strength. Cant carry firearms up in canada openly even tho i have my restricted license and can own them. I envy your 2nd amendment rights....

(Hooray for Necroposting!)

Belt buckle knives are the best! The main self-defense advantage to knives is of course that they can be concealed until time to do the deed. But also the easier it is to conceal a knife, depending, the easier it is to carry. Can't believe I didn't mention it before but there's this one knife:
https://www. metacafe.com/watch/1164120/belt_buckle_knife (Mind the space)
It's just one guy making those, and it looks like his website is down but he's still open for business, outbreak willing of course. I bought one and it's great. I'm still practicing with it but it's definitely easier to deploy than any knife I've carried in the past. It didn't actually replace my buckle though because mine is a double-layered velcro tactical belt that fastens with velcro, so I just looped the knife through and it stays in place relatively well, but I'm gonna have to mod it to fit the tactical belt.

The biggest combat advantage of knives is of course why they are pretty scary when traveling. It's a good idea to get a vest for things like that. I saw a ballistic vest on sale somewhere that was about $500 and it stops 9mm, .45, regular knives, and stilettos. Was thinking of picking one up for either the house or for travel. But still trying to figure out a good summer option without arousing suspicion. Laws are weird, because it isn't always what's legal or illegal, but what alarms people. And in Washington that actually IS the law. The RCW (Revised Code of Washington) basically says you can open carry whatever you want as long as nobody cares. It seems weird but I think that's honestly the best way to go because it gives judges more power to throw the book at what are very clearly actual criminals, whereas upstanding citizens who have paid out the ass for their licenses and go out of their way to obey laws don't find themselves on the wrong side when they get jumped by a clear cut criminal.