Open Ground Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

Trace: • ticks_and_chiggers • edc_every_day_carry
edc_every_day_carry

Table of Contents

Every Day Carry EDC

The scout motto 'Be Prepared' was something I wasn't ever fully able to realize. Part of it is belief that everything will be ok, part of it was having prepared people around me. Part of it was being naive. But in the past months I've become more frustrated with my lack of preparedness, been accumulating tools and abilities and understandings. I've been looking at the functionality of things, the weight, the bulk, and just seeing how my brain cycles are eaten up too much at the last minute and forgetting key ingredients for any sort of excursion I'm making.

I want to be more helpful in more areas. I won't be able to solve tons of problems, BUT lately again I'm starting to think things through and I see where I've lacked in taking the disparate things I know and own and putting them together into real patterns of behavior and item kits. Peace of mind and capability.

Bags and Containers

By far the most popular bag for EDC tools and things is Maxpedition. But several companies make bags for the right purpose. Remember, it is to be carried, secured, with hopeful longevity, ruggedness in materials and clasps and zippers. Visiblity could be a factor. And where it's carried, straps or belts or fasteners of whatever kind. Can't use something that the items inside will poke through on the first day or the zipper fails with even a little stress.

Another thing I want to bring up is accessibility. I have a couple bags I've marked for “first aid” but I'm not sure access into the bag is that great. A kit that requires one-handed access during injuries or problems might be a life saver, so that should be considered too.

EDC Everyday Carry Kit

What is the EDC kit, whether it be for the pocket or a nearby kit that would be taken in or clipped to the backpack or contained inside the shoulder bag. Been thinking about this a lot and trying to figure out what would be better. Starting to think what would be ideal to carry with to do little fixes. There are some smaller EDC individual items that work as multi-tools. It's definitely worth exploring a lot of these before committing to something. Sadly the EDC industry has a lot of bespoke very expensive tools. I can understand the use of titanium and laser etching on everything and specialty finishes. But bottom line it's supposed to do a job if the occasion arises. And hopefully be carry-able.

What are the things to be done? Opening, fixing or repairing. Helping with accidents or aid. Doing normal tasks that can arise, simple things that require a tool.

One thing I've learned from watching the EDC afficianado channels, which generally I don't like is the items are very expensive and some key things are left out, and non-essentials added. One concern I have is having tools to remove fasteners but not having actual fasteners to affix. People walk around like they have what they need, but a lot of repairing isn't just taking off an existing fastener. Imagine if you need to re-attach something due to external hostile people or weather. That's great you have a screwdriver, but where are your screws and are they even long enough. Where is your wire, tape, rope etc. Just saying that stuff might be key in an EDC situation that really solves a problem.

Tightly Packing Complex Items is OK

So not every tool needs to be instantly accessible. When you're in a problem situation, sure sometimes you need to be able to get to that perfect tool quickly. But I'd rather have a tightly configured kit that may require some unwrapping but I'm more inclined to bring, than something loose. Just saying it's ok to have to seal things up if it keeps them from rattling around. Sure it takes some extra time to get to them, or even breaking a seal might suck but this is the idea of bringing things JUST IN CASE. Things you're in need of often, sure they can be ready to grab quickly.

Multiple Kits is Going to Win Out

Pocket, Pouch, Pack, Vehicle, Home

  • Pocket - your edc items here should help you with a few small things. But might contain a few hidden extras that others may think would only be in a separate tool bag.
  • Pouch- Tightly configured, either the entire bag or bag-inside-a-bag. One little bag might be first aid, or might be tools or might be both, or you carry both in a bigger bag. Think personal maintenance. Be able to address a cut, a scrape, a hygiene problem, insects or just cleaning something. Does a personal pouch need water treatment tablets? How about q-tips? Sunscreen? How about a magnifier or fire starter?
  • Pack - This could be very complete or basically a container for smaller pouches. One guys pack might have chargers, cables and superglue, where anothers has a folding shovel, bike wrenches and a machete. Just keep in mind the more weight and the more money is more you carry or more that can be stolen from you, requiring expensive replacement or a very bad day.
  • Vehicle - Something I've needed to focus on. There's no reason not to carry with you the tools and even spare parts to the car you are driving. You also should carry a few survival items in case of problems. It's a car, why not have a few can foods, toilet paper, toolkit, spare bulbs, lantern and a full first aid kit?
  • Home - Kits at home should be where you're likely to use them. Or have multiples spread out. And that said, every room might not need tools, but maybe a leatherman multitool or a flashlight should always be within 15 ft away. However you want to do it. Your main tool kits also can be made better by having things easy to grab quickly (First Order Retrieval) and that includes not only tools, but fasteners, tapes, lubricants and implements that might help you get into (and out of) tight spots.
edc_every_day_carry.txt · Last modified: by smickster
Donate Powered by PHP Valid HTML5 Valid CSS Driven by DokuWiki