I EDC a small bit of gear that rides on a ke chain in my left pants pocket: a Fox40 whistle that is filed down a bit, a BSA Hot Spark ferriconium rod and striker, and an Arc Premium AAA LED light.

Last week I reached into that pocket only to find a terrible void - the keychain wasn't there. Argh!!!

I've retraced my steps and looked everywhere I can think of, but nothing. Sigh.

So now I'm having to replace it. Here's what I'm looking at:

--Fox40 Micro whistle - the one that comes in Doug's PSP kit - mostly because it is a more pocket-friendly shape.

--Light My Fire Mini Swedish FireSteel - its bigger than the Hot Spark, but I think I'd rather have a slightly bigger ferriconium rod. Not sure if I'll carry the striker. I'll test to see if a key can do OK ... I kind of doubt it since they tend to be softer metal.

--Now, for the Arc replacement. This is a hard one. I have a Fenix P1D (CR123-powered, max 180 lumens) LED light that is AMAZING - I carry it when outdoors as a backup to my PT EOS headlamp. It is amazingly bright and tough, but a bit large for pocket carry. So, I'm looking at getting a Fenix E01 (AAA-powered, 10 lumens) because its small and low-cost (only $14, but the same brightness as the Arc Premium). I'd rather carry a Fenix LD01 (80 lumens), but right now I don't want to spend the $42 - mabye later if the economy improves. The flashlight got the most use, so it is an important part of the gear.

--Suunto Gem keychain compass. I picked one of these up a while back, but never carried it. I especially like that it has a flat side for orienting maps and that it has a rotating bezel. I wonder how the compass will handle living with the flashlight and striker (cool fact: ferriconium is not magnetic).

--CountyComm.com Peanut lighter - or maybe the smaller Split Pea lighter. These are small cousins of Zippo lighters that look like small stainless steel o-ring sealed capsules that contain a Zippo-style lighter. Its redundant to the FireSteel, but I figure if things go south, I'd much rather be starting a fire with a lighter than a sparker. The reason I'm looking at this instead of a mini BIC lighter is that the Peanut/Split Pea lighters can be attached to the key chain.

--Since I'm going to order from CountyComm.com anywhay, I think I'll try using one of their cable keychains.

So, what do you thing? Remember, this has to fit in a pant's pocket and not look like a kid who just raided the cookie jar.