Hi! I’m a new member of the forum and the best way to describe me is that I’m a member of Raspy’s Brooks Brothers Brigade (but I don’t dress that well). Based on what I’ve read here and other places I’ve been putting together some basic kits for EDC, car and home. I’d like to get y’all’s comments and suggestions on each kit. I’ll post pictures to a web site and list the contents of each over the next couple of weeks hoping that I’ll get some good suggestions for adding or subtracting items. These kits are designed to operate within basically an urban/interstate highway environment.

My primary EDC is the stuff I carry in my pockets wherever I go. This includes:
CRTK money clip KISS knife
Swiss army type pen knife with blade, file, scissors, toothpick and tweezers
Sliver gripper tweezers
Small red LED light
Streamlight keychain LED light (white)
FoxPro 40 whistle
PicoPad (stickynotes and ballpoint pen that fits in my wallet)

Next step up is my business case that I carry every day to my office and to client sites. I travel by car, train and subway, but mostly by car. This adds FAK, PSK, communications (ham radio and laptop with WiFi and broadband wireless), food, water, protection, tools, cordage, etc.

In the car I have backpack (BOB) with stuff for 48-72 hours of being caught in some kind of urban catastrophe. I’ll list that some other time. Each member of my family has a similar kit in their car or apartment. In the house I have two plastic containers with more food, water, shelter and FA supplies that I can throw in the card and skedaddle on 15 minutes notice.

There are duplicates in each kit but I think that gives me redundancy and extends the supportable time away from home (i.e. the MainStay food bars in the BOB supplement the MRE’s in the house kit).

The bag I carry to work is a Maratac Extreme Attaché. It looks “tactical” but I’m a professional geek so it fits my character.

Pictures can be found at this url: http://picasaweb.google.com/AJFTGOV

EDC Contents
Front Zipper Pocket:
LED clip-on light with retractable belt clip
Datebook
Gerber Infinity AAX1 LED light
FoxPro 40 whistle
Paper Clipper (clips up to 10 pages together, reusable)
Various pens
USB thumb drive
Bose QC2 headphones (sweet!)
Cord reel (Cyber Guys)
AMK Ultralight .3 (pair of Nitrile gloves inside)

External Pouches (mostly MOLLE, others put on with BlackHawk’s speed clips)
Left end:
M-16 Clip pouch, holds my Kenwood D700 radio control head*
Front:
Top corner left: Glotoob waterproof light , 7 functions, spare 123A,
Bottom corner left: Travel FAK (aspirin, TUMS, eye drops, Purell, bandaids, ointment stuffed in a pouch from County Comm, for the little hurts with quick access)
Middle pouch: ID badges, Metro pass, (again on retractable, belt clip lanyards) spare keys, business cards, small RiteintheRain notebook with cover
Right pouch: Tools, 4 tip micro screwdriver, voltage detector, Mini Maglite, LED flashing flare, spare AA & AAA batteries, mini pry bar, small multiool, zip ties
Also in the webbing are 2 spare Speed Clips, two 6 ft lengths of paracord with z-clips and 2 Griploks (I clip my keys and my water bottle to these)

Right end:
Padded pouch with Nikon L10 digital camera (great for documenting events, accident scenes, last will and testaments (JK)
Padded knife pouch with a Benchmade one-handed folder (very light, very sharp but very strong) with a DMT folding sharpener

Top Panel
Case that holds my Etymotic noise reduction headphones and a small MP3 player which also has a voice recorder and FM radio

Inside
Velcro covered panel that came with the attaché
Side 1: Kenwood F6A tri-band ham radio with speaker mike, alkaline battery case, soft case, 2 antennas, charging cable with Anderson PowerPole connectors (fits my power supplies in the car and a 14 amp hour 12v SLA battery), Doug’s PSK, pouch with spare batteries and other small parts

Side 2: HP laptop in a neoprene sleeve (bag is padded but the sleeve adds protection, and I can carry it separately), power supply and cord, broadband wireless card (faster than Wifi and more available)

Interior and external side pockets hold food bars, misc. cables, and an Aspen monocular.

This is not the typical business case. But the MOLLE and pouch system allow me to have quick access to items and to easily remove items while keeping them organized. (The folks I work for don’t like the edged tools in their buildings) Plus the bag is very well constructed with a padded shoulder strap.

I would appreciate your suggestions for additions or deletions and will be happy to answer questions on where I found some of these things. The quality of the conversations in the ETS forums is outstanding: polite, informative and with plenty of gentle humor. I hope I can add some value to them.

* I don’t leave the control head in the car as Kenwood won’t sell you a replacement if it is stolen. The radio body is secured in the trunk. My car setup is a subject for a whole other forum.

Andy,

Welcome to the fire!

That's a real nice setup you have. It seems pretty complete to me but I would add:
1. another 20 feet of paracord
2. AMK Heatsheet. With those you can rig up a nice emergency shelter in minutes.
3. a high-quality poncho might also be useful.
4. emergency cellphone charger (battery or crank)
5. maps of the area

I'd also spend some time scouting my area, both my work areas and the surroundings. Find out escape routes, sources of shelter, food & water, possible danger zones (steam pipes/dark alleys/wet cats/etc...)

-Blast

Hey, nice looking kit Little off topic, but how do you like that Gerber Infinity flashlight? I've been thinking about picking one up for a while...

Thanks,
Rio

Welcome!

I like the kit. Maybe add A N95-mask? Also a couple of bandanna's and some energy-bars would be nice.

That's the first Benchmade 960 I've seen in an EDC kit. It's a nice knife and the D-2 steel holds a great edge. You might want to consider Doug's RSK Mk 1 knife also; it's an upgrade of Benchmade's 550 Griptilian. I prefer it to the 960 for the blade profile and for the larger grip size.

Where is the best place to pick up an N95 Mask? Is there a specific type that is best?

Add a ferro rod and a pill fob with tinder to your key ring.

Purification tablets.

Thanks!

I keep the items you mention in my BOB in the car. Space and weight are always a concern when traveling by public transport but those are good suggestions. I've been traveling this route (Philly to DC) for 10 years and have compiled many alternate routes (adaption via traffic jams!)but picking out some possible layover/restock points out of the main traffic flows is a good idea.

Andy

Leigh,

Good thought that. I'll either pack some foil wrapped tablets in one of my pouches or I'm thinking about a second wallet to carry additional supplies a la Raspy's suggestion. But the pill fob is also great suggestion to adding some matches to my pocket EDC.

Ain't this fun figuring out how to make the most of everyday stuff.

Andy

The Gerber is light, tough and easy to carry. The paint is wearing off mine but that doesn't bother me. I keep a lithium AA in mine.

Andy

Jim, Thanks for the comments. I do have a couple of energy bars in the bag but the bandana is a good suggestion. I need to add some more shelter items as was suggested by Blast in case I get caught up in something away from my BOB in the car .

(Next time I'll reply to all the comments in one post, still new to this concept).
I do keep a mask in the BOB as well as gloves (there's a pair in the AMK.3 pouch). Might add one to the attache.

Blast, my cell phone uses a USB port so I can charge it from the laptop or a small AC/DC adapter I also keep in the attache. I do have a crank charger (Sidewinder). I also keep in the car a solar charger with 12 volt adapter to charge my radio, cell phone, etc. I add to that a 14 amp hour SLA battery I can also use to run everything.

BTW, a ham radio license is not hard to get, you no longer need to know Morse code. A very compact and useful 2 meter HT (handie talkie) can be had for less than $150. And in a catastrophic event ham operators are more likely than not to stay on the air since ham radio is a point-to-point communcations systems, not a networked one like cell phones.

I agree, the Gerber Infinity Ultra is a great little light. Simple, very reliable and fairly easy on its battery.

Check out the Fenix L1D CE model. It runs 9 lumens/24hrs to 90 lumens/1.5hrs for the 1 AA model. They are about 4x the cost for either 1AA/2AA but can handle more jobs too. 9 lumens handles everything I use for EDC with the option for a LOT more light. Fenix L1D CE

Where abouts did you get that bag?

I ahve tried searching but have not had any luck.

Just a thought on 550 cord...I EDC about three feet on my key chain that I've braided. I learned it in Boy Scouts years back and it is a great way to conceal it and minimize space. Here is a good link: http://armyadvice.org/blogs/armysteve/articles/9736.aspx

You don't need to remove the inner strands to make it work.

The Infinity is very good, I've EDCed mine for about a year and half and my only concern is the loss of finish- they used cheap anodizing. *shrugs* With a fresh battery, it is very bright for its size. Not as bright as the Fenix, but I can't see a drop in brightness for about 2, maybe 3 hours, and it's usable for quite a bit after that. I think I'm on my third battery in it.

DTT:
The bag is from County Comm (www.countycomm.com). They have a weird mix of stuff and I've purchased a bunch of different things from them including some really cheap LED lights, padded pouches, and energy bars.

CBTENGR:
I could try doing that for a year and would never master it. I'm missing that knot-tying, weaving, crocheting gene.

I did put 15' of 550 inside the shoulder strap pad on the attache case. That gives me about 25' total.

Need to find a poncho that fits the case and doesn't weigh too much. I do keep rain jacket and pants in the car.
Andy

Hi Andy,

That looks a great setup. Looks like a lot of thought has gone into the setup. Jack Baur would be proud. Any chance of a full review of the Kenwood F6A tri-band ham radio with speaker mike.

Communications seem to be very important in your setup with multiple methods, but that means lots of heavy electronics and batteries. The Maratac Extreme Attaché is very 'Tacticool' but is it up to the job i.e. is it very waterproof to protect all those electronics and is there a method to carry this case comfortably for extended periods if you need to hike out or hike in during an 'urban catastrophe'. Also could the Maratac Extreme case not generate some unwanted attention from policing and internal security forces especially during a civil emergency.
Ortlieb have a new waterproof backpack you may find interesting at http://www.ortlieb.de/_prod.php?lang=en&produkt=track#

There is quite a bit of duplication on the folding knifes. Something like a non folding Fallkniven Mod F1 may better suit a survival situation. I would also replace the Maglite and flashing flare with a Fenix Digital P3D RB100 Black Premium 100 together with a Diffuser Tip. This would give an area light, SOS signalling and an extremely powerful 200 Lumen Beam. A small signalling mirror may be useful also for daytime signalling as it weighs virtually nothing.

Some other possible additions may incude;

A folding canteen such as 3lt/96fl oz Naglene Folding water bottle etc
A Steripen adventurer.
Sunglasses.
An Umbrella, Golite or Vaude type.
A toothbrush and toothpaste combo - http://www.tadgear.com/x-treme%20gear/accessories%20main/travel_tooth_brush.htm
Small personal care kit - i.e. Shaving Oil, Razor, Small bar of Soap, travel sized Shampoo bottle, Sunblock, Aftersun etc.

+1 on the Fenix L1D-CE

Thanks for the kind words and the suggestions.

The Kenwood is a great radio, dual channels (can scan two bands at the same time) wide band receive (FM, AM, SW, USB, LSB). I can also use it to cross band repeat to the Kenwood D700 in my car. Milspec rugged. Mike works well and has 3 function keys linked to pre-programmed operations. Radio is pc-programmable.

The bag is weather resistant (closed cell padding) but probably not waterproof. That's why I'm looking for a poncho to cover me and it.

You're right about about the carry system, does anyone know of accessory straps that could be used to carry this kind of case over both shoulders? I do have my BOB, which I carry in the car, in a very good dayback. I could throw the key stuff from the attache into that.

As far as attention from officials, not worried, my federal ID badge should handle that.

You're right about the knives but a fixed blade knife in my neck of the woods raises eyebrows. I did buy a Fallkniven WM1 fixed blade for my daughter who lives in Alaska. That's a nice one.

Additional water capability is something I'm looking into. I do carry one pouch of MainStay water in the bag as part of my FAK. Figure it would do in a pinch to wash out an eye or clean out a wound. Better than water from my bottle.

The Fenix would be nice, but gotta work up to that as budget allows. I do have a GloToob light which works much the same way.

Signal mirror is in the DR PSK. I do carry a tooth brush/paste combo item. If there's an emergency I just may forgo shaving! The med kits have bug and sun wipes.

(a great source for individually packaged products like wipes, aspirin, etc. is www.minimus.biz)

Thanks for your thoughtful response, I will take your suggestions to heart.

Andy