If you find yourself wanting a kit that can be carried without pockets, perhaps you should eb thinking about something like: http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/pocket-survival-kit.html

You could get one of the 5 in 1 survival whistles (put some tinder inside), a firesteel, and sometype of knife edge, out it on a chain, and wear it.

The smaller the kit, the less you carry, and the less you will have. That's the big decision even with a lot of things, such as a BOB. How big a BOB do you need to carry what you need? How big is so big that you really will not be able to carry it.

There is no reason your EDC of kit cannot adapt and be differnet things on different days, changing with the activity and environment.