All,

Been on the forum for a bit and know there's a bunch of ya that work in IT, and curious what you carry day in/day out on you.

My story is that i'm basically a coding monkey who lives in a cube and when they let me out, its to meetings. The below is what I use daily (yes, even the medical stuff... i'm a clutz!).

On my person I always carry a modified Bill's Case urban wallet (has slots on both sides with only one zipper pouch). In the pouch part contians some bandaids, a couple 2x2's, a medical wipe of some sort, advil, butterfly bandaids, 20 4" zip ties (so damn useful), some cash, and a AAA battery (backup for the LD01). In the slots I have a mini black sharpie, fisher bullet pen, SAK ALOX cadet and a fenix LD01.

Sometimes I have a usb key or two in there, but not usually. I will probably add some ear plugs as I find myself stuck in a server room or two for extended hours and the fan noise gets to me.

I find the LD01 to be a very useful light... and the cadet is a very friendly knife in the office environment. This would be the key of my set up, and will have no problem pulling them out and just having those two items.

I would love to add a leatherman mini-tool to this set up as i find when i need needle nose pliers, they just aren't around. But I find that the thickness is too much to have on this setup for a front pocket carry. Love to know if there are any multitools out there that are quite thin?

I usually have my brief case around that has its own collection of toys (spirit s, bigger light, urbanized psk, netbook, first aid kit, wipes, etc). On top of my usual work stuff of a reference or text book, pads for writing, usb keys, etc. So I don't need to carry a lot with me, but when I have to jet without this bag, its always nice to have some basic items.

Thoughts? What do you guys carry?

That is the challenge; tote good gear for whatever might happen, but not look like you stole Batman's belt...

I have a DR Photon and Swiss-key on my keyring, mini-Bic, USB thumb drive, Victorinox Classic, cash, wallet, cell phone, and a Leatherman folder. I used to carry a Leatherman Juice S2, but since I got a Charge TTi for a birthday present I am obligated to carry that instead.

Fortunately I am rarely far from my EDC Bag, which is backed up by my car bag right outside the door...

There are more layers, but you get the idea.

Get into any of the deeper stuff? Building your own apps, a part of any open source projects... that sort of thing? Or in it for fun?



Its just not for me, I find its just too big for pocket carry. I'm not an infrastructure guy, just a coder who tinkers and avoids calling for help as much as possible. Besides, I have a spirit s with the bit wrench combo in the bag and love that more then the cyber tool.

When I worked IT, I carried the following:

Leatherman Supertool.
McFeely Pocket Wrench.
Doc Allen Versatool w/ a selection of bits.
Modular precision screwdriver w/ straight, hex, torx and philips bits.
Mini-mag w/ the fiber adaptor.
at least one more light.
small hemostat.
dental mirror.
thumbdrive with my apps and data on it.
thumbdrive with antiviruses and the like (not putting my drive in a dirty box).
Knoppix CD.
Trauma sheers. (bad cable? no question about it after I cut at least one end off)
Zip ties, electricians tape.

On my person I carry a Rayovac penlight, Winchester-brand multi-tool, S&W Homeland Security folding knife, pocket "tweaker" screwdriver, Sharpie, pen, lighter, and 2 cellphones. In my company van (which is always close by) I have my SHTF which has pretty much everything I could need for any situation.

I design/build/service large commercial fire alarm systems, so some days I'm in an air-conditioned cushy office and some days I'm knee-deep in mud on a construction site.

I'm a computer programmer; I don't know if that counts. I don't needs tools for work. I sit at a desk and type all day. I have the same set-up whether I'm at the office or at home or out somewhere.

Currently I carry a Juice Cs4. It hangs inside my pocket from sombre parachord looped through my belt. I believe it's discrete enough that most people don't notice it, or if they do they presume it's keys. The Cs4 is about as thick as my wallet, and with the belt-loop taking the weight I find it convenient to carry. The Cs4 has a decent range of tech tools, including pliers and wire cutters, and several sizes of screwdriver, and knife and scissors.

I also carry a Vic Rambler, partly as backup but mainly for looking after my nails, although I find its smaller Philips screwdriver often fits better than the Juice's big one. It's so small I hardly notice I have it.

My torch is a NiteCore PD10. It uses a single AA, runs for 1 hour at 130 lumens or 50+ hours at 2 lumens or anything in between. I don't carry a spare battery but I do keep some cached at work and in my car.

My wallet is a bifold with many pockets. It contains a few odds and ends that rarely get used, including some first aid supplies (including some burn gel and a sterile dressing pad) and some spare tinder. It has a zipped coin section, in which I keep a lanyard with clip for the PD10, plus some spare cordage. Plus coins for parking metres etc, plus money, credit cards, ID, and a card that logs me into the building.

I try to wear trousers with two back pockets, and then each has a silk bandanna. The right back pocket also has some tissue so I don't have to use a bandanna for my nose, and a PocketMod with some reference data and a calendar. If my shirt has a breast pocket I put another bandanna in there, so I can be carrying either 1, 2 or 3 of them.

I carry a cigarette lighter, either a thin one in a back pocket, or, if my trousers have a fob pocket, a much bulkier and posher Sarome one. (I don't smoke.)

I carry an SE P1 smart phone, with much software, including several eBooks and a reader for them. But no GPS. My watch has an electronic compass.

My keyring has Photon Freedom as a backup light, a whistle, some duct tape, an Inka pen, a fire-starting kit based around a ferro rod as backup for the lighter, and some paper clips and safety pins. The lanyard is 2 metre lengths of parachord woven into a fob. In practice I rarely use anything on the keyring (except the keys) but it's stuff I wouldn't be without.

Of course it counts... its my job as well ;-)

I still remember when leatherman was the stereotype IT person tool. I was probably carrying one a couple years before that and still do.

Since I sit at a desk mostly (talking 10+ hours a day), having anything like a multitool on you gets uncomfortable. I have no problems keeping that stuff in my briefcase/bag which is beside me for the most part.

I have more junk (useful stuff) the then typical coder but thats just me being me.

One of these days i'm going to do a bag dump and find out what I have in there once and for all.

I sit at a desk and have never been uncomfortable caryring a multi tool. Now I had a manager that said he knew someone that was let go because he carried a "weapon" on his belt so he said I should probably carry it in my pocket and I have been since then.