Over the years I trimmed down my EDC to what I can comfortably carry in my pocket: knife, whistle, LED light, ferro rod, cell phone. When I'm camping/hiking, of course, I carry more gear, but in the city it stays thin.

So today my family went to see a show at Chicago's Noble Horse Theater ... the only horse show in downtown Chicago. Its a small family-run business that also houses the carriages that run through downtown.

Anyway, when we get there we're told that the electricity has been off for several hours and we are welcome to wait in hopes that it comes on soon.

Well, it is a VERY dark building with only one large door where the horses can go in/out. Out comes my Arc Premium AAA LED light. The group we were with used it to go up & down stairs, poor wine, eat snacks, use restrooms (I'll boil it later ... just kidding), and investigate the historic building's dark nooks and crannies.

They had three wood stoves burning to provide some heat and add a great smell to the musty stable smell (which we're very used to being horse owners ourselves).

We never did see the show, but we actually had lots of fun visiting with the horses, chatting with the staff, and learning about the place ... in the dark ... with the help of my tiny AAA LED light that seemed to last forever (spec says it will go 5 hours to 50% of illumination).

There are days when I get tired of having so much stuff in my pockets ... but not today.

Ken

Sounds like a great time to me.

It's worth the hassle to be prepared, although I experience the same.

My AAA light (FenixLD01) lives on my key chain and it comes in handy quite often. It is surprising how many Dark Places there are...

My EDC often saves the day. It was awkward at first and didnt seem as usefull to carry it all but after awhile and some tweaking everything gets used often enough to warrant it carried including my AAA flashlight.

The only thimg that surprises me is how few people carry any sort of edc - lights especially, as they can be so cheap, light and useful.