I think that's a really good definition; if its not always with you, its not EDC. This is why I don't have (or plan on getting) an EDC bag

Yes, every person's idea and needs of an EDC bag is different. I carry a good sized EDC bag but I do not keep it on my person at all times. At work, it sits beside me all day. In the truck or car, it goes where I/we go but I have not had any reasons to have to carry an on body EDC full time. The closest I get for any EDC on body carry is a SAK and very small flashlight on my key ring.

After looking at everyone's suggestions and trying and sending back two of them, I've followed the first reply I got from my post. The suggestion by Powerring for the Tom Binh Synapse, in Black. It's back ordered til mid-September. If I keep it, I will take it to a shoe repair shop to have them sew on three Fastex lash patches. Two on the bottom and one on the lower back, to hold a biking/walking strobe. With all the thought that has gone into the Synapse's design, I'm surprised they haven't done the equivalent by sewing on small lash loops of strapping to accomplish the same end. In any event, I left it as a suggestion when I placed my order. Thanx again guys.

Leather bags can be more than stylish. Leather is more durable (generally speaking) and will not melt. It can be used as a more durable surface for cutting and such as well. A good leather messenger bag with a large flap, made of good, durable leather would be worth the extra weight.

I agree that leather is better, in general.
But, it requires much more care than just hosing off. Especially if used in outdoor enviroments.

A follow up from a previous post, I decided to go with this bag for my EDC:
Chinese-made leather manbag from eBay
It has a full grain leather I have seen only on much more expensive bags. I also bought the Maxpedition Remora Gearslinger for when I need a bit more room.

Nice! Would you mind giving us a quick review once you get it? Do you need to put in some sort of internal organizer? Do you think it looks like a "shoot me first" waistpack, when you wear it through the belt?

It has a front pocket and a main pocket. The front pocket easily holds a large smart phone. The main pocket has some smaller pockets inside for organization of little things. The main pocket easily holds a point-and-shoot camera, AA flashlight, photon light, pill case, whistle, flash drive, wallet, keys, 5 feet of paracord, and pack of gum, with a little room to spare. The bag barely fits a Kindle Fire if I take a lot of that other stuff out. It's a bag for essentials only. The dimensions in the description are accurate.

You do need an organizer. My organizer is a keyring. Most of those things listed above are on a keyring. My camera, wallet, and smart phone are not on the keyring.

I don't think it looks like a "shoot me first" bag, but I live in a state (California) where handguns in EDC bags are not part of the culture. Also, I have not spent much time in such a culture. So, I'm probably not the best judge. It has belt loops, but I don't plan on using them. I'm accustomed to cross-body carry.

The leather is thick, unfinished, full-grain cowhide boot leather. I wasn't going to protect it at first, but then I read some leather tips on the Internet. Protecting this leather is a must because it's begging to get water stained and nasty looking. After protecting this bag with Sno-Seal, this bag looks like the type of leather that all other leather wants to be. The Sno-Seal caused the leather to turn into a more masculine, darker tobacco brown. This bag from Saddleback Leather is close to the new color.

This bag looks and feels hardy, but is still on the sophisticated side. You might find this bag on some CEO in the Silicon Valley as he's getting out of his sports car wearing a T-shirt. I've been searching for awhile, and I've finally found my EDC bag that will be on me for a long while. I like this bag so much that I just ordered another one to have just in case. Standard disclaimer applies. I'm not the seller, just a satisfied customer. You can check the purchase history on the link and see somebody (that's I) recently bought two.

Thanks, ireckon! That was very thorough! I might just order the same bag. Have to think about my carry habit a bit. (Right now I toss my EDC in a bigger shoulder bag.)

By the way, here's something useful for organizing your purse -- urh, I mean man bag:

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/trave...mp;sku=10041485

Osprey makes awesome EDC capable packs,

I like my modified Talon 14, been using it daily for last 2 years around the 5 boroughs on NYC!
Very comfortable with a moderately roidges/cushioned ventilated back panel.
Carries all my gethome stuff, snacks, small HVAC measurement tools, engineering drawings, comes with a hydration bladder (i removed mine and use that area to store ppe and tools.

url=]Raptor[/url]