I think I got my current edc setup to about where I want it. Here it is:


1. On my keys is a BSA hotspark and a Fox 40 refs whistle (modded like Dougs)
2. I have a keychain with a photon 2 (white), paracord, and a perminant match.
3. A VX6000 camera phone.
4. A Victorinox Sportsman with home made pocket clip (can opener/screwdriver, blade, nailfile, bottle opener/screwdriver, corkscrew, awl/reamer, tweezers, toothpick)
5. Benchmade 921-BLK First Production 136/500 (main blade S30V steel, small blade 440C)
6. Wave in a home made leather sheath with belt clip
7. Belt buckle knife
8. wallet with SwissCard Lite, foil tape with backer around heavy duty foil, mini "In an emergency" card, Fresnel lense, steel money clip with brass coating, some lock picking supplies.
9. Badge wallet with "shove it" tool, tinder card, and a piece of steel wire. (under wallet)
Not pictured:
1. (2) bandanas, usually one dark blue and one bright blue
2. Timex Expedition compass watch

When I go outdoors I have:
1. A BSA compass case I put on my belt with my altoids tin kit, a folded mirror, a black garbage bag, and a DMT blue diamond sharpener.
2. A Princeton Tec Scout that i'll hang off my belt or stick in my pocket.
3. A Benchmade 210 First Production 0271/1000 fixed blade (S30V) in a carbon fiber looking sheath held sideways on my belt with a tec-lok.

I think I have most everything covered with what I carry and the way I have it distributed it doesn't weigh me down too much. I hope I give you guys some ideas, as well as receiving input on changes/additions. The only thing I think i'm not really set on is the amount of paracord I carry. I need to carry more, In my old leather money belt I wore I could put a good 3 feet. I need to find a money belt that is a little over an inch wide to work with my buckle then I'll be set. <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Wow, 100 views and no one said anything? <img src="/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Hi Paul,

Nice setup. Two questions:

1.) Why so many blades?
2.) Why so may keys? Personally, the only keys I need to carry are one for the house and one for each of two cars.

I'm the 104th. This is the first time I checked in today. Looks like you've got everything covered, except maybe some duct tape, and more cordage, like 10' of dental floss or mason's twine. This shouldn't take up much room. You've got 5 blades (Sportsman, Benchmade, 2 on the Wave, belt buckle, Swisscard), maybe you could replace one with the cordage/tape. (Like I should talk about carrying too many blades <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />) I carry about 12' of braided paracord, which winds up being about 8" long. Here's what it looks like:

Key Chain Paracord

I don't see any means of carrying water. Maybe a Reynolds oven bag. Other than that, looks good.

Blades:
The main blade I use is the benchmade 921, I don't use the blade in the wave being it doesn't stay as sharp, isn't as good a steel, and isn't as comfortable to use. The Swiss Army sportsman is mainly carried for the awl and corkscew which the wave doesn't have, but I have found it to be a much better knife to use around "PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER." and it has become the knife I loan to people when asked. The belt knife stays in the belt, it doesn't come out unless I need it around the house when I am not carrying my other tools or in some sort of emergency. The Swisscard I don't really use the knife on that often, but I have modded it so it can be used as a spear tip or arrow head. It is great to carry though, it is pretty well packed with stuff for such a thin item. It has a knife and a simple (red) flashlight, two of the things I have found I really appriciate when practicing wilderness survival.

The keys:
My father and his brothers own a lot of commercial property, when there is an emergency in the buildings and the three of them can't be reached the call comes to me. So I need to be able to get into all the buildings, storage lockers, and heavy equipment (I've used loaders to knock down our own doors for fireman). I also have on my ring a handcuff key, a key to my snomobile (which is a farely common key used by everything from ride on mowers to heavy equipment to snowblowers), a key to my gun locks, and keys to padlocks I use around the house. Believe it or not my car key isn't even on that ring, it is on its own ring with the alarm button and a little Cobra keychain (I drive a Mustang Cobra in the summer).

JOEGREEN,

That's an idea, i'll put some duct tape on the backer from some foil take and put that in my wallet and maybe wrap it with spyderwire or fold it inside.

I wind up carry many keys myself. House key, mailbox key, two keys to my car, key to my wife's car, and a key to where I work. That's six keys. The key to my mom's place is kept somewhere else, as is the key to my sister's place at the shore.

I keep spares to nearly all the keys in my wallet. I've heard too many tales of people "just running out the door" and getting into trouble by forgetting their keys. I always have my wallets on me, so I always have keys, should I forget my keyring.

JOEGREEN

Is there a place on line where they show how to make a paracord lanyard? Thanks in advance.

iljeepguy,

Here's a website that shows how to make the square sinnet using some plastic zip-tie looking material. You just have to adapt it for paracord. Rather than using the "completion stitch", I just melted the ends of the paracord together.

http://www.bluemoon.net/~dotoran/prj_square_stitch.htm

To start it, I laid out two equal lengths of paracord in a cross pattern +. I tied a knot to hold the pieces to hold them together, and started overlapping the ends of the cord in a clockwise pattern. When you get to the fourth end, rather than overlapping it, you tuck it under the first end. It took me several tries to get it to look like the pictures on the website. I'm sure that using two different colored cords would make life easier. Good luck!

FYI - The plastic zip-tie material is commonly known as "gimp". Pete