I have decided that since I most likely will be in an urban survival situation should one arise, I am moving most of my EDC to a Maxpedition Fatboy to have at my desk and will just pocket carry the following: Leatherman New Wave, small pocket folding knife, cell phone, Surefire E2E and wallet. Even the Ritter PSK seems too bulky to carry in my pocket everyday and is more oriented to wilderness survival than urban survival. Any thoughts on this?

I'd add a whistle and a lighter.

Well, you could shave a little more off by losing the small pocket knife, right? The wave has a blade. You may not want to or need to, but you did say "bare minimum".

You might add a whistle. Urban or wilderness, I think it's useful.

D'oh. I was writing mine while you posted yours. <img src="/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

And, of course, you can fit several things in your wallet that could help without seriously bulking it up, maybe not all of the following at once, but whatever you feel you might use:

• A foot or two of duct tape, folded flat.
• Bandaids
• Paperclips
• P-38 (can opener)
• Needle and thread. (Weave the needle through an index card, wrap the thread around it).
• Dental floss wrapped around a business card.
• Tinder card (laminated vaseline soaked cotton ball)
• Fresnel lens magnifier
• Credit card sized diamond coated knife sharpener (I have one of these. I like it.)

Maybe wrap the handle of the light with paracord?

"Bare minimum" can either mean number of items, or bulk of items. If you can pack additional features into the same space with very little additonal weight, why not?

Grro's list seems thorough, but a bit too much for minimum EDC.

Don't need the P-38 with the Wave.
Safety pins instead of paperclips. Pin the safety pins to the pocket from within the leg of the pants.
use a small photon LED light on the keychain.
Needle and thread, heavy duty thread wrapped on card and stuffed in wallet, in case of things like zipper failure. chuck the dental floss.
small disposable lighter. Leave the firesteel in the PSK.
Leave the sharpener in the PSK. I don't sharpen my knives daily.
I haven't used a fresnel lens or any other magnifier in months. Nice to have, but not for EDC.
Carmex or Chapstick or... something I use almost daily.
Alcohol swab packet (so many uses).
Bandana
One ziploc plastic bag. I am always needing one when there isn't one around.

There really are so many variables for minimum carry. It depends more on your daily routine, needs, environment. There are some real basics (knifetool, firemaker, clothing repair, first aid) but even with these you can vary quite a bit.

I think you should be getting the idea, though. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

For a long time I´ve carried nearly anything probably needfull 24/7.
That´s supposable uncomfortable, bulky and not at least frightening to "the sheeps" around me.
So I´ve started to cut down extent and bulk of my 24/7-EDC again and again and again ... till I´ve ended at this but it might change within a few day ...:

These items I´ve stored in and wrapped around a waterproof capsual:
- potassium permanganate in a small vial
- 6 doses Ioperamid
- slim forcreps
- roughly 1,000 EUR in cash
- small photograph of my wife
- ferrocerium rod
- small amount of cotton
- 10 small fish hooks
- 5 small slint shots
- 3 small snap swivels
- 2 spare battery for Photon-Micro
- sheath waterproof paper
- Space-Pen cartridge
- SAS compass
- 2 sewing needles
- scalpel blade
- 2 Gerber bags
- 30 waterpurifcation tablets
- 15 cm tubing
- 15 m monofillament
- 30 cm duct tape
- 15 m tripwire
- 2 m paracord

Only the SAS saw-wire I wished to attache I weren´t able to .

This capsual can be worn around the neck or be clipped to the sheath of my EDC-knife together with the Photon.
Alltogether goes with me everywere as it brings only a minimal bulk with it (aproximal 25-30mm in diameter and 130mm long).

Additional to this I´ve sewn spaceblankets & shemagh-sized silk scarfs into every jacket or coat I own and even to some trousers (for those times I went out without a jacket).

I´ve tested it during a few trips during my last holidays and found it quit adequate.

I try to not carry too much either. I have two wallets, one is the normal wallet and one is a key wallet, it has my wife's car keys and keys to my shed and tool/gear boxes locked up in the garage, some band aids and spare cash and a small knife. I carry a leatherman wave on my belt behind the company given pager then in my pockets are my cell phone and spare battery, truck keys and Arc AAA and a pen and a few index cards to write notes on if needed.

Groo,

That's exactly what I've done. I actually carry two wallets - a slim "L.A. Wallet" from County Comm holds my credit cards, driver's license, registration, and my traditional wallet has money, safety pins, duct tape, needle and thread, masons' twine, a mini ferro rod, tinder tab, piece of hacksaw blade, fresnel lens, space pen refill, 2 small Rite in the Rain sheets, County Comm straight razor, and a cheapy garbage bag. I had to move the credit cards in order to cram this stuff in the wallet. I also EDC a P4 Squirt, a Swissmemory knife, a Ritter RSK, whistle, and a County Comm led light. This is about as bare minimum that I'm willing to go for suburban EDC.

Don't need the P-38 with the Wave.

Good point. I don't EDC a wave, so I forget this.

Safety pins instead of paperclips.

Paperclips are easier to bend than a safety pin. This may or may not matter. I do wonder if they're a little more friendly to security than a safety pin. I haven't tried to go through airport security with a safety pin.

Leave the sharpener in the PSK. I don't sharpen my knives daily.

<img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> This has been debated before. I come down on the side of "It's the size of a credit card, and it works really well. Plus it can turn things that aren't knives into knives quicker than rocks or (most) sandpaper." So why not carry it? But as you said, personal choice and circumstance are big factors here.

I haven't used a fresnel lens or any other magnifier in months

Ah. This isn't for reading. He said "bare minimum". A fresnel lens is about the smallest, lightest fire starter I can think of. Sure, it has some pretty severe limitations (only works in direct sunlight). But you can't beat it for size, weight and reusability. So, if you think you might need a fire, but not right now then this is a pretty good choice, I think, for ultra light weight edc.

Actually, in a city, here's my idea of "bare minimum" edc. "Bare minimum" here, meaning, it's the least amount of equipment you can carry that (a) will make a huge difference in capability and (b) can't be easily improvised on the spot:

• Flashlight

That's it. In a city, and in my opinion, the one thing most likely to happen is to have the lights go out unexpectedly. You can't just make a flashlight out of found parts, and a lighter is a poor substitute. Everything else goes in the "nice to have if you can carry it" category. Even a knife won't get you out of a dark building or subway tunnel. The flashlight will.

(Groo runs for cover.)