key ring:
mini-Fox 40
p-38
arc AAA on berkeley point mini-clip

pants pocket:
kerhaw onion (soon to be Boker subcom F)
leatherman squirt

wallet:
flexi plastic magnifying lens
2"x3" plastic mirror (cut down rei utility mirror) i know its a piece of crap but its plastic and thin and weighs next to nothing

this could work...
the leatherman squirt you carry piously everyday...well, why dont you just keep one in your office(assuming you have a place, or maybe like a buddies office, that way you wont have to agonize about carrying to and fro?
you could buy another one and keep that in your vehicle(assuming you travel to work in one)
I also assume that the distance to your job and vehicle isnt that far?)
just a thought!

I have split my keyring in two. One holds my core equipmentt - whistle, Photon, Inka pen, parachord and keys - while the other holds stuff which is bigger or heavier. If I am wearing light trousers I leave the second keyring at home. The Inka is new, and isn't really a survival thing, but I found it gets used often enough to include in the core ring. The parachord is also not core survival but it's woven into a key fob that is very useful for telling the keyrings apart.

I also carry a wallet and Vic Rambler swiss army knife, which is very small, and an Orb Raw, again very small. I try to carry a lighter, too. Until recently it was a cheap Cricket disposable, but I recently bought a proper Sarome lighter which is just about thin enough to go in a back pocket. It has flint ignition and looks like it should be useful even after it has run out of fuel.

My watch includes a digital compass. I recently discovered some unused space in its buckle, which is big enough for 4 of the silver Puritabs. With that and the 1l plastic bag in my wallet I actually have a plausible water treatment system for the first time.

I have slimmed down my wallet a lot. I don't carry store cards any more - they are not worth the space. Nor do I carry the fresnel lens or mirror that I used to have in there. I do carry tinder and some writing paper. Also a Fisher pen refill, which went in there before I got the Inka and which takes so little room I've left it there.

My EDC continues to evolve as I find new toys, err, tools. I am better off now than I was a year ago. I still eschew the bulky stuff - I don't usually carry water, food or shelter.

Currently the main bulge in my pants is due to my pocket handkerchief. I don't bother to iron or fold it, I just stuff it in. That might be the next thing to change. Any suggestions, other than "iron and fold it"?

I can scarcely tell you iron anything when I barely iron my own dress shirts. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

As far as folding goes, however, YES, by all means, fold your pocket handkerchief. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Sounds like you have a cool setup, by the way.

-- Craig

My EDC:

Keyring with:

P-38
Photon 2
Button compass
Folding scissors
Whistle
small folding knife
6 matches/striker
3 m dental floss
2 paper-clips
1 safety pinn

In little pouch on keyring:
CPR mask
2 Alcohol preps
1 pair latex gloves
2 band-aids
2 Acethaminophen

In my pockets/on my belt:

-mirror
-PSK
-small FAK
-lighter
-tinder
-wind/waterproof matches
-more dental floss
-flashlight
-emergency poncho
-bandanna
-cell phone
-Leatherman Wave/maglite combo

This is what I have been carrying:

Left front pocket:
-Keys (with BSA Hotspark on ring along with a medicine vial holding a 123 battery and cotten/vaseline ball)
-Surefire E1e-Ha with KL4 head

Right front pocket:
-Wallet
-Leatherman Squirt P4
-Benchmade 705-401
(sometimes I carry a Leatherman Charge Ti in place of the P4 and 705 or I'll swap the 705 for a Benchmade Rukus when I need a bigger blade)

Rear left pocket:
-Orange Bandanna

Inside my belt (it's a money hiding belt with zipper):
- almost an arms length of paracord
- 2 eye screws
- a paperclip
- a 1 foot or so length of wire

On my belt:
My phone

On my wrist:
Tissot T-touch watch

I've given up on the whole "prepared for an emergency" thing. I just try to be better prepared for everyday life. I did this not because I disagree with the principle, but because my pockets are finite.

So. I carry:

• Flashlight
• Knife
• Fox 40
• Cellphone

That's it. There are a few odds and ends in the wallet, but mostly because they take up zero space (bandaids, P38). I'd toss the whistle too, if not for the fact that it weighs almost nothing and Doug makes such a strong case for it.

I think this is the 80/20 rule in action. I rarely find myself wishing I'd carried more. I do miss a screwdriver occasionally, but not enough to carry a multitool. Are there situations where I'll wish I'd carried something else? Sure. Are there situations where what I have is enough, and way more than non-ETSers? Well, yeah. :-)

Let's go absolute bare minimum. What's the one thing you'd want to have in an urban environment other than a wallet (and the normal contents therein) and a cell phone?

I'd want a flashlight.

Couldn't agree more, really.

Although I would change what you said just a wee bit.

I personally spouse the mantra, "I just try to be better prepared for (everyday) life's little emergencies."

The big emergencies are bigger than my pockets. Shrug.

-- Craig

I really like that line. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Anyone with bulging pockets should repeat that quote as they grab their EDC items for the day. If it's something for a "big emergency" you might consider moving it out of your pocket and into a backpack, pouch, bag, organizer, etc.

I agree with the torch, whistle, wallet, phone. I do value having a screwdriver, though. In my view it is important to have a knife, but not important to have a big knife, and the blade of a small swiss army knife is enough for nearly all my urban day to day needs. I carry a Vic Rambler because it has flat and philips screwdriver, scissors and blade, nail file, tweezers and toothpick, bottle opener and magnet, all in a tiny package. I am far more likely to need one of those than I am a big blade.