Bare Minimum EDC revisited for Summer 2006

I was reviewing a favorite thread from 2005, Bare Minimum EDC, and thought I'd ask what everyone was EDCing on their keyrings now, almost one year later.

I may soon be working from our corporate offices in New Jersey, rather than from King of Prussia. That means dressing up a bit more and wearing khakis and chinos. Bye-bye jeans. I will have to be more selective about what I put into my pockets. Every bit of keyring gear will count.

-- Craig

I was working on a reply in the old thread, but this looks like a better place to go. This is my first post here and I just want to say, this forum is an absolutely amazing resource! Anyway, on to business.

I find myself in a similar situation to yours. I am a trial attorney, so not only do I have to dress nice all the time, I have to be able to go through metal-detector security points, which rules out most knives and multi-tools.

What I carry right now that I get through about 99% of the time is a leatherman squirt. However, that tends to be in the courts where I am a regular. When they don't recognize me, or I am in the nearby big city, it almost always gets taken from me. Man, I hate that. But, until something better comes along, it's what I keep on my keyring. I am considering removing the knife blade, then putting an exacto-blade in my wallet. Suggestions are welcome.

The only other odd item I carry is my mini-maglite with LED refit and about 2' of duct tape around the handle. I am considering taking the duct tape off and putting a flat roll in my wallet. Anyway, it goes in my front pocket with my keys, and has never drawn attention except when I pull it out to go through security.

A Treo 650 is on a belt holster. It's not only useful, but very chic. Right now, I'm working on loading it with files that would be useful in an emergency and assuming I can't get an internet connection with it.

My wallet contains the following (in addition to cash, credit cards, etc.):
2x large fabric bandaids
a baggie you get for vegitables in the grocery store
phone card
emergency contact list
extra business cards
2x safety pins
needle and thread

My keychain has in addition to the Squirt:
flat emergency whistle
.5 Gig Jump Drive (with daily office backup, etc.)
red LED light (not really necessary, I suppose, with the maglite, but handy sometimes and for when I don't want to ruin night vision.)

My advice is: DON'T.

Should security find it, they will nail you on a concealed weapons charge. You can then wave bye-bye to your career from behind bars.

If you store an item so that it could look (or could be interpreted) as though you were trying to hide it or get away with something, the prosecutorial powers that be will use the word "concealed" to make whatever you did, however innocent, sound threatening.

I do mostly criminal law and I really don't see that as an issue. A tiny blade buried in my wallet, especially when it's along with things like a needle and thread and bandaids, is not going to trigger any concealed weapon concerns of a DA, except maybe for in federal court. Everybody in federal courts seems to have sticks up their butts, which is why I don't do federal. So, that's not an issue.

The problem I have with the solution, though, is that a tiny blade buried in my wallet is not nearly as convenient as the Squirt.

Oh, I see. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Do ya get it back?

Craig,

I'm restricted to khakis for work. There's loads out there with a ton of pockets that still look very sharp, IE. the Trailhiker's from Cabela's. I can carry more gear in those than I can in most jeans and it all goes unnoticed except for the tell-tale clip of my Spyderco D4 or Al Mar mini S2K.

In as far as the keyring goes, no real change-ups for me, I still tote a Photon (now the IIX), a Traser Glowring, a Bison small cylinder whistle, a spy capsule with essential meds and a SwissTech Utilikey...

M

Thanks man. I'm off to browse Cabela's. You've given me hope. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

I am down to the barest minimum ever now. I have a keyring with a Leatherman Micra, and a pill capsule with cotton and matches/striker. I have a Kershaw 1660 in my pocket and most times I carry a Leatherman Blast as well. That is about it for this summer.

Damn. That's a bit sparse, brother. More power to you.

Of course, I'm winnowing down, too. Can't report to headquarters with my trousers sagging and bagging. Want to look trim and sleek.

-- Craig

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.

Thank you!



Yepper. I agree. I'm also tired of having pockets that bulge. I have found I never use most of the crap I carry -- with the notable exception of the personal size instant ice pack. That's a damned useful item. I have used mine when my wife has fallen as well as when strangers next to us have fallen.

People are amazed and gratified that I can deliver an ice pack to a strained ankle in seconds.

I also don't want to give up my leather gloves or particulate masks. That stuff lives in my shoulder bag anyway.

I'm giving VERY careful thought to what I carry now. I don't often use my Sliver Grippers, but when I need them I REALLY NEED them. They stay.

-- Craig