Everyday use... What really gets used

In rough order, the edc tools that get used

1. keys
2. cell phone
3. cash
4. pen

5. flashlight
6. multi-tool

1. smart phone
2. credit card
3. watch
4. pill case
5. keys
6. sun glasses
7. knife
8. flashlight
9. mirror
10. whistle (almost never)
11. ferro rod & tinder (almost never)

top 2 are my leatherman and micro photon. liner gloves and bandaids have been very popular lately too. i use them every day. watch, sunglasses, keys are used to much that just consider them part of me, not edc.

Hi!

1º Small bag (to carry EDC)
2º Keys (keyring is a homemade bamboo kubotan)
3º Cash
4º Credit cards
5º Cell phone
6º Knife (RSK mk5)
7º Mini led flashlight (Gerber Tempo)

I have more stuff (lighter, and so...) but I don't use it much.

In my life:

1. Cell phone (iphone or other smartphone)
2. Keys
3. Credit Cards
4. Something for water (cup, bottle, whatever)
5. Writing Instrument and Paper
6. Pocket knife

I use cash very, very infrequently, but as a result of this forum, I carry more than I used to, but not really enough.

I just got back from a 48 hour in and out trip to Los Angeles and didn't spend cash once.

• iPhone
• Ritter Minigrip
• Quark 123
• Keys (includes Preon ReVO flashlight in leather sheath, LM Squirt PS4, keys to house, office, CERT trailer)
• Car keys (includes car key, remote starter, house key, Mobil SpeedPass)
• Wallet (includes concealed carry permit, driver's license, credit cards, ATM card, cash)
• Pistol (most often a S&W M&P 40 compact, with a full-size spare magazine)
• Fisher bullet pen
• iPhone earbuds

Outside, if you don't count outerwear, the additions are sunglasses and a pack of Kleenex.

Excepting the pistol and the Kleenex and counting the keys and wallet each as one unit, I use every one of these items almost every day for something. I don't use a lot of cash, but when you need it you often need it right now. My practice is to carry at least two hundred dollars -- by withdrawing it in big chunks I go to the ATM less often, and almost never have to pay fees for using "foreign" ATMs.

1. Keys
2. Cellphone (Smart aspects not so much)
3. 2xAA LED flashlight
4. Sunglasses
5. Locking folder
6. 27 oz Klean Kanteen (water)

Frequent use EDC items:
1. Keys
2. Pen
3. Chapstick
4. Mini key chain light (how did I get by without this?)
5. Watch
6. Cell phone
7. Bandana
8. Comb
9. CRKT Mini My Tighe. Kind of a silly knife (got it free), but it does the job.
10. Paper. Yes, paper. I always carry a few sheets for notes, giving out a phone number, etc.
11. Wallet. (credit card or cash, mostly)
12. Sunglasses
13. Super Tinker SAK

Infrequent use:
1. P38 can opener
2. Mini compass
3. Dog tags (let's hope it's infrequent!)
4. Lighter in a mini Altoids gum tin
5. Backup mini blade (also in Altoids tin)
6. Mini Fox 40 whistle

HJ

Keys
Wallet
iPhone
Buck Transport Knife

stick matches, bandaids, chapstick, small pencil & 5 post-its in altoids tin.

I should add a mini-pen light to my tin!

Typical work day:
Pen
Wrist watch
Filofax
Keys
Pocket knife
Cell phone
6" scale
keychain flashlight (P/T pulsar II)

Weekend:
Keys
Pocket knife
watch
sunglasses

Still cary, but have never used - medical gloves.

Perhaps you don't use your medical gloves because they're one-time use and you're subconsciously saving them. Based on a quick skim, all other items here are multi-use. If my flashlight was only one-time use, I'd be feeling my way around in the dark a lot. If my knife was one-time use, I'd be using sharp rocks a lot...and so on.

What gets used most:
Leatherman Wave, old style.
Bandanna, kept clean and folded.
Tiny flashlight.
Mini-Bic.
12' length of 3/16" braided light line. SWL about 100 lbs. Loosely bundled into a hank so it flattens in a pocket.

Typical week

Peak Matterhorn Flashlight
iPhone
Keys
Swiss Army Knife (Alox money clip)
Mini-Bic (in a case)
Wallet (cash, credit cards ...)
Sun glasses
USB Thumbdrive
Sharpie
Benchmade Mini-Pika (weekends, away from work)
Leatherman Tool

Within the last month

Sewing kit - repaired daughters dance recital costume
AAA batteries - My sons'' speaker case for his iPod died (communication tool)
AA batteries/Charger - recharged my wife's iPhone from battery powered charger
Zip Ties - Field expedient repair for missing machine screw

- Eric

What do I carry that gets USED every single day? Not much. Three items. A folding knife, a 1xAA LED flashlight, and my firearm (in regards to a firearm carried for protection, "used" does not mean "fired" or even "unholstered"). Runners-up are my wristwatch, my cellphone, and a credit card - but these aren't always used every day.

Since my first post above, I have replaced my ferro rod with a Mini Bic. For everyday carry, there's no doubling up for me, and a Mini Bic is my ace fire starter.

I always wonder what people mean when they say the "use a firearm". I guess there are some rough neighborhoods out there but other than the obvious use what else is there? Doorstop, paperweight, hammering in the occasional tent stake?

What do you "use your seatbelt" for? Or your bike helmet? Are you required to be in a crash to be considered "using" it?

It's OK for you to be anti-firearm. I don't hold that against you. But there's no need for you to make yourself look ridiculous by playing word games with the word "use", or coming up with silly illustrations (hammering a tent stake? - come on, you sound like an fool).

Merely carrying a firearm is using it! There's way more thought that needs to put into carrying a firearm than there is for any other item mentioned in this thread. Merely carrying a firearm requires the user to be on their game with respect to alertness, situational awareness, safety, and self-awareness. The heightened sense of self has a residual effect of benefiting other things you're doing throughout the day.

Most responsible adults can remain "on their game with respect to alertness, situational awareness, safety, and self-awareness" without resort to having to carry a bulky, heavy, dangerous, and expensive object. I also don't maintain any illusions that a firearm is going to save me in any likely event. I depend on my ability to be "on [my] game with respect to alertness, situational awareness, safety, and self-awareness".

The simple fact is that most people in the most dangerous neighborhoods are not armed. While a good percentage will be maimed and injured the vast majority survive without resort to shlepping around a hunk of iron. On the other side a good number of those who do arm themselves end up dead. Sounds more like a rabbit's foot, or fetish, than a tool appropriate to the situation.

I don't hike and camp much any more. Getting old has its down sides. But when I did I was always adjusting and revising what I carried. If I didn't use something on a couple of trips I left it behind because carrying things is not free. Every object and gram of weight extracts a price every time you take a step. If an object, any object, fails to justify the burden it imposes it got left behind.

Yea, I know. You are a going to object that I'm anti-gun. Except I own guns. I was considered to be a pretty good shot and still do well enough, better than most at the range when I do shoot. I even carried for a bit and made all the excuses you are about to make. Then I grew up and realized I was just being silly. There are times and places where carry makes sense but those are few and far between.

And no, the simple fact is that if you do not draw the weapon with a reasonable expectation of firing it you are not using it. You want ridiculous you could make the claim you need to carry a twenty pound life raft using the same logic. You never know, the water might rise and carrying a raft would certainly focus the mind on staying alert to any impending flooding. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Of course the same can be said for a space suit and anvil.

A life raft, an anvil, and space suit are a bit different though. They're excessively bulky, heavy, and are pretty much tailor made for one specific environment. Thankfully, in the environments they would potentially be needed, one would (hopefully) be provided for those in need. I mean, if I was going on a boat, I wouldn't want to go on one that isn't equipped with a suitable number of life rafts/life vests.

Many firearms, on the other hand, don't share those qualities. Many modern firearms are small enough to easily fit in a pocket, weigh mere ounces, and can be useful in a variety of environments. More importantly, one might not always be provided for someone when they might need it. Hence the desire for many to be equipped with a firearm.

I don't think it's silly at all. If it's legal, one is willing to properly commit to it, and they feel it can be of value to them, than I don't see any reason to lambast their decision. I mean, I've never used a whistle to save my life or the life of another, but I've still got them all over my gear just-in-case. Just like situational awareness only goes so far sometimes, the sound of my voice only travels so far.