Well friends, it's official, we are cool, " a 'movement',a 'mindset' and even a 'philosophy'". EDC carry and preparedness is now the subject of a glossy photo filled article in the March 6, 2016, New York Times, Men' Style Magazine. It's a bit of puff piece, but the tone is supportive, even complimentary.

Link? I found an article published in February, entitled "Multitools Make the Man":

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/06/t-maga...light.html?_r=0

Nice article - I'll bet a lot of us were EDCing before the term came into common usage. Years ago, I always had a Swiss Army knife, keys, and a P38 - the list has grown some over the years...

Bingley, it's the same article & photos, under a different title.

Hikemor, I know I was. To paraphrase U S ( right wing) intelligence agents describing early anti- fascists: I was a " premature EDCer". I have, for as long as I can remember, always carried a small flashlight ( now a Fenix E01 or E05 and a Yellow Photon Freedom), a tool ( SAK & later a LM tool, sometimes a Wave, but currently a Juice XE6). Next came a handkerchief , later morphing into my hot ironed yellow bandana in Gerber Breast Milk Bag and 40" flat roll of Gorilla Tape. A whistle, mini- Bic , key chain compass, pill capsule (Also wrapped in 18" of Gorilla Tape) and a Pockerwrench II, round out the pocket kit. An I-Phone 6 and 120% Mophie are on the belt.

Side Note: You iron your bandana, acropolis5? Respect! I don't iron anything, but my gear would probably pack a lot better if I did. LOL!

Acropolis, thanks for sharing that article. I cross posted it and this thread at Zombie Squad forums.

Cockroach: You are welcome. I got a kick out of it. I walked into my son's room to tell him that the fashionistas had finally caught up with Dad. He laughed.

Bacpacjac: I've posted the bandana kit so many times, I thought everyone on this Forum knew it. I start with a well washed, large sized, yellow cotton bandana. I dry HOT iron it as I fold and refold it to pocket size. I then immediately slip it into a waiting sterile Gerber Breast Milk Bag, press out all the air with a hard surface ( book or cutting board) and seal it up air tight. I reinforce the bag middle and edges with Gorilla Tape, still allowing some see thru so that theTSA or police can see the bandana. Lastly, I take a 2"x4" piece of plastic report cover, wrap it in ~40" of Gorilla Tape and then tape the flat roll to the bandana pack. That gives me a nearly sterile bandage, wound + other use wrapping tape, sucking chest wound kit, (wetted) a smoke/ dust mask, sling, pot holder, ( gross) water filter,signal flag, handkerchief and if carried next to a front pocket wallet, a reasonably good pickpocket foil! I almost always carry this kit on my person and keep extras, sometimes two, in all my "kits."

Now if it were only a red bandanna, it would be perfect. I am sure it is a well known fact that a red bandanna performs all those functions best.

In all seriousness, i like to carry a bandanna, crumpled up in my right rear pocket. It is amazingly versatile...

Jumbo bandana in whatever bag I'm carrying. It's the Swiss army knife of textiles.

Those in red bandannas might be in a pinch mistaken for commies if the SHTF (and shot). So, for the nearest 25 years Orange - at maximum

Any specific survival imprinting on yours? Mine is like this:



The trend is nice, however, the gadgets they are selling are like keychain prybars for $235... Fashion has it's toll on ETS.

Actually, red might be taken for gang colors which could be very detrimental for your health in the wrong neighborhoods. Alas, red is my fave color, followed closely by blue. Purple, anyone??

Grape Street Crips (Watts neighborhood of LA).
I know about red: Bloods, blue: Crips, green: Syndo Mob, various combinations of black/grey/silver/gold: many gangs

Khaki?

Re the OP: Actually, it's not much of a surprise to me. It's really a rollback to the norm of history, before super-intensive urbanization. When my father, and his father, and his father before him, pioneers on the land, put on their pants in the morning, they put on their "EDC" -- pocket knife, matches, pliers, and a short length of twine. These were the tools they used constantly in the business of making a living off the land.

Despite all the eye-rolling pretense of hipster look-at-me-ism, there's a basic undercurrent that rings true for me: young people looking at a fragmented economy and an uncertain world are uneasy at their utter dependence on systems they have no control over. A lot of them, with beards or without, are trying to assert some small, tangible, hands-on control over the basics of staying alive. Even if it is substantially symbolic, in the broad picture, this is a good, healthy thing IMHO. Fearful, helpless people are much more at risk of doing fearful, desperate things. This is, to some degree, the antidote.

Now that you mention it, the typical late teen to mid twenties hipster's formative years included the Great Recession, 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. It's not unexpected that as they gain control over their lives, a tendency toward self reliance and preparedness will appear.

I like your analysis, dougwalkabout!

In addition to a distrust of a system that has come to appear vulnerable, I wonder whether some of the EDC phenomenon has to do with social media. Before the age of the internet, there just wasn't such an easy way for exchanging information on what gears to carry, how to carry, what to use them for, etc. Now with forums such as this, web sites that will get you obscure fire starting tools, "tactical" vendors, Instagram, etc., emergency prep has joined forces with consumer culture. Some people just want to buy a bunch of stuff so they feel "prepared." But some people just want to buy a bunch of stuff, and the internet gives them the world on a platter.

When I look at forums, I can certainly see the consumer culture going on there. Raving which model/item is the best, then replace it with next years model, because it's beter. Which I find interesting; especially when they are finacially strungling, but still need to buy the latest and greatest. Which is like the opposite of financial prepardness.

Financial preparedness is something everyone should look at seriously. When the current bubble breaks everyone who isn't ready will be caught up and it will get ugly fast; there is no SAR.

Unfortunately, the subject of financial preparedness can easily go political very quickly, it's the nature of finance in a time of government bail-outs. But what if there is a crash and there is no bail-out? All you can do is look at your personal situation realistically and develop contingency plans accordingly.
How secure is your job and paycheck?
Are your retirement funds dependent on the health of the stock market(s)?
How much cash can you afford to hold outside the bank?

I saw a chart yesterday that indicated the next market crash has already started; it was fairly compelling based on previous crashes showing an identical pattern. It will take time to fall but not as long as it took to rise. What I'm reading/hearing is "sell the rallies".

No issue here, I'm not in the stock market at all, that chart reaffirmed my decision from years ago.

FWIW, YMMV, This is not financial advise, I only know what some other financial expert writes; those guys are wrong a lot.

There needs to be an healthy balance of preparedness: knowledge/training, community/friends, equipment, mental, physical and financially.

Having lots of stuff is not much help, if your house and car gets repossessed. I read about people who spend lots of money on things in case 'shtf', but are unable to cope with missing a pay check. Getting kicked out of the house is something that seems more likely to me.

Besides I checked the evaluation of large scale evacuations in my country. Most people skip government shelters and just book a vacation or stay with friend/family. Having money to travel and pay for your stay can be the easiest and most comfortable option in an emergency. besides having a good emergency fund makes life a lot more stress free. Be able to get fired, have mayor expenses and not financially care too much about is just great in keeping yourself stress free.

What is the internet coming to?? sensible, reasonable statements?? C'mon guys, let's get back to ranting about which is better when SHTF -.223 or 5.56?

Tjin's comments about use of established shelters is correct in our local experience with EQ's. If we must leave, we plan to stay with relatives....

Psshh... it's the same

Precisely my point....

Although I believe i have read learned discussions in which it is stated that one won't chamber in weapons of the other type.?? I don't worry about it all that much. I am a 12 gauge/357 Mag guy when I must go a few rounds.

We can always talk about the supreme steel for knives. i get lost real quick there...

As I understand, while both .223 Rem and 5.56NATO rounds will chamber in .223/5.56 rifles, but rifles designed for 5.56NATO have longer leades to accommodate the slightly higher pressure of the NATO round. I have a bolt rifle in .223 Rem and was warned to not use 5.56 NATO.

from:5.56 and .223: Are They Different?


I'm sensing thread drift....

To get back on track, I suspect that back in the Pleistocene, our revered ancestors had their favorite club, along with the spear holding their preferred point, as well as what would have been their version of the SAK - the chipped stone artifact referred to by archaeologists as the hand axe.

We have always through time equipped ourselves with what have been regarded as EDC items. It's just that with the internet, we can talk about it more and develop EDC cults.