For me its:
- contacts in case
- food bars
- water in car or bag
- phone chargers ( car/wall)

While not totally 'unique' here is my current EDC:
I have a Fenix EO5 on my key ring (https://www.fenixlighting.com/product/e05-fenix-flashlight/)Along with the normal (for me) set of keys & a P-38; a fold-up set of Foster Grant 1.0 power glasses... just in case. I had cataract surgery in the Spring and don't need glasses any more for most things but sometimes the fine print is fuzzy and this helps.

It seems uncommon today but from being a kid of single digits to today in my mid sixties I always had/have a pocket knife - usually the three blade 'stock man' type of folder - a Buck version right now. I also currently have a Gerber combat folder for bigger boxes that need opening - This is the right pocket.

There is bullet 'space pen' with change and a scout type match case along with the primary flashlight - a surefire fury dual fuel type which is single-output 1500/1800 lumen light in the left pocket. I've also got the small FAK with cpr mask and gloves too and the money clip with cash.

In the back pocket is the wallet with ID, bank cards, additional 'extra' cash and reference cards. A couple of old fashioned hankies ride in the other back pocked. In a belt case is the phone and another reference card and ID holder. I wear a watch which is an old fashioned self-winder but it keeps great time - no calendar, extra dials etc. just the time.

Since I retired I added a clip on Leatherman Rev which has come in handy a few times already. Add in a roll of life savers now and then and that's me most every day. Oh yeah - the car key fob goes in the jeans watch pocket with a couple of poopie bags so I've got the little dog covered too!

Paul -

PS - it's a whole additional layer when I add my coat or jacket as the weather gets colder and don't even get me started on the stuff in the car...

EDC is:

pen and small notebook in shirt pocket;
phone and wallet (usual contents) in pants cargo pocket;
Skeletool CX in pants pocket;
key ring - house and car keys; H10 flashlight, small multotool, Gerber LST knife, small prybar, capsule w/cash;
red bandanna

If out in the woods, my backpack has ten essentials as well as adequate water (somewhere between 2 and 4 liters usually) FAK,msnacks (at least), light jacket w/hood, appropriate headgear (baseball cap to climbing helmet, varies) other items as task appropriate

I have considered ditching my Spyderco in favor of the Skeletool CX but it's just a smidge heavier than I want for EDC. I suppose what I EDC is a bit unusual for the public at large (eg. sidearm, spare magazine, knife & flashlight) it's probably not all that strange here at ETS.

warm weather for Florida...

bandana, extra mag for the G42, G42 in Recluse 2 sided cargo holster,BenchMade Aries axis lock folder,key ring has P38(since 1972), Fenix E12(post type hole cable tie)Acme pea less whistle, pill fob with aspirin...

Maxpedition wallet has extra cash, a 2x2 gauze pad, dental floss, and single blood stopper pad, cloth knuckle band aid

Maxpedition cell phone holster, old style Kyocera flip phone..
belt is an Uncle Mikes velcro under liner from their LEO line, and Perry hook on suspenders

cooler weather the G42 is replaced by an IWB G43 and a IWB mag pouch with O light, nylon flats fishing style cover up

Pistol, and one or two reloads, everywhere it’s legal for me.

Folding knife, currently Doug’s Mk1-G2.

Pen, I carry a Tactile Turn Glider, which is in my studied opinion the finest pen ever made for my purposes.

Wallet.

Car fob, with house key.

Keyring, with house key (yes, I carry two, and I cannot count how many times it’s paid off in small ways), LM Style PS, Thrunite Ti 1xAAA flashlight (backup), and a couple other keys.

Phone. I’m running an iPhone XS in my favorite case. You’ll almost never catch me with my phone below 60% charge, and if that seems possible I’ll carry a power bank for it.

Primary flashlight. Currently that’s a Lumintop FW3T in an on-its-last-legs 4Sevens holster in a pocket; the holster protects my phone from being scratched up the flashlight.

For EDC my favorite light is a Malkoff MDC. That's always in my pocket when I'm not at work. At work I go with a small one, the Olight I3E EOS.

Unique? Nothing. Everything is pretty much off-the-shelf, anyone could carry the same gear.

Trojan Magnum+

Because I have to purify a lot of water to make tea

I carry "entertainment hardware" in my day bag. A PaperWhite3 eBook reader, Kindle Fire HD8 tablet, and small Sansa MP3 player. Along with all kinds of ways to charge them (and my cellphone too): 15,000mah power bank, cigarette lighter plug in, wall plug in, USB-C cable, micro-USB cable, mini-USB cable, and (not for charging) an OTG data connection cable.

Oh, one other thing that I suppose is actually more "unique" - an AliveCor KardiaMobile heart monitor. https://www.alivecor.com/

I bought this gadget when I started having heart arrhythmias. Being an ex-Paramedic, I wanted to see what was happening. I use it on others as often as myself these days. Just yesterday I looked at the ECG for an elderly friend who was not feeling well.

I hope you're doing better, haertig! Gotta watch the ol' ticker carefully.

That's a nice one! I'm into pens, too, so I'm curious about your selection process. What purposes do you have in mind?

Can you get waterproof ink cartridges?

Thanks, those are nice looking pens. Depending, I use a 1984 Cross (twisty) that lives in my checkbook. Then I bought in a Parker Vector (capped rollerball) in stainless steel a couple years later and a Parker Jotter a few years after that — all are excellent and the youngest is close to 30 years old.

That said, I like the looks of the Tactile Turn click pen. One of their Ti clickers may become a Christmas gift this year. The short clicker takes the same, very easy to find refills I use in my Parker Jotter in either ballpoint or Gel ink.

Thanks. I'm fine. After scaring the people doing my routine treadmill test half to death, and after tons of testing, and an ablation, the cardiologist pronounced me "just fine - you're no more at risk than the general population. But if the arrhythmia still bothers you, you can take some of these anti-arrhythmia pills." Which I do. And they do help to some extent, but not 100%. So if anyone wants to see what PVC's look like (in my case, harmless), I can conjure them up at will!

My dad had an arrhythmia. He passed away eight summers ago but not from that. It occasionally bothered him but mostly he rarely noticed it.

Haertig, that is quite the gadget. Do first responders carry that or something similar these days?

I also have an arrhythmia condition but I have an installed pacemaker (maybe that should be included in my EDC inventory) and a bedside monitor which communicates with my cardiologist when something unusual occurs. I feel no symptoms whatever from this condition.

Yes. Other than for most outdoor activities (there are a few exceptions), my iPad goes in whatever bag I’m carrying, along with a power bank, along with good headphones.



That’s a super cool looking gadget. Do me a big favor, though, and maintain a normal heart rhythm, please.

The VAST majority of my writing is on a keyboard. In my office there’s my MacBook Pro (for work) and its dedicated Bluetooth keyboard, my gaming PC and its wired keyboard, and I have what we IT people call a crash cart (keyboard, mouse, and monitor, often on wheels but in my case bundled neatly in an IT “go bag”) hooked up to a Raspberry Pi that I’m futzing with, and the folding keyboard for my iPad that I’m composing this post with right now. I spend a lot of time using keyboards.

A pen is always part of my EDC. I like using my own pen to sign things, write checks, take handwritten notes (uncommon and for specific purposes; most of my notes are typed), and mark targets. When I started flying a lot more, that led to thinking more about self-defense in non-permissive environments, so I moved from a tiny keyring pen to full-size metal.

My requirements for an EDC pen are:

• Titanium (it’s tough, light, and I have to confess I have a thing for titanium)
• Can serve as an improvised weapon but does not look tactical
• Uses a ballpoint refill that I like (I’ve become particularly fond of the Schmidt Easyflow 9000)
• Capless — clickytop pens are fine, but Tactile Turn’s curved bolt action is fiddleicious and super reliable

I’m also very fond of the texture that Tactile Turn machines onto the pens.

As for waterproof inks, it takes the Fisher Space Pen refills, and I haven’t had any issues with the Schmidt refill smearing.

My paramedic certification expired 25 years ago, so I'm not in that group anymore. I would doubt this gadget would be useful for first responders, given they already have higher end monitors, defibrillators, etc.

But I will tell you, this device does take very nice ECG's. Especially since it only costs $99. You are limited to "lead I" though. Everyone had probably heard the term "12-lead ECG". That's what you'll get in an ER or hospital setting. So you most certainly can't diagnose everything with a device that only does one lead. Nor do you need to. But you can monitor the important, life threatening stuff. By itself, the device does not diagnose much. It can communicate with your doctor though (you'll pay a small monthly fee for that option). Where I find it of most value is when you can read your own ECG. You don't need the device to do the diagnosing because you know what you're looking at already. Even though my paramedic is expired now, I can still read ECG's pretty well. Reading your ECG on your cellphone is not ideal, but this device will create beautiful PDF files that you can email to yourself and then review on a normal computer monitor (or print). These PDF files are good quality ECG's. An example clipping is attached (the original PDF file covers a much longer time period). In case it isn't obvious, that big bizarre looking thing in the middle isn't really supposed to be there (that's one of my PVC's!) Everyone has PVC's every now and then, I just have more than most people.

Thanks - very fine explanation

More edc
- chapstick
-pen
- $40 cash
-micro multitool
- kleenex

Haertig.....nice tracing.... great description and explanation. Still a field medic (going on 28 years-plus 6 for the EMT)(I still remember the first defib).

Haertig, thanks for posting this up.

I just emailed the company - turns out the have a 6 lead option as well. I'm interested to see if I could buy one for use outside the hospital/clinic setting. Unfortunately, only shows the limb leads, but it's still pretty impressive.

I've been contemplating a portable ultrasound too; the combo would do a good screening job for a lot of conditions (all work related purchases, not just a personal EDC)

question for the medics.... Mom had congestive heart failure and threw PVCs... but they were typically preceded by an inverted T wave....which I thought was the normal (T) QRS sequence for a premature ventricular contraction

It is normal for the T-wave to be inverted after a wide QRS complex like a PVC... it is not typical for an inverted T wave on the complex before a PVC unless it was also a wide QRS.

Basically this, though you can get different shapes to PVCs.

Additionally, many things can cause an inverted t wave, independent of a PVC. Think of a PVC as the heart 'hiccuping.' Usually no big deal. The heart can have all sorts of problems. Kind of like you can have have a cold and hiccup - ever have near simultaneous sneeze and hiccup?

Chapstick.