For me its a small whistle on my keychain.

I have a pair of Velcro crampons which I keep in my briefcase. Here in St. Louis, we sometimes have icy conditions and I feel better knowing I have them if I need to cross an icy street.

I used to carry a CPR mask. Currently, I carry an electronic alarm. There are also a few items in my first aid kit that I never needed, such as a trauma pad, N95 mask and hydration powder.

Jeanette Isabelle

My firearm. And I'm glad I haven't had to use it.

Not much. Over the years I’ve dropped stuff from EDC that was never used. Carrying stuff “just in case” is inefficient. There’s a lot of stuff a short walk to my truck or in my backpack, but not in my EDC pocket carry.

Do you mean EDC or in the PSK? I will address each.

EDC: Sidearm. I have never had to use my sidearm in an urban situation, luckily. A couple times I was glad I had it as things could have gone differently. I'll note that I have had to use my sidearm in a wilderness setting. EDC-wise, everything else that I actually carry gets used with some regularity.


Wilderness: I generally have a very well stocked PSK and I have a few options. For state parks and places where the odds of getting lost or stuck are minimal my kit is fairly minimal. Then I have an intermediate kit built around a water bottle bag. In theory it contains enough to survive an unplanned night or two in the wilderness, although it wouldn't necessarily be comfortable. Lastly I have a pretty comprehensive PSK/day bag that I built around a Mystery Ranch 2 Day Assault pack. At 27 liters it's still easy to carry but very close to a camping pack. With it I'm be fairly comfortable down to 40 or lower even without a fire, and with a fire I'd be pretty good in anything short of a very bad winter night.

I will confess to having to resort to a lot of the kit in one instance that I recounted here at ETS. Even then there are a few thing I didn't use. As Teacher mentioned I've never used my emergency whistle, nor have I ever needed my signal mirror. So far I've never used the space-bag/bivvy outside of just testing it. Certain items in the FAK have never been required in the field, either. Lastly I have never used the sail needle or fishing stuff that seems obligatory in PSKs. Truth be told I'm terrible at sewing so if I did need the needle it would be a mess. The fishing stuff is only there because it's part of an otherwise-useful kit I cannibalized to build my homebrew kits. I suppose there's little harm in having it as the weight is low but I probably wouldn't go out and buy more if it got lost.

Of course, just because I haven't used it yet doesn't mean I never will. I've played with mylar/space blankets for a couple of decades but never actually used one in a tough spot until this spring! Luckily I try to experiment and practice with all the stuff I carry so I don't have to figure it out on the fly.

My trusty 357 Magnum (S&W Mod 28). Displayed once to good effect in a non-wilderness encounter, but never fired.

Yep Hikermor
That is what I call equipped to survive
My incident S&W M66 same result

Because of my first aid training, I carried exam gloves for years.

PLB

This.
Other than my pistol, most of my EDC has fallen by the wayside. I have a backpack that goes in to work with books and some tools. I have stuff in my truck.

I doubt anything is going to happen between house -> truck, or truck ->work, that's going to necessitate a pocket full of stuff.

Q: "What do you carry but have never used?"

A: "My wife!" he says, in a 1950-ish misogynist male comedian's voice

sorry....

i've not used an emergency mini lock-picking kit

OTOH, i have used my handgun a number of times to euthanize fatally injured animals along side the road, ie deer, etc (i live remotely)

speaking of Wiley Coyote:

https://twitter.com/mtbogan/status/1259492438009249794

Hahaha! That yote doesn't seem to have as much hardware as the one in the cartoons.

Probably because Wiley does not have Amazon Acme Prime Delivery which has guaranteed same day delivery in many places.

Come to think of it, with all the Acme deliveries Wiley got, Roadrunner hunting must pay better than I thought!

i never win, never!

Actually, you gotta admire the efficiency of the coyote’s hunt. He was simply putting himself in position to take advantage RR’s mistake if it made one. The RR kept moving and didn’t look back, so Wiley moved on to an easier meal. The goal is to use fewer calories in the hunt than you gain with the meal. Coyotes tend to be very efficient hunters.

Organ donor card!

Key chain whistle.

Since I have dogs, I train them to the key chain whistle. Sometimes when the wind is howling, my calls are lost but the whistle cuts through.

In a wilderness context, I have been carrying bear spray since it was invented but have never had occasion to arm or use it. I guess I should invite friends and try some target practice.

I find that if I dont use something normally, I tend not to carry it…

My quarter ounce gold Maple Leaves.

I did think of one thing…
a tourniquet!

I hope I never have to use it, but if I need one, I’ll have it on me!

I’m trying to think if there is anything I regularly carry that doesn’t eventually get used, and frankly I don’t think there is anything. Some of the things in my handbag might not get used frequently, but they all do eventually get used.

re: key chain whistle... a good friend passed a couple of years ago after a long battle with throat and lung cancer... the throat radiation treatments had destroyed his tongue, and it had to be removed... he was unable to speak... he was one of the recipients of the Acme pea less whistles I gave for Christmas several years prior (when he could speak).... he used the whistle on many occasions after losing his speech...he did two tours in Viet Nam with USMC...he is greatly missed

If it doesn’t get used, I dont carry it!

Some may argue their CCW, but Ive used mine to dispatch animals and simply do some “plinking” at a convenient spot to shoot while carrying…so it gets used for things other than self defense.