from another thread; Much of the gear that actually gets used is actually quite dull:
- Debit card
- water bottle
- jacket
- pen
- cell phone
- protein bar
- bandana
- spare keys
- id card

I'd add pocket knife & small flashlight. Always on my keyring and used nearly every day.

I cannot overemphasize the value of a good pair of shoes or boots.

Not for EDC but for the woods I'd include trekking poles and crampons. The former is useful in tons of circumstances and when you need the latter they're extremely helpful.

Situational awareness is surprisingly light and effective.

+1 on items listed above, esp. walking boots/shoes.

Clothing that protects from the elements.

Spare door key for my car.

I was glad to find that my Tacoma driver's door could be opened without a "chipped" key... so had one cut, and hidden under the bed in a magnetic key safe, that allows access to the glove box with the spare chip key... or I could just smash the window

The spare key in my wallet has saved me from major hassles several times. It's easy to set down my chip key out of range of the the receiver but still inside the car ... and then lock the door out of habit. Argh!

My wife and I keep spare keys in a closet. If one of us needs it, a quick call to the other suffices.

Honestly, I was wondering why there was a post about drilling holes on the forum. Ha!

This afternoon I put on an old pair of water shoes that I stole from my son. After working a bit just off the shoreline (getting ready to put in a new pier) I walked back to the house wondering why I had so much grit inside the shoes. A quick look found that the soles had cracked and started falling apart. Now I need a good pair of water shoes!

But seriously, I'm a person who struggles finding shoes & boots that work for me. The best I've found are Men’s Timberland PRO TITAN EH (Oxford) Soft Toe Work Shoes.

They also make taller versions - Timberland PRO TiTAN 6" Composite Toe - which I bought recently to keep chips out when chainsawing, but haven't used enough to comment.

Sunglasses. Must have.

+1 to this! As a blue-eyed fellow I find sunglasses to be an absolute necessity. I actually keep two pairs of ANSI-rated safety glasses in my day pack and car; one is charcoal tinted and the other is clear. When I was a kid my dad lost his right eye in a construction accident when a nail head flew into his eye. Cheap safety glasses would have given him almost 40 more years of having both eyes. That lesson was not lost on me.

Totally agreed on sunglasses — I have them stashed everywhere. Mine are ballistic rated.

Shopping at Walmart, I found some reading glasses for 10 dollars. They're 3.0 diopters and give me adequately corrected vision both distant and close enough for reading. No affiliation of course.

Spare glasses, for me, in every kit!

I think most peppers 2nd piece of gear is a simple water bottle.

Up vote on this one. I was walking around my house the other day and I collected all the various sets of reading glasses I stashed around the house - 15 to be exact! And 3 pair of sunglasses. That took me by surprise. A few are scratched up and could be thrown out (i.e. recycled).

I only use sunglasses when driving, but when I need them, they're essential.

Seems perfectly normal to me!

The hook
Looks like dead weight
Isn't it ??

Even the "pliers" seems to me like unpractical
But the hook !!!

Some models have hooks that have file surface on the back edge of the hook. Though don't think that model, the Deluxe Tinker, does.

Think the original use was to provide a T handle to carry string bound parcels. Have heard of them being used to carry plastic bags more comfortably.

If don't think the pliers look up to much, the Super Tinker provides the same set of tools without the pliers.

And the Tinker removes the scissors, pliers and hook.

Yes, the hook was to carry bundles that were tied up with string. Could also be used when you need to pull on a loop of something.

Speaking from experience, the hook is actually very useful for helping to pull uncooperative wet /frozen boot laces. It is painfully amazing how stubborn frozen boot laces can be when it is -20F temperatures.

I always used the corkscrew for stubborn laces and knots. Works brilliantly.

Very boring water bottle

A jacket is both the most boring and one of the most useful pieces of gear I've found.

Fast food packets of salt. These are critical in hot locations like Texas.
-Blast

I use the SAK pliers (Craftsman model, unfortunately discontinued) perhaps monthly: sometimes for splinter extraction, sometimes to get a strong grip on something. The jaws are so well machined they can be used to pick up a human hair.
Hidden in the picture is the wire-cutters at the base of the jaws; visible below the pivot point are wire crimpers.

Work gloves.
I'm adding them to more and more kits

Gloves are indeed extremely useful! Obviously in the cold but certainly in any weather around camp for gathering & processing wood, tending the fire, moving hot pans off the fire, etc.

Jep, working with bare hands might lead to small wounds that does not bother much but might get infected and that is no fun especially out in the bush.

More extremely boring gear that I use frequently:
Water bottle (or 2)
Energy bars or snack food
Phone
cheap pen
Hand sanitizer in 2 oz pocket container (refill from larger one)
Mask
headphones
Spork