I think for most folks, edc space is at a premium. I used to be able to pack a shoulder bag with me everywhere that held what I'd consider a massive amount of survival gear for edc. Now I am really compelled to make limited use of pant and shirt pocket space. Bulging pockets, belt packs, and klingons just won't pass muster for me in the office, so in that situation it is imperative that my edc items be as multi tasking as possible, or at least as small as possible if single use. This is not to say I am without a certain level or redundancy, such as two flashlights, two lighters, two knives, but that is mostly the extent of my edc. Specifically, it is what I keep on my person pretty much all the time while I'm awake.

The trade-off, then is to have more items stashed at my various locations, such as my desk or car, that will service my needs further as they come up. This can include more elaborate, bulky and single function type items. Likewise, my BOB is much more robust. Even my computer bag, which follows me everywhere but isn't always right at hand, allows me to pack a whole lot more stuff around than what I can fit in my pockets, thus allowing me to specialize the type of equipment I can stow, including things I don't necessarily use all the time.

So for me, the ideal EDC list will include as many multi tasking items that see frequent use as possible, realizing that this incorporates a certain level of compromise for convenience, but still far better than having to do without a certain function entirely.

As for the putting all my eggs in one basket approach, I suppose there's inherent risk in that, just as there is in not bringing every single use items I can because of space limititations would be. Since I cannot bring a list of devices that each have a discrete function that satisfies my needs for edc, especially from an electronics perspective, I am going to make do with and accept the limitations of having one or a couple of multi taskers that will get the jobs done that I need done, and when the opportunity for gearing up further presents itself, I will capitalize on it as is warranted. In a SHTF mode, I am going to always wish I had more stuff, but inevitably make do with whatever I have, and if it breaks or runs out of power, it is little more than a factor to recognize and account for in the plan.

Otherwise, I am going to end up with a lawn cart full of stuff for edc. Here's another twist of logic, the more stuff you have with you, the more likely it is some of it will fail, break, get lost, or run out of juice. To me it seems to be a trade off on the odds; on the one hand, if you edc a multi tasker and it fails catastropically, then you lose all function, but if you edc discrete items, then the chance that one will fail goes up. Most likely the odds still favor single task items, but then you factor in convenience and it seems to be a wash.