Everyday Carry (EDC)

Since I talked a little about it yesterday I figured I would go a little more in depth today for people who are unfamiliar with Everyday Carry or EDC.  So, when anyone leaves the house what do they do?  They make sure they have their keys, their wallet, their cell phone, watch, sunglasses etc.  That is the EDC for the average American dude… women obviously have additional considerations but the truth is most people are very unprepared for anything outside of their daily routine.  There really isn’t a term for that kind of preparedness because it isn’t really preparedness at all.  So, from now on when I say EDC I mean some form of the basics described in the next paragraph.

Like I said in the other blog post (First, Second, and Third Line Gear) EDC is basically your life-line in an emergency situation.  Minimalism is key because no one is going to carry around a bunch tactical gear on their body unless it’s part of their job.  You want to conceal as much as you can so you’ll want to find comfortable clothes that can do that but still accommodate what you need.  Generally, you’ll need the items listed in the paragraph above as well as sub-compact or compact pistol (unless you’re in a gun free zone!) with an extra mag if possible, a folding knife, a high powered flashlight (800 lumens or higher) and a way to carry them all comfortably and practically.  In cooler environments where long pants, long sleeves and jackets are common this should be no problem.  However, summertime where I live makes you want to take clothes off and in a place like this you will have to either be uncomfortable, carry less or try to compromise by finding creative ways to carry what you need.

In the previous blog post, I also talked a little about some cool products on the market that add to your EDC toolkit.  Of course, the ESC is by far the best one of them… but even as biased as I am I realize you probably won’t carry it on your person (it better be in your car though!).  So here are a couple other cool ideas that should be on you at all times.  First of all READYMAN makes a clever EDC sleeve designed to fit over a belt and carry those extra items I talked about.  They also make an ingenious product called a Survival Card that has a ton of uses and fits in a wallet.  See the adjacent picture and click on the link at the bottom of the page for more info.  Another great new product is the Slide Belt Survival 2.0.  It looks like a normal belt but includes a hidden titanium nitride coated blade, a ferro rod fire starter, bottle opener and a few other features.  Another product I love for EDC is a TITAN Paracord Bracelet.  A supped up version of the standard paracord it includes 550 cord, copper snare wire, fishing line, and waxed jute for starting fires.  I’m going to be adding links to some of these products and others I like so if you’re interested in any of them click away and it’ll take you to Amazon.

Jason