The EDC kit is very popular right now among geeks and preppers but that s not why I carry one. I carry one because with my incredible severe allergies and Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, I am ALWAYS one chance encounter away from an emergency room. I’ve been refining this all year and here is what I am down to. (KISS, remember?)
On my keyring
House Keys
4G memory stick
Car Keys
Bike Key
Victorinox Midnight Manager Swiss Army Knife w/LED light
Whistle with magnifying glass and compass
On belt
- Cellphone (not pictured)
- Notepad
- Space pen
- Emergency card tool with knife blade
- Collapsible baton (jogger version of the S&W)
- Epipen
- Allergy Tablet in waterproof fob (not pictured)
- Wallet
- Automatic (kinetic) watch
- Med Alert bracelet (not pictured)
- Business cards
- Small leather belt clip carry bag
The whole package fits into a 7 x 4 ” space and clips to my belt or belt loops.
I also carry a go bag which is slightly more impressive. I bought one with both backpack and cooler compartments through Land’s End.
It contains
- Camera
- Lens cloth
- Camera filters
- Tripod
- Air filter masks (for MCS dangerous places)
- Unlined leather gloves
- Multi-tool
- Memory cards
- Waterproof matches
- Fishing line and hooks
- Small knife
- Orienteering compass
- Camp eating tool (CRKT)
- Corkscrew
- Small notepad
- Paracord bracelet
- Waterproof pouch (to hold the small items)
- LED Flashlight
This is a 22 x 16 ” bag that will fit into an overhead in a plane so it can also be used as a trael bag once the “dangerous” items are removed.
I also keep a full Bug Out Bag in my car for emergencies and multiple day travel trips. I won’t list it’s contents here – it is really just a melding of my old Camping S&R bag and an automotive emergency kit.
EDIT:::: One commenter on this post would like me to note that this kit was designed rather specifically for me and for my purposes.
I would like to note that I was not proposing a plan for a general usage kit. If fact, I was merely sharing my kit with the world and adding it to the literally thousands you can see if you Google “Every Day Carry”. If you require something different, feel free to design your own and even to share it here in the comments.
The commenter also raises the issue of quality suggesting that it is relative and subjective to the user and the users needs.
On the small scale, that is fair enough. We must all serve our own utility. On a larger scale, I refer the reader to Robert Pirsig’s classic book, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for his take on what he calls Dynamic Quality.
I also need to note here that I INTENTIONALLY did not mention any brand names or prices for the stuff in my kits. I live in an area with a good deal of street crime and do not wish to put a price tag on anything I carry around with me daily, nor do I wish to promote any specific name brands, but that does not mean that I purchased the whole of my kit at Walmart or the Dollar Store. Although I did get some of it from those venues! 😛
EVOLVING MALE 
Quality is indeed an interesting topic, although Robert Pirsig would claim that it is far from relative or subjective! Even so your points are duly noted, and I should mention in the post if I did not already that my EDC bag is very much designed to my needs. When creating the bag, I viewed literally thousand of pictures of other peoples’ kits (Google “Every Day Carry” and you’ll see what I mean.) and then refined everything down to what I needed and could deal with. Some of the items in my bag were very expensive, others dirt cheap. It depended on what I used daily and what I used monthly. If you wish to design your own kit, feel free. As a writer I went for a good pen, but the paper did not matter. I use a LOT of paper and throw away a lot of paper so a cheap notebook worked better for me than a Moleskin might for another person. I also INTENTIONALLY left out name brands of most of my tools as I live in a city where street crime is common and I did not want to put a numeric value on any item attached to my person. Best wishes in your continuing journey…DEC
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