Monday, June 8, 2009

The Official EDC (Every Day Carry) Post!

Ive been meaning to do this for over a year now but these items never stay the same. I think I have finally got the ultimate combination of gear that suits my every day needs perfectly!

For those who are unfamiliar with the concept, EDC stands for Every Day Carry and is essentially the gear you keep with you every day no matter where you go or what you do. Girls know this simply as "a purse", but being a guy, we have to find different ways to have the maximum preparedness gear on us without looking like a female with a bag, or looking like Batman with his gear belt of many objects. A lot of this stuff isnt needed every day but I like having it just in case the time does come around where it is necessary. The saying goes "it is better to have and not need then to need and not have".

Anyways, here is a breakdown of everything and how I carry it!

1. Left wrist.

This is usually one of two watches that I have described in the past on here. There is either the Omega Seamaster Pro 300 Diver watch (the blue one) or the Invicta 9937 (the black one). The blue one was more expensive and was the same watch worn by Pierce Brosnan in his films as James Bond. This watch only gets worn for important things as more of a dress up item. The other one is a cheaper knockoff of the Rolex Submariner and gets lots of wrist time because i dont mind if it gets scratched up or knocked around. Both of the watches have automatic movements (no batteries, wind themselves when worn).

2. Front left belt.

Since I used it to take these pictures, all you get is a picture of the case. This is my trusty Canon SD630 ELPH digital camera. This camera is nice and small and barely noticeable on my. I keep it on me at all times because you never know what you are going to see when you are out and about (the purpose of this blog too). Ive mastered the art of getting it out of its case in a matter of seconds and being ready to shoot whatever needs to be. It currently houses a 1GB mini-SD card.

3. Front left pocket.

The only thing that gets to sit in this pocket is my phone. This is the AT&T Fuze, otherwise known as the Touch Diamond Pro. It is a Windows Mobile smartphone that runs a slimmed down version of windows and can do everything that the iphone can do plus more. I can play playstation, sega, nintendo and gameboy on it as well as edit documents, send email, check the weather, browse the internet etc etc, all with a physical full QWERTY keyboard. It also works as a phone! This may be replaced with an iphone providing the new one they announce has the features i am looking for.

4. Front right pocket.

There are two setups that alternate in this pocket depending on what i am going to be doing. The one on the left is the urban city-dweller setup and consists of a Victorinox (Swiss Army) black alox Pioneer model knife. The alox line of swiss army knives are the actual ones issued to the real Swiss Army and this is the model they get, although theirs doesnt have a keyring or colored scales. They are slightly more robust than the standard red plastic sided Swiss Army knives you normally see and they are really strong. This one has the knife blade, an awl for scraping and poking things, a can opener with wire stripper and flathead screwdriver and a can opener with a smaller flathead screwdriver that also works wonders on philips head screws. The flashlight shown here is a Fenix EO1 and runs off of one AAA battery. Its current is regulated so that it puts out a constand 10 lumens (almost triple the brighntess of a maglight solitaire) for 10 hours and after that ten hours, the output drops to what is called "moonlight mode" and it gives you about 2 lumens for another 10 hours. thats a total of 20 hours of light from a single AAA batttery, and when you think of how much you actually turn it on and have it on, this light can seriously be on for a LONG time. I got this about a year ago and have only changed the battery once. This light provides enough light to see a few feet ahead of you while walking at night and is perfect for city living where there are other ambient light sources.
The setup on the right is the "outdoors/woods" setup and consists of a Victorinox Swiss Army silver alox Farmer model. This is the same knife as the pioneer but it adds a wood saw that suprisingly can take down wrist sized trees in a matter of seconds. The flashlight is a thicker Nitecore SmartPD D10. It runs off of one AA battery and has a maximum of 130 lumens for 80 minutes straight, or a minimum of 5 lumens for 60 hours or 2.5 days! This light is WAY brighter then those huge ass maglights that you see the cops carrying around with the triple D-cell batteries and this one fits in the palm of your hand! It has unlimited settings on it so you can just hold down the button on the back and it will gradually get brighter until you release it, letting you stop at your desired level of light! This light can shine and light up a spot on the apartments way up the street from me. At night you would swear that someone turned on a car and its headlights were pointing at you.

5. Front right pocket (clipped).

This pen uses the body of a Zebra F-301 Compact which is a two piece pen that breaks down to a small capped pen about the size of a cigarette. I have replaced the actual ink refill inside with a refill from a Fisher Space Bullet pen. For those who dont know, the Fisher Space Pen was developed in order for astronauts to use in space where there is no gravity. The pen uses a pressurized refill and can write upside down, in zero gravity. The ink is specially formulated so that it writes on nearly anything too. It can write underwater or even through a stick of butter!

6. Rear right pocket.

In the back right pocket, I have a standard bandanna folded nicely. This is useful for countless things including a face mask, head warp, wiping stuff off, tinder for a fire, water filtration device etc etc. Inside the folds of it are two wipe-all alcohol wipes and a Ferrocium rod. The rod is used for starting fires. If you scrape at it with the edge of a knife or something sharp, it showers sparks everywhere. They burn at a much hotter temperature then normal and can ignite paper, leaves, cotton or whatever else you want to use for tinder when making a fire. I know there arent many situations that I could get myself into that would require the use of this but its fun to have and you just never know!!

7. Left rear pocket.

This pocket houses my wallet. I never carry any cash on me. This wallet is a Coach Water Buffalo Calf skin wallet and is some of teh nicest leather Ive ever seen. It is a really thin card holder with two front and two rear slots as well as an internal slot. I use it to hold my drivers license, insurance cards, check card, credit card as well as a small slip of paper with all of my important phone numbers in case my phone ever stops working, and also a small piece of paper with my current money owed to places and my financial totals (no access codes or passwords so good luck using it if my wallet gets stolen!! The last thing in there is a little Victorinox "Quatro" tool which is 4 different sized screwdrivers on a little flat piece of metal no biggger than a quarter. It has a few sizes that my Swiss Army knife lacks.

8. Face.

These are my Oakley Polarized sunglasses. Molly got these for me and they help keep the sun out of my eyes! What more could you want to know?

Thats all for now! Im sure this setup will continue to change and I will keep you posted when it does!