EDC Expanded: What's Yours?

“EDC” is a common term we almost see too often these days. The Every Day Carry list or EDC is allegedly comprised of those items you have with you… well… EVERY day. I’ve previously written about how some of the EDC lists I’ve seen can’t really be EDC. I mean… the civilian who lives in an anti-gun state but has a short-barreled rifle as part of his EDC. Yeah, sure. But when I saw another EDC post come up in my Facebook feed, it caught my eye. This one had a drop leg utility pouch in the photo “to carry trauma care and survival items.”

Now, don’t get me wrong. If I have to bug out of my house, the gunbelt I’m grabbing DOES have a utility pouch on the left side on a drop leg platform. But I’m not about to carry or wear that every day everywhere. But the image did get me thinking. What DO I take with me everywhere? Well, I have this small pack. It’s full of stuff I like to have with me, or in my general vicinity. No, I don’t and wouldn’t claim to carry it with me everywhere all the time. That said, I DO take it to work with me and either have it in my office or leave it in my Jeep.

Leaving it in my Jeep is kind of redundant and I try not to do it. Why is it redundant? Because I already have a 72-hour survival pack in my Jeep. It’s sitting on top of the small duffle full of rescue and recovery gear that ended up in my Jeep for the times I go off-roading (although that’s not very often). There’s also a mounted fire extinguisher in my Jeep only because I’ve seen a Jeep engine catch on fire unexpectedly (older Jeep with poor maintenance performed). But I digress…

The image of a drop leg pouch as part of an EDC made me consider my own pack and what I carry in it. When I started to make the list it was quite startling. So, me being me, I thought I’d share it and hopefully inspire you to think a little bit about what your EDC is and how you can or might expand it by carrying a small pack… or even including some of this stuff in your briefcase if you’re a suit wearing office worker type.

Before I get into the pack itself, let’s take a look at my on-body EDC. Like everyone else (I hope) it includes my personal wallet with things like my driver’s license, FA&AM dues card, FOP annual membership card, credit cards, etc. I stopped carrying pictures of my family when I was working the street and have never gotten back into the habit. I have pictures of them on my cell phone – which is also with me any time I leave the house. I also have my credentials wallet which has my department ID and badge in it. Added to that list of items are the following:

Gun – usually a Glock 43 these days although that’s interchangeable with a Glock 17 or a Springfield Armory 1911. (Both my Glocks have been modified with a Vickers Extended Magazine release, Talon grips and upgraded sights from Battle Comp. I’ve also added +2 magazine extensions to all my Glock magazines. The Springfield Armory is modified only with grips from Mil-Tac. It was awesome out of the box and I’m afraid to mess with it! My daily wear holsters are all either DeSantis (for leather) or BLACKHAWK for hard shell and security features.)
Spare magazine for gun (at least one, but sometimes two depending on where I’m going that day)
Leatherman multi-tool. Has proven exceptionally handy to have and well worth the small weight to carry (The pouches I use for the spare magazines and Leatherman are BLACKHAWK CQC as well.)
A lighter (because you just never know when you need fire… like when a friend hands you a cigar to try).
A CRKT Home Front field strip knife
A small Gerber serrated lock-back knife (that they apparently don’t make anymore. Can’t find it on their website.)
Keys for home, Jeep, PO Box, work, etc.
A small flashlight of some kind. For quite some time now this has been a Brite Strike EPLI, but I recently acquired an ASP Scribe AAA. I’ve been carrying that daily to test it out (full review in the future but I’m loving it so far).

I also wear a watch daily and have to admit to being somewhat of a watch… um… collector. I have 12 in my display box but regularly wear one of five. Those five are three from MTM Special Operations, one from Luminox and my Apple watch.

Everything above is on my person. It’s far easier in the winter and cooler months than it is in the summer to carry everything, but I’ve learned to be comfortable in an X-Large polo shirt even though I normally wear a Large. The drape of the shirt and my ultra-slim waist (okay… mildly slim… well… not pudgy!) helps hide what I wear on my belt. I HAVE carried the gun in my waistband (IWB) in the appendix position but I just don’t find it as comfortable.

So what about the stuff that’s NOT on my person? The equipment or supplies that I still like to have with me or nearby but that there just isn’t enough room for on my person unless I’m wearing tactical “shoot me first” pants? (and yes, I wear them a lot in the cooler/winter months but I still carry most of the following in my pack.)

The pack I use is, somewhat surprisingly, from SOG Knives. It’s their TOC 20 in gray. Although I have made some minor design change recommendations to them (Chris has mixed emotions when he sees me at shows), it’s become my daily carry pack for simple organization, weight and ease of access reasons. It IS hydration compatible but I don’t have a hydration bladder in it. I use that space for other storage.

On the outside of the pack is a Chinook Medical patrol individual first aid kit (IFAK) called the Law Enforcement Medical Module (LEMM) by Chinook. It has several items for trauma care that every office should have with them. Those items include:

Gloves
Tourniquet
Hemostatic sponge
Compression bandage

Inside the pack are some of the typical urban items you’d carry for an office job; things like a portfolio, iPad or laptop, pens (more on pens below), a USB jump drive, business cards, etc. But I also have an assortment of items that I feel are the direct result of my experience in uniform – military, firefighter and law enforcement - across the years. THAT list of items includes:

Another two flashlights. Above I talked about the Brite Strike EPLI and the ASP Scribe. The other two flashlights I sometimes have in my pack are the 5.11 Tactical TMT PLX penlight or the Streamlight ProTac 2L. All the flashlights I carry, whether it’s on my person or in my pack, provided good levels of light for the intended use. I prefer lights that use AA or AAA batteries as compared to Lithium 3V CR123 batteries simply for ease of procurement. It’s far easier and cheaper to get a dozen AA batteries than it is to get a pair of CR123s.
In the same row of pockets where I keep the flashlights clipped inside the pack, I have two pens: One is from Mil-Tac and the other from SureFire. Both are made of aluminum and designed to be used as a weapon as much as a writing utensil. I’ve never had to use one on a person, but I’ve punched the Mil-Tac pen through ¼” plywood and I’m pretty sure either pen would puncture the cranial vault of a human being if circumstances demanded it.
I have an additional multi-tool in my pack: the Gerber Balance. It may seem redundant but I HATE to hand my multi-tool to anyone to use. I WILL if need be, but I don’t like being left without one… so I have two. I can lend one and still have one.
I have a small attachment that is made by SEEK Thermal for my phone. Combined with the app that is on my iPhone (6S), the attachment allows me to use my phone as a thermal imaging device. I can’t say I’ve ever HAD to use it, but the attachment is so small that it takes up very little space and weighs barely a couple ounces. I see no reason NOT to have it with me… you know… just in case. One never knows.
Since I tend to take this pack on travel with me, I also have some back up hygiene items. I have a travel toothbrush, small tube of toothpaste, disposable razor and cotton swabs. Those stay in the pack… just in case. When I’m on travel that requires flying, I obviously take the multi-tool out of the pack but the hygiene items stay – and if the airline loses my luggage, I still have the personal necessities.

Everything left that I carry in the pack falls under the heading of “trauma care” or “first aid.” It includes: