EDC Contest Entry #1 Jacob

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring the first entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #1

This is my full EDC. It should be noted that I work undercover and can’t wear my “ideal” clothing, so some of the items get left out or replaced with other (smaller) items depending on my uniform of the day. However, this represents what I carry on days when I get to wear whatever I want.

 

From top to bottom, left to right:

 

Riggers belt. Holds my pants up. Also holds me up, should the need arise. I’ve done it. Not comfortable, but I rappelled out of a tree with some dyneema cordage once and didn’t die. Beats trying to wear a rappelling harness everywhere I go. (Note: when I am undercover, I trade this one out for a stout leather belt. Less conspicuous but will still hold my weight in a pinch, just without all the convenient places to hook stuff.)

 

Wallet. Full of typical wallety type stuff. Also have some quick-fix medicine tucked inside (Sudafed, Tylenol, Dramamine, etc.). (Note: Yes, I am a brony. Yes, I will love and tolerate the shit out of you. In fact, if you break into my house, I’ll show you my shotgun, and help you lovingly and tolerantly repaint my walls.)

 

Lip Balm. I prefer good ‘ole Burt’s Bees. Gets the job done without all the chemicals. Also has peppermint oil, which calms upset stomachs (just rub some under your nose). Used it to waterproof a repaired seam on a tent, once, during a camping trip.

 

Listerine breath strips. I have a girlfriend. ‘Nuf said.

 

Recruit Lawnmower. Aka nail clippers. Works as a pair of not pokey-in-my-pocket scissors. Cuts about anything you can stuff inside (if you have a good set), and keeps my nails looking neat.

 

Two personal talismans. The top one is a medallion which represents “The Original 6 and Company”; the name my high school friends (slash group of trouble makers) and I gave ourselves (with the “and company” part being added when we started getting married). It was cast in a homemade forge from scrapped computer parts. The bottom one is a piece of seashell which my ex-girlfriend’s little sister gave me, the day she stopped hating me (her words). Makes her happy when I can pull it out and show that I still have it.

 

Handkerchief. Girls cry about stuff. Guys slice themselves open doing stupid things. Someone always forgets to bring a coffee pot. Trust me, it’s useful.

 

5.11 Tarani hook-blade knife. Not the most useful tool in my pockets, but it cuts cordage like a champ, looks scary when I use it to clean my nails in front of hooligans, and makes one hell of a letter opener.

 

HTC Evo 4G. Gotta maintain those lines of communication. It’s also in a hard plastic Otter Box, so I can hide a couple bucks inside.

 

Pens. This one varies the most. I lose more pens than should be humanly possible. I gave up on buying nice Space Pens because I was losing fifty bucks a month replacing them. I try to carry a permanent marker just because it’s fun to tag my friends when they are being complacent.

 

Keys. I try to keep the number of keys I carry to a minimum. House, car, bike, work.

 

Lighter. Just a plain old Bic lighter with the child safety taken off (so I can work it with cold/gloved hands).

 

Change. Sales tax makes certain there’s always a handful of loose change in my pocket.

 

Carabiner. Mostly just use it to clip stuff to when my hands are full. Great for carrying grocery bags and rappelling out of helicopters.

 

Ferro rod. Like the pens, this one is probably more in and out than anything else. For the longest time, I carried this instead of a lighter (because I spent more time building campfires than lighting cigars). Now, I usually carry it if I think I’ll be out in the woods, instead of just tooling around the city.

 

Notepad. A carryover from my Navy days. Mostly full of song lyrics, girls’ phone numbers, and shopping lists. Probably redundant, but notepads burn better than smart phones.

 

Multitool. Do I even need to explain why I carry this?

 

Tracker T1 Knife. I don’t have a CCW, so this is my substitute. Some people recognize it and want to have a day long conversation about Tom Brown Jr. Others see it and decide standing behind me at the ATM is a bad idea. Works as a hatchet, filet blade, chain link breaker, saw, ferro rod striker, conversation starter, and conversation ender. 

 

  -End-

 

Ryan here: First of all I would like to thank Jacob for his entry. It takes some guts to put yourself out there in front of others and some motivation to put an entry together. [Remember that before flaming anybody, lets keep the dialog constructive.] I will share my thoughts on this entry down the road.

As always everybody is welcome to leave their thoughts in the comments section.

Happy New Years!