There is an element of fashion to the photos, but so what? Humans find aesthetic beauty in lots of things, and for some people beauty means (perceived) capability.

Sure, there are posers there, but there are posers on BB too. Lastly, you wouldn’t be able to pick most of these people out of a crowd, especially myself, I look like a liberal Democrat semi-hippie (which I am, actually), but you’d never guess that I carry all this…

4x6x10 zippered bag that goes into whatever bag I’m taking to yoga/skiing/biking/meditating at the Buddhist center/whatever:
bandaids
antibiotic ointment
hand sanitizer
Thermal blanket
Israeli bandage
CELOX
water purification tablets
nitrile gloves
athletic tape
condoms
NewSkin wound sealer (this stuff is GREAT if you’ve never tried it)
AAA headlamp
NSAID painkillers (allergic to ibuprofen)
Melatonin
Vitamins
Bigger flashlight
earplugs
crank cellphone charger
shortie USB cord
Chapstick
Vaseline-soaked cotton balls (tinder for fires)
Firestarter
75cmx75cm silk bandana (towel, water filter, neck cooling-off-device, handkerchief, sling, HHGTTG contingency item)
1/4 cup gatorade mix
5m of thin rope rolled around 2m of duct tape rolled around a pencil
4 protein bars
sunscreen
insect repellent
handwipes

Keychain:
Smith Threshold sunglasses and case (lenses stopped getting scratched after I started making sure case was always with me)
earplugs in sunglasses case
Gerber Clutch multitool
Split Pea lighter
emergency rescue whistle
compass/thermometer
small LED flashlight
house key
car key for 1992 Subaru with 250,000 miles
glass breaker

(large) wallet:
Lamy Al-Star fountain pen
stack of notecards clipped together (Way better than a Moleskine)
carry permit

Briefcase:
2 liters of water in Nalgene bottles
coffee thermos

Waist:
Motorola Defy rugged smartphone
CZ P-01 9mm handgun

Wrist:
Very banged up Seiko SKX dive watch

And yeah, that sure looks like a Honda key to me. Maybe even one from the 70s.

Putt putt.

In the interests of science I have taken a quick picture of my current EDC – this is literally all I put in my pockets this morning when I left for work. At no point today have I been left thinking “shoot, if only I had a pair of yellow raybans and 2000 lumen flashlight”.

http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/3083/edccf.jpg

Selected highlights:

1) Tactical key chain containing:

1 x key for 10 y/old Ford Focus hatchback. Contains advanced theft protection features (i.e. it’s the key to a 10 y/old Ford Focus hatchback)

1 x housekey (sorry, “tactical housekey”)

1 x tactical bottle opener

1 x small SAK which I found while camping in Africa in 1997. It says Credit Suisse on the side, from which I would like you to infer that I have an unnumbered Swiss bank account and am therefore a secretive international secret agent. I use the SAK to tactically open envelopes and adjust the screws on my tactical reading glasses.

1 x debit card, my 5 mile commute takes me past 8 major supermarkets, 6 major banks and a whole load of cashmachines, all of which take Visa. In a survival sitation I can also use it in Greggs to buy a sausage roll meal-deal.

1 x office Blackberry (whose tactical 0.001 megapixel camera took the crystal-clear image highlighted above).

I keep a bunch of loose change, first-aid kit and a windup LED torch etc in the car, but apart from that when I’m at home, in town or in the office I’m never more than 10-15ft from any tool I could possibly need.

If I were a bush pilot in the Canadian wilderness I might add a few other bits, but I’ve not met anyone I work with who regularly needs a folding drop-point carbon fibre diving knife (although I think some of the DBAs *wish* they needed one).

Well, I suppose sunglasses are nice. But three knives and some huge chain, ugh, I hate having more than I *need* in my pockets.

My Sog is an old powerplier with a full nose (much prefer it to a needlenose)

I just discovered they’re discontinued. Looks like most of their new offerings would be questionable at best in the UK, most lock or are assisted opening.

The paratool looks like the only decent option to me currently.

The definition of EDC refers to small items or gadgets worn, carried, or made available in pockets, holsters, or bags on a daily basis to manage common tasks or for use in unexpected situations or emergencies.

Yet I never see anyone posting pictures of their laptop, headphones, umbrella, mobile projector, cameras, tablet(kindle in my case), npower peg (using kinetic energy to charge your electronic devices). Maybe I just have a different idea of “gadgets” in mind.

I have useful stuff in all the places where I spend time. Tools in my office, tools at home, stuff in my cars, out in my garage, stuff by my bedside. The pocketload is much lighter because I’m always either at work, at home, or near my car. The stuff I need is rarely more than a couple of steps away.

Sailors folding knife and lockspike (mainly for opening packages and fruit), also for taking stones out of horses hoofs; Schrade multi tool. Not as accessible as the lockspike; Four tabs of tegretol; LG Optimus android phone (doubles as a camera)

And when travelling..

Inka travel pen; Digital watch with world time; LED torch; Garmen eTrex GPS; Various power adapters; ASUS eeepc 701 laptop loaded with ubuntu;

The case shown there looks snazzy but it takes space and I would probably shove my gear into a laptop bag.

I bet some of you do, but most of you don’t.

I had a similar affectation in that I used to wear pocketwatches. I had really bony wrists, so wristwatches were just embarrassing. And the small fifth pocket on Levis worked well for pocketwatches.

But since I started wearing a pager and then eventually a cell phone, keeping the pocketwatch around seemed a tad too precious, so I gave it up.

Which of course may not be your thing, but I specifically wanted something that even the most ignorant policeman could not mistake for a weapon.

Well, I carry three blades. One is part of a Swisstech Utilikey on my keychain. It’s about two inches long and only useful for the lightest of cutting duties. The one I use most is a CRKT PECK which is also rather small. But it handles most everyday cutting tasks fairly easily. The third is a CRKT KISS which I keep for any of the heavier duty cutting tasks I might have. I’ve used the KISS to cut leather when I was doing some crafts and forgot to bring my utility knife. I don’t carry the utility knife normally. I’ve also used it to cut cakes which the PECK is just too short for.

Sometimes I carry a Silver Stag hunting knife. I do so because it is very nice looking, and was a gift. I can’t carry that at work, so I carry the folders. The Silver Stag has a Damascus blade and a stag horn handle.

I have been known to carry a multi tool but I quickly came to the realisation that I only used the knife blades and the screw driver bits so I switched to a Doc Allen Versa Tool and a knife. The Versa Tool is excellent, but after a while I realised I usually only used it in places where I already had access to a stock of tools.

As for the Headlight/Flashlight debate… I have been known to carry both. They both have their place, but generally I carry a much more powerful (2 AA Cell) flashlight because it’s more generally useful.

Z.

Some of us actually run into situations where we need to cut things, or open things and we don’t have a toolbox handy, or sometimes get caught in the dark and would like to see. Or sometimes we’d just like to be ready if we do. Just like no modern human in a western country should need a car with more than a couple seats and a minimal engine, or a meal of more than some soybean paste and pure water, or clothing that’s more than a burlap sack to protect you from the elements. People like different things, and some people like really funky things. Some people juggle geese, and I’m OK with that.

I don’t understand how a modern human in a western country needs anything beyond keys, a phone, and id/methods of payment.

I don’t understand why you need a phone! If I had a phone, people would call me, which would waste my time and could prevent me from performing useful and socially responsible acts. (Some of which I perform using a knife, incidentally.)

Hmmm, we should probably both google “egocentrism”.

Yeah, I don’t understand how a modern human in a western country needs anything beyond keys, a phone, and id/methods of payment. The rest of it is clutter.

I carry a small french pocket knife for daily emergencies – like cutting salami and opening bottles of wine.

Mind you, the sad state of safety-culture will earn you many an askance look from people who thinking having a multi-tool is akin to strapping on a flak jacket or something.

Signed, Steve.

I can think of very few situations where given the choice between a headlamp or a flashlight I would choose a flashlight (especially as you can always just hold the headlamp in your hand if that method is superior for some reason).

For example:

http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/headlamps/emergency-and-signal-lighting/elite

http://www.petzl.com/en/pro/compact-headlamps/zipka