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Fellas of Lemmy, what's your Every Day Carry (EDC)?

Those who don't identify as a fella also welcome to answer!

I'm getting tired of my wallet and I'm hoping to get some new ideas. Current EDC is my phone, wallet, and keys on a lanyard. Whatchu got?

Edit: I ought to be a little more specific with my EDC, since most people are kindly taking the time to do so.

Phone: Pixel 8 Pro Wallet: bulky leather wallet, I don't even remember the brand, I've had it so long. Keys: a stylized lanyard with various house keys, car key fob, and a keychain that reads "I hope your day is as good as my butt" from my wife. I have to keep that, you understand.

Misc: Burt's Bees chapstick, Listerine breath strips, and occasionally a utility knife depending on my destination.

191 comments
    • Old leather wallet
    • Flashlight (Skilhunt H150)
    • Knife (Spyderco UKPK)
    • Pepper spray (Sabre Red, with a pocket clip from a random flashlight)
    • Phone (Pixel 4A)
    • Keys, and another flashlight (Skilhunt EK1)
    • Flash drive (Sandisk 128gb)
    • 1.38€

    See also !edc@sopuli.xyz

    • Who knew EDC could be so... Aesthetic! Thanks for sharing that link too, probably should have looked for that community before posting. But I like giving people a chance to talk about themselves a little. :)

  • When not in school:

    • Phone with wallet case
    • Keys
    • Wireless headphones

    When in school: all the above plus:

    • Yorepek 50L backpack (everything else goes in here)
    • Laptop (notes, actual work) (Debian w/ KDE Plasma)
    • Laptop charger
    • Grandma's laptop from 15 years ago that runs like dog shit (backup, also Debian, can still access my repos and load web pages, decoy if robbed)
    • Tablet (books)
    • Voltmeter (yes all the time)
    • Blank computer paper and pencils (derivations)
    • Guitar picks (Dunlop Gator Grip 2.0mm; for playing death metal, but also makes for a great tool)

    Wireless headphones get extra priority because they allow me to control what I hear. For example, instead of getting sensory overload (I'm autistic) at the supermarket, I can replace it with death metal, which is better for some reason.

  • As little as possible most of the time.

    Wallet, phone, coin purse, keys for shopping.

    Phone, leash, poo bags, treats, 2m length of rope for the dog walk. The rope is mostly for defense against off leash agro dogs. I used to carry a knife but stopped because it's illegal and innocent rope will do the trick.

  • Eh! This thread just reminded me of something I've been meaning to buy, but only ever think about buying when I'm at work or something and not able to get online to make the purchase:

    https://www.redcross.org/store/cpr-keychain-with-face-shield-and-gloves/ARC-CPR-03.html?cgid=cpr-masks-and-face-shields

    Key-chain pouch with a CPR face barrier that has a one-way valve.

    I've never had to give CPR outside of a hospital environment, but there it's much more controlled w/ supplies readily available like a resuscitation bag that you just slap onto the patient's face and squeeze to give breaths. I know how to do the field version without any supplies, but when you give breaths in that scenario, YOU are the resuscitation bag, and it'd be nice to be prepared to give rescue breaths without needing to worry about shit like picking up herpes off some dying stranger's face.

    Also CPR is NOT hard to do or learn, so if I've piqued your interest and you're not already familiar with it, plug your city in here (https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class) and set it to CPR and see what's in your area. Price varies a lot, but expect $30-$100 (WHY ISN'T THIS FREE/SUBSIDIZED?!). Learn some shit, get that cert, save a life. Make sure the class you sign up for good for first-timers and not a refresher course; and I STRONGLY recommend doing in person vs online so you can practice on a dummy with an instructor present to let you know if you're fucking something up.

    [/pitch]

    • Honestly, a very useful skill to learn. Thanks for the pitch!

  • I am very minimal with what I carry.

    I always have phone, headphones (either wired earbuds or my shokz bone conducting ones) and the least amount of keys(this is currently down to a single key on a small elastic cord).

    If I am cycling I add in a small cafe lock, and in the summer I include spf30 Chapstick as well.

    That is all the stuff ever really worry about taking with me on a daily basis.

    • How are those bone conduction? Thinking of getting some.

      • They are great for what they are and definitely have their place. But they are expensive and pretty mediocre in comparison to something like my KBear KS1s which are around £20, or £140 cheaper than the Openrun Pros I have.

        I love them(I am on my 3rd pair), and I reach for them more often than the in ears. They are super comfortable and easy to listen too, they allow you to hear stuff around you as long as you don't crank them up too loud, and the battery lasts ages(I got about 13 and a half hours of music out of them in a day).

        In terms of audio quality, they arent great, listenable but the bass is fairly bad and the highs are thin. Mids, especially voices are pretty great though. So if you listen to a lot of podcasts they are fairly easy to recommend, music is not their strong point.

        I cycle a lot, like a silly amount. So not having my in ears blocking sound is always good. I also suffer a lot from wind noise which can give me really bad headaches, which having the Shockz on helps reduce, and the music eliminates the headaches. This is why I love them so much, they are basically essential to me on rides, espcially when doing long ones. You can wear them all day listen to music and hove converstions with people without turning the music off.

        I also like them when just out and about in normal every day situations, because I can keep tabs on things around me while enjoying music. This doesnt really apply if you are commuting on a busy bus or train, or it is really loud around you they kinda suck at that point. Because you probably have to turn them up too loud to drown out the environmental noise, and that can cause them to vibrate on your head which really isnt good or comfortable.

        In terms of recommendations, if you cycle, run or walk a lot in nature(rather than cities) I would definitely encourage someone to try them. If you also hate wearing in ears I would recommend trying them as well, but keep in mind the audio is not great due to nature of the tech behind bone conduction.

        I would not really recommend if you like blocking out sounds(commutes, noisy office, busy city streets), or you are looking for great music audio quality.

      • I'll toss in as I have two, a set at home and at work.

        For music, they're honestly kinda meh. They'll get the job done if you want some music but lets be frank you'll find better sound quality headphones out there.

        The reason I absolutely find them game changers is they allow me to wear them when I'm at work. I work on mechanical equipment in hospitals, so I need to hear what's going on around me, one earbud can block up a side but this means I can hear when someone is talking to me. Also I found that earbuds didn't fit me well so would potentially fall out, these wrap around the back of the head and stay in place, even when I'm working in some strange positions. And when I'm pulling out the power tools and things are going to be loud, I stick in earplugs, and I can hear what I'm listening to better even.

        Phone work, I was shocked because my last job I was in a cargo van with minimal insulation so A LOT of road noise, but I'd hear the person I'm talking to with little issue and they could hear me well. Makes hands free phones a lot better.

        I listen to podcasts, audiobooks, and the like. I mean chew through so many of them it's not even funny. Because of that sometimes I found with the single earbud one you'd have something in stereo, well that single earbud messes it up and you gotta set it to a mono sound. These you've got that dynamic sound going.

        So in short, if you're going for audiophile level stuff, pass on these, but for daily drivers in day to day life they're on the top ten things I've ever bought.

  • Oh damn, can of worms opened!

    My pockets carry is wallet, keys, two knives, emergency meds, bandana, and edc kit.

    Keychain has two mini tools on it, one a knife pick (I can explain later if anyone cares) and a key tool from from niteize.

    Edc kit is in a generic edc pouch. Lighter, mini multi tool, workkos aaa flashlight, mini pry bar that was a gift (never would have bought one), and a little whistle that has a storage tube with a sewing kit in it, plus a smaller knife than the two I keep clipped to my pocket.

    Yes, that's three knives, wanna fight about it? ;) hell, it's four if you count the useless blade on the mini multi tool.

    I also carry a smaller flashlight around my neck on a bead chain. It is incredibly useful, and I highly recommend this form of carry. Mine is an olight keychain light, the i3eeos. Single aaa battery, decent output and battery life. But it hangs just right to illuminate things where I would otherwise have to hold a light in my mouth, or have a headlamp. I use it multiple times a day sometimes, what with piddling around the chicken coop and whatnot.

    Seriously, it is the second most used item I carry. It would be the first, but my main knife gets used hard in the yard lol. It's an old benchmade 710.

    Now, I also have two carry kits for other supplies. A shoulder bag and a backpack. That's stuff that isn't pocket carry possible, and/or would only be useful if I'm away from home and get stuck overnight, or in specific use cases that are annoying enough to merit the carry.

    The big bag has all the same stuff as the little, with extras.

    Little bag has a "device kit" with power bank, cables, etc. Pens, pencil, better multi tool, bigger flashlight (still hand sized, but there's throws better light), bigger sewing kit, pill case with my regular meds for two days worth, and a mini 1st aid kit, plus whatever I decide to throw in.

    The backpack adds a poncho that can double as a blanket, a usb bank as well as power bank, a bigger knife, some basic emergency food ( granola bars usually, plus some water purification tablets), and has room for various devices, including a laptop and multiple tablets or phones. That's what I have with me when going more than a half hour from home, always. The smaller bag is for in town carry.

    And don't get me started on my car kits. Seriously, don't ask, in not typing that much lol.

    EDC for me is bare minimum preparedness for an individual. Each "tier" of carry represents having what i need for a given span of time and minor issues that arise often enough to merit the weight.

    • I see we have an EDC enthusiast in the house ;)

      You reminded me that I've been needing to do up a car-trunk-kit, and this has given me some good ideas to boot. Thanks for sharing!

  • [UK] I carry phone and keys. I pay for everything with my phone. Twerking on street corners as a Gen X for cash isn't profitable anymore.

    If I know I need ID, eg. Costco, I have my old fashioned wallet in my jacket pocket. I keep meaning to set up the Costco ID on my phone. Doesn't happen.

    The number of times I open or reach for my wallet is maybe twice a month. Frigging barber still wants to be paid in cash, and all the 20th century banks and their ATMs are closing .. [so now they have 20th century tech and no way to interact efficiently with the public. Haha!].

    I'm very increasingly anarchist as I get into my sixth decade - UK 2020s feels like 1970s again so screw the useless thieving politicians - so I should be actively pro-cash but I'm actually more pro-crypto pro-barter (especially pro barter) in the real world. Long ago l learned that if I have physical cash, I piss it up the wall, but I'm careful with credit card cash. No idea why. I never have more than £30 in notes on me; that's enough money to buy a Costa coffee for you yanks.

    Sadly, that means I can't give cash to the odd homeless. Not too many homeless with contactless readers. Maybe that'll be rabbit-in-headlights Kier's big thing: contactless readers for the destitute veterans that the armed services and government abandoned (I came of age around Falkland conflict).

  • Probably the most unique thing is a Garmin watch w/ a built in flashlight. Which as someone not willing to carry an actual flashlight because I know I'll never both to take it out of my pocket 90% when I need it I find very useful. More smart watches should pick up the feature.

  • It depends a bit on what bags I carry, what kinda pockets I have, what my needs are for that specific trip and what temperature it is.

    Front right:

    • keys (2 house keys, 2 USB thumb drives, some decorative key fobs and a carabinier to attatch my bike lock key that needs to be inside the lock while riding)
    • 1 or 2 lighters
    • tobacco, filter and papers for rolling cigarettes (when I'm wearing a shirt with front a pocket, the rolling stuff goes there)
    • anything that's able to scratch my phone screen

    Front left:

    • phone (pixel 5)
    • wallet (random leather wallet from amazon, that held up surprisingly well over the past ~5 years)

    In my backpack for longer transit/going to the park etc:

    • wallet in the backpack now
    • headphones (bluetooth IEMs)
    • whatever novel I'm currently reading
    • umbrella
    • water bottle
    • a backup reusable shopping bag
    • flashlight (some cheap USB rechargeable LED light with both a focused beam and a bigger LED in the handle for illuminating larger spaces)
    • sometimes rolling stuff for joints inside a waist bag

    When grocery shopping:

    • other, bigger backpack with several reusable shopping bags

    When its hot:

    • a towel that I often just tuck in my pants a bit so it can dry better while hanging from my waist, when dry I usually keep it in my front left pocket
    • usually also a folding hand-held fan, in my backpack when I happen to carry it, otherwise front right pocket

    When I go out but don't want to carry my backpack I put the following inside the waist bag and carry that across my chest:

    • cigarette rolling stuff, unless I've got a front pocket on my shirt
    • sometimes also joint rolling stuff
    • keys
    • wallet
    • usually headphones

    Idk if this much detail was wanted but here you go lol

  • Flipside 4 wallet, put a clip on the lanyard to clip to my shorts so doesn't slip out of my pocket. I had a custom thin RFID made that I slipped between the outside of the lid's rfid-blocking plate and the plastic lid itself to get into my apt building's various doors. Wallet has all my cards and key, and cash for the rare times I have it.

    I always carry a victorinox classic sd sak with a big orange Paracord lanyard on it so I don't lose track of it. It's black and limited edition with a cool skeleton carrying a Halloween bucket graphic.

    I carry a Spyderco manbug as well, good slicer, small unscary size. Has super blue steel, so cool patina near the edge. I have a clip on that as well so doesn't fall out of my shorts pocket.

    I have a modified Leatherman style ps as well, removed the scissors (scissors better on the sak anyways) and added a little titanium prybar that has a sharp enough edge for opening packages. That has a carabineer-style clip that clips on edge of my pocket.

    I wear an apple watch ultra, good for apple pay, timers/alarms and texts. Siri to check stuff like sports scores in a pinch. Negates me needing actual phone, I tend to leave iPhone 13 mini in a cheap Etsy "Arnie" case (cameras are barrels of gun from that movie Commando) at home, unless I feel like I'll need the entertainment of f'ing with my phone wherever I'm going

    I wear wedding ring out always, bracelet my wife made me often, next to the apple watch. Often have a mechanical wrist watch on other wrist, varies which (have a collection.) I often wear a couple/few Happy Beads bracelets with the mechanical watch to put the finishing touches.

    Vast majority of the time I'm just wearing sandals, shorts & T-shirt (I work from home).

    The above is my unique and probably awful/questionable taste, more of an admission than edc and/or fashion advice 😂😢

  • Cell phone, a roll dog poop bags.

    My phone has a couple RFID stickers that I've cloned my home & work access cards onto. I use tap to pay so I rarely need my wallet.

    I like to carry as little as possible, unlike many here.

    • Same, though I'd like to know about the work access card trick.

      • Use a flipper or proxmox to clone your card. If you don't want to buy the gear, someone local on Facebook / craigslist probably offers card cloning. They'll have a selection that usually includes stickers.

        Finding proper tags can be hit and miss, these are what I used last time: https://a.aliexpress.com/_mP8G9eC

        These aren't stickers but I put them under a dbrand phone skin.

  • Back in the beforetimes I had a fairly long commute to work, I pretty much had to rely on what I could carry with me, so I had a rather significant EDC which included several tools, utilities, comforts, conveniences and PPE between my pants pockets and my laptop bag. Now I don't even carry a Leatherman with me and when I do leave the house it's just keys-wallet-phone.

191 comments