Rough Edge EDC: Pocket check shows how to build your own everyday carry
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Got a couple of EDC-related packages on the way, but they haven’t arrived just yet.
I ordered two knives from Buck, the legendary American company, and have some pocket-sized notebooks coming from Field Notes.
So this week, let’s shift gears a bit and do a quick pocket check.
Here is a rundown of items I have been carrying lately. Maybe, this can help you in your quest to build your EDC loadout or simply buy a tool that helps make your life a bit easier.
What is EDC? Here is a look at some daily carry items
First my keys, which I never leave home without. I use an orange vinyl key organizer for Orbitkey to keep my keys from jangling. Attached, I have my car key, a small iTHX flashlight from Olight and my trusty Leatherman Micra. I have the Micra on an S-biner so I can quickly detach it from the rest of the stuff that’s attached to my keys.
If you read this space, you know I love the Micra. It is a small keychain multitool that is scissors-based, not pliers-based. It has a small blade, a couple of small screwdrivers, a bottle cap lifter, tweezers and a nail file and nail cleaner. Perfect for around the office or running errands around town.
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Other items I always carry: a Wayfinder Flux wallet, a credit card-sized notebook from Rite in the Rain and a small all-weather pen, also from Rite in the Rain.
As a journalist, I also carry a couple of pocket notebooks, usually Log + Jotter or Field Notes, and I have a Galen Leather notebook cover for them. Inside, it has small clip that I use to always carry an O’Pen Mini from flashlight maker Olight and a one-piece multitool, the Columbia River Knife and Tool Viva, which is out of production. The Viva can serve as a great bottle opener and a prybar.
As for knives, this is where I tend to rotate different items into and out of my everyday carry.
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Right now, my Cold Steel Stockman has become an everyday fixture. I carry it in blue leather slip my friend at J.O. Ventures Outdoors made for it.
I have also been carrying a Victorinox (Swiss Army Knife) Sentinel. This one comes in black instead of the traditional red scales most people associate with Swiss Army Knives. It is one of the larger knives the company makes at 4.4 inches or 111 millimeters when closed.
It is a pretty simple knife by Victorinox standards — single blade and the only other tools are the tweezers and toothpick that are stored in the scales. What makes it stand out: It has a locking blade and a pocket clip. Both features are pretty rare among the Victorinox inventory.
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Readers of this space know I’m a big fan of Olight flashlights, but lately have gone back to carrying my Fenix EO5R flashlight. It is a small (about the size of my pinkie), is rechargeable and has three modes.
It was the first flashlight I bought when I went down the EDC rabbit hole, and I have been having a hard time finding a reason to take it out of the rotation lately.
Here are some links that can be useful in helping you build out your EDC.
Cold Steel Knife and Tool Company
Here are some links to some helpful and entertaining EDC-related YouTube channels.
NOTE: Dave Burge is a web producer and digital reporter for KTSM.com. All gear mentioned in his column he purchased with his own money unless otherwise noted.
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