Let's Discuss EDC

It's not Masonic, but I imagine it is of great interest to Masons

The idea of EDC has always interested me.

What do men carry, every day, as they go about daily life.

Through the years I’ve read about what other men choose to EDC quite a bit. Some carry nothing much at all beyond keys. Others carry a whole bag full of stuff. Most of us are somewhere in between, I suppose.

Photo by Joshua Hanson on Unsplash

I started thinking about this as a kid. The Boy Scouts drilled into me that I should always ‘Be Prepared.’ The Mountaineers in Seattle (I was a backpacker and a climber when I was young and thin) preached their ‘10 Essentials.’

So, I’ve thought about it for years now.

What should a man have in his pockets, on his body, or in a bag every time he leaves the house?

What does he need to ‘Be Prepared?’

What is are his ‘Essentials?’

So, I’m hopeful that we can discuss those things here today.

What do you EDC?

I’ll start, because that is the fair thing to do.

For me, it’s pretty minimal.

1. I try to never leave the house without a hat. Not just any hat, a good hat. Something that will insulate in cold weather and keep the sun at bay in hot. My skin doesn’t tan, it’s either pasty or badly burned. My grandfather was the same way, and I watched for years as doctors cut cancers from his head. So, I try to never leave the house without a good hat, and on those rare sunny days that I’ve forgotten, I buy one wherever I happen to be. That’s how important a full brimmed hat is to me.

2. I never leave my house without my wallet. It’s got my ID, my credit cards, and my cash.

3. I try to carry a Zippo lighter. Humankind learning to make a fire is the most fundamental skill upon which our entire civilization is built. I know from my years in the woods that with fire and a knife, I can survive. A Zippo will make that fire quickly, relatively easily, and reliably. (Presuming of course that one remembers to fill it up every few days.)

4. As touched on above, I carry a knife. What knife I carry has certainly changed through the years. As a young guy I carried a really long but thin knife, specially designed for my work. Eventually I moved to a hawkbill, finding it more suitable. Now I carry a relatively large, but light, single blade folder. Not a huge knife by any means, but not diminutive either. I also, when I have my keys, have a really small, but super handy lockback on them.

That’s it for me.

I don’t always carry car keys, only if I’m driving, and I rarely carry a house key, relying instead on the hidden one. I usually don’t carry a phone, never a flashlight, and even though I should, I almost never remember to carry a pen. I forget my glasses more often than not too.

I know that a lot of men do, but I also don’t carry a gun. Years ago when I carried lots of cash as part of my job I did. I also kept a gun in my office when I worked in a place open to the public. These were always full size, and I always did so legally. Today I don’t. I don’t find myself in situations in which I feel it is necessary. But, if that were to ever change, I wouldn’t hesitate to start carrying again.

The ability to cut, the ability to make fire, and the ability to protect my head. Those to me are my ‘Essentials.’ They are what I need to ‘Be Prepared.’

What about you?

What do you carry everyday, and why?

Have the items changed over time?

Have some been added or taken away?

Is there something you think you should carry, but you don’t for some reason?

What makes you feel that you are ‘Prepared?’

What in your mind is ‘Essential?’

Let’s chat about it in the comments below.

I imagine that by doing so, we just might learn something from each other!