Getting into EDC: Bag vs Pocket?

An EDC should take into consideration what your average day consists of, and I'm getting some conflicting messages about that from what you're carrying.

The tinder fire starter and emergency blanket kind of suggest a lot of time spent outdoors to me. Sensible enough things to carry if you're out in the woods or whatever. But one thing I don't find a lot of in the woods is locks, so one or the other is probably unnecessary, especially with 2 sets of lockpicks.

Also always be careful if you carry lockpicks, know your local laws, especially if you're carrying anything else that may paint a funny picture to the police like a knife. Just having lockpicks on you for any reason may not be legal, cops may be able to assume that you have intent to use them in a crime, etc.

Realistically, what kind of situation are you going to use an emergency blanket in around town that you couldn't just as easily duck into an open convenience store to get out of the weather?

Similarly, when around town are you going to need to start a fire? Sure, if you're going hiking, 2 or 3 ways is probably a good idea in case you get stuck in the woods, but beyond lighting cigarettes and such and maybe fusing the frayed ends of some synthetic rope/string, I'm pretty hard pressed to think of reasons to carry more than a lighter around town, you probably don't need the tinder, leave that in your hiking pack.

2 lighters can be fine though, I tend to have one in my pocket and one in my bag, but I'm a smoker.

Depending on what you mean by a multi tool, if it's something like a Leatherman, I don't think there's really a reason to carry one and a knife, but if it's some other keychains gadget type thing I think that's a fine way to carry things, though I'd probably lean more towards a Swiss army knife personally.

i think you should wear things because you have a need for them and not just blindly copy some fallout wannabe's list.

two gas lighters? really? keychain flashlight? doesn't everyone have integrated led in the phone? separate knife AND multitool?

maybe if you get rid of some of the nonsense, you will have easier time carrying it around.

20Ah powerbank is too big. I would slim down to something as light as possible.

Keychain flashlight would be too weak compared to a phone. Leave it at home and if you notice the need, buy a proper one.

Instead of foil blanket take CPR kit / mask. Also learn how to perform CPR if you don't know already.

Tinder starter/whistle. Two gas lighters. You would need max one source of fire.

For starters I would take a notebook and made a special page. So when you are in a pinch, and need a knife or a flashlight. Take a note and next you would be ready for the same situation that occurred.

What’s your use case for all these items? Any situation you would or do find yourself in that you think “wish I had a ____”. Also like the other guy said, get a tray for your EDC stuff so you have a one stop shop for loading your pockets. I change pants a lot too, it’s just become a part of my get-home & leave-home routines to unload/load pockets.

I think sling crossbody bags are underrated. Might not work for the laptop situation unless you side grade to a surface or something

Bags get searched or checked in some venues. Otherwise, they're bulky and twist your spine up over time.

You'll find the knife more generally useful for its weight than a multi tool. I never reached for the multi tool first in the several years I carried one. I did, however, catch it on an hilariously large count of seatbelts and door knobs.

Aside from the notebook & pen, also the charger, I don't think most of the rest would be useful on the daily. Especially in the metro area.

As for changing trousers: use a valet tray of some kind for your EDC items. Make it your routine each evening to empty your pockets onto the tray, and to load your pockets from the tray each morning. This worked for me for years, before kids. Now I can't leave anything out.

Anyway, I'd pare list that back a lot. There are many ways to make fire. Maybe also as many to alert to one.

Develop a core on body/pocket carry set of items and if on occasion you carry a bag tossing a one or two more small things in there might not be the worst idea.

I would say phone, wallet, keys, pocket knife/multi tool, and possibly flashlight is a good default EDC. Of course barring specific vocational requirements.

EDC is as much an exercise in preparedness as it is one in simplicity IMO. And EDC is only important if you do it everyday.

I know your in the UK but imagine how you'd feel if you carried a knife/pepper spray/gun for selfdefense on every day but Thursday, and then someone tried to kill you on a Thursday. The E is operative in EDC and you should develop a system that you can maintain.

The items are solutions, without a problem they are meaningless.

I have a small manbag that I only put a few items in for "UK urban edc". Typically contains:

• small torch
• small pen
• small notebook
• pocket lense cloth
• lip balm
• hand sanitiser
• iems
• glasses case
• folded up carrier bag
• sometimes a book

I don't bring a knife out unless I'm going to be in a situation where I'd conceivably need it.

Does this make sense? Is there anything I’ve missed?

I mean, what you carry depends very much on your particular situation. I can't see as how it'd be possible to review that.

I can say what I would carry, relative to you, but what I would carry is, well, what I'd carry, and you'd expect it to differ.

I carry a multitool, but a tiny one, on my keychain. I rarely use it, and having a tiny one is usually good enough for whatever problem I hit, but the thing is less hassle to lug around than a full-size one. By far the most-commonly used tool is a Philips-head screwdriver. Second-most is the flathead screwdriver, usually to pry things. Everything else sees minimal use, so this is arguably overkill.

I carry a tiny knife, also on my keychain, same reason for being tiny. I don't know why you carry a separate multitool and knife, but I do because you can take non-bladed multitools on flights, but not knives; I just need to leave the knife behind if I'm flying.

It doesn't have a bottle opener, but given that there are a bunch of ways to open bottles without one, I wouldn't call it an essential. Last time I got a crimp-top bottle, I found a nearby wood sign and gave it a good whack downwards and it knocked the top off. There's always something handy to open a bottle.

I don't carry a blanket with me, as you do. I do keep one in my car. In general, if I'm on foot, I'm not likely to be far enough away from my car to need a lot of this gear.

I have, but do not carry, a flint starter. I think that the likelihood that I will exhaust the butane in a lighter in any realistic scenario away from home isn't high.

I keep one butane lighter in the car. The ability to start a fire easily is useful in some emergency situations, and it doesn't take much space.

I don't carry a keychain flashlight. I used to do so before I carried a cell phone. Now I have a much larger and brighter flashlight everywhere. I also keep two backup flashlights in the car, plus several other devices that can emit light, given power.

I don't carry a notebook, as I have a phone. I do keep a pad of paper and a pen in the car.

I don't carry a lockpicking set. IIRC, some states get twitchy about having one in various scenarios.

I carry one 100 Wh battery bank in a backpack, plus several devices that can provide USB power in a pinch. I have more -- including a bank with solar panels, a ~350 Wh bank, a hand-crank generator, and the ability to convert a cigarette lighter to USB power -- in the car. The 100Wh battery bank I definitely make use of; I'm not always near an outlet, and being able to charge any other electrical device I have is really helpful.

Things that you haven't listed that I carry:

• A laptop. A lot that one can do with one that one can't easily do with a phone.

• A few USB cables (USB-C-to-USB-C, USB-A-to-USB-C).

Things that you haven't listed that I keep in the car (and might consider carrying if I didn't want to use the car)

• A USB key drive. They're cheap and small and every now and then I want to grab a file from someone or transfer a file to someone else.

• A mild NSAID painkiller. This doesn't take up much space, and if you -- or someone else -- has a headache or otherwise gets hurt, it's handy to have.

• Loratadine. If you run into something that you or someone else is allergic to, it's nice to have an antihistamine on hand.

If I were carrying the above drugs on my person, I'd probably put them in some kind of small, waterproof case, and label them.

• Ethanol-based hand sanitizer. This one's a legacy of COVID, but I decided that I liked having it with me, and will use it after, say, pumping gas or before eating. A few less diseases in my life, maybe.

• A bottle of water. This is probably the most-actually-useful item in terms of legitimate emergency use, and it's convenient to have for non-emergency situations. Doesn't even need to be for you -- if someone gets heatstroke or something, having water available is handy. Don't know about the weight and volume for being carried on foot, though. And if you're in the UK, you aren't going to hit that many places far away from civilization, anyway.

• A hoodie. I probably wouldn't carry this outside of the car, but it's convenient if one gets unexpectedly cold somewhere. Have considered keeping a full spare change of clothes in the car -- maybe someone gets wet or needs to unexpectedly spent the night somewhere -- but haven't done so.

• A knit cap. I might carry this. It's compact and can do a lot to reduce body heat loss.

• Alcohol wipes. Convenient for cleaning off hands when not near a sink.

Things that I don't carry on my person or in my car, but have seriously considered carrying or putting in the car (and might be interesting to you if you're looking for ideas).

• A small folding magnifying glass. Permits looking at small stuff and theoretically could permit starting a fire.

• A compass. In the event that the phone's battery dies, might be nice to know which way is which.

• A small amount of specifically emergency cash. I normally have some cash with me, but I know that some people specifically have some amount that they keep separate for "emergency" cash that doesn't get spent, to be sure that they always have some small amount available.

• A first aid kit. I have one that is largely-useless in terms of actual emergency use -- mostly Band-Aids and the like. I don't presently have it in the car, but I used to. I've only needed it when it was in the car once, but I was glad I had it -- I stayed the night at a friend's out-of-state farm for his birthday, and a bunch of us slept in a barn. This was the middle of summer, and the place was loaded with mosquitoes. Everyone got chomped and was miserable and itching. The kit happened to have hydrocortisone, anti-itch cream, so instead of spending the weekend miserable and scratching, we basically just slathered it on and ignored the mosquitoes.

• Speaking of which, insect repellent is also probably handy; you can get that in little foil packets. I don't carry it myself.

• A tube of superglue.

I might have sunscreen in there too, but if you're in the UK, probably unnecessary.