Moved everything I don’t use regularly into the Maxpedition pouch in my purse. Only things I carry outside the pouch now are a coin purse, folding shopping bags, chap stick, and odd receipts and shopping lists.
Also yes, in case you were looking closely and noticed, I have essentially tied my firestarter into my pouch. Been even more paranoid than usual over dropping/losing fire starters after Season 1 of Alone.
Everyday Carry Item Breakdown
- Hand Wipes
Clinell Antibacterial Wipes - UK Legal EDC Knife
Opinel No. 5 - Tactical Pen
CRKT James Williams
> Read our review of the James Williams Tactical Pen - Fire Starter
Light My Fire Swedish Firesteel Blue - Pouch
Maxpedition Micro Pocket Organizer - Chap Stick
Nivea Original Care - Keys
Question for you Elise, being married to one of these critters, is there any reason to go back in other EDC posts for a man who has just checked out his first [maybe in a series?] of these “purse/pocket dump” posts?? I live a rather sedentary lifestyle and my “trips” away from home involve a few store trips for food and other necessities and my hiking forays within a 20 mile radius of my little cottage. I am far from a couch spud and am outdoors doing SOMETHING daily but gas is high, most of my friends still work during the week, and I can’t afford to do day trips out of the area to explore other parts of the eastern FL Panhandle. So I have confined my activities this spring to local kayaking, hiking, and planting my “no mow lawn” plus using my skills to do some sharpening for my friends and learning some added skills in leather working and re-making items out of things that would be recycled normally. ….. Ya just never know ……
My EDC around the house includes a well sharpened pocket knife, my keys, and those things needed for whatever “job” I choose to do that morning. Kayaking?, PFD, carbon fiber paddle, water, sun block. In a small waterproof lexan box, I also carry a very small pair of 8X21 Bushnell binoculars, about the size of a pack of cigarettes, either a very small 10 Mp camera or my iPhone [set in airplane mode], a Bic lighter, a 9 LED flashlight, and some basic meds. to treat blisters and minor cuts if needed. Sometimes I will throw in some “snacks” like jerky or my fav. fishing/hiking snacks ….. Lance “Nipchee” or PB crackers. Yeah, I know but a guy’s gotta treat himself to something special occasionally, y’all do pedicures and massages, we do junk food!
Hiking?, about the same as kayaking plus a folding saw, an SCHF37 on my belt, and a compass.
In either case, I always wear a light weight fishing/photography vest with big pockets and I carry my newly made fire piston and spare char-cloth in a hand made pigskin bag, a few cotton rags to clean up “things” or wipe down the kayak when it gets covered with live oak pollen like this time of the year, a doo-rag for my bald head if the sun gets too much for my brain to handle, and whatever else I may get an urge to include. Paracord in the woods is handy, fatwood although it is very abundant here in the land of long needle pine and southern yellow pine stands, or maybe extra means of getting a fire going. On the rare occasion that I enter a new area, I will carry a small roll of marking tape to mark my entry trail as I do not usually follow the normal laid out trails that any city folk can feel comfortable following.
So, I have to check on my Dutch oven of ham and beans now so I will close. I do appreciate what y’all do and will continue to learn from those who are following in my footsteps on their “path” through life.
I am not bothered too much by mosquitos but, with the extremely warm winter we have had this past couple of months, I am concerned with the abundance of deer ticks in the woods. I have found a number of them already embedded in my skin upon returning from a hike and they are so small, that I have a real time trying to remove them without breaking off their teeny heads. I am working on a possible solution to that problem and any hints or tips would be appreciated. Years ago, I relied on the old standby, “Off” to keep them in check, but I am trying to stay away from anything which contains anything that I cannot pronounce on the 1st try so I have a few recipes from Pinterest to try out.
Thanks to you and Tom for your efforts in this column, I have been an outdoorsman for practically my entire life and I still learn something each time I read about some part of Bushcraft that I haven’t yet practiced or have been in an area where it is practiced. Far North bushcraft is but one area for which I can supply very little knowledge so I tend to watch those videos from the off grid people in Alaska and Northern Canada, also many overseas bushcrafters whose methods differ from those to which we here in the states are accustomed.
Hmmm, somehow my closing statement “moved itself” up into the narrative by a few paragraphs! Sorry for the jigsaw puzzle post …… (ham and beans are looking/smelling GOOOOOOD btw!!)
Haha no problem about reversing the paragraphs!
Thanks for the long, thought out comment firstly!
Now I’ll get into specifics –
I find it interesting going back through old EDC posts (you can find all of ours in order by date published here if you’re ever interested) first out of curiosity, and second, a bit out of nostalgia.
Every once in a while I remember something I used to carry that was very helpful, that I’d replaced or forgotten to add to an EDC down the line, and it reminds me to put it back into rotation. Other times, the items I use remind me of the things I was doing back when. Like you were saying in your comment, you end up carrying different things tailored to what you were doing and thus, seeing a specific piece of gear reminds me of, say, our first weeks in the UK and having to restart our knife collection from scratch, or the Spydercos I absolutely loved using back in Canada, but still haven’t got access to, visiting a neighbour, digging out the hedges in the front of our lawn.. It’s nice for me personally going back through old pictures like this because of the memories attached to the collections of gear. I think it’s also interesting seeing other people’s EDCs because you get a feel for what you should change up to improve about your own.
Being in the UK for this whole winter and not having to deal with snow at all, I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to not have to think about the whole survival aspect of things in cold climates. Seriously! It’s such a huge difference I think to survive in freezing cold places like Northern Canada – cannot imagine myself doing it successfully, or at least particularly well. People who can survive and thrive in that kind of climate – well they’re crazy impressive in my opinion!
Unfortunately, I don’t have a fix for the tick problem. Always looking for things to keep mosquitoes away but as of yet haven’t found a system that works. Can barely keep gnats away from my houseplants, though, so insects definitely do seem to pester me more than most. If you find a remedy on Pinterest that works, do let us know! In the meantime I will keep digging!
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment & looking forward to reading more from you. Interesting to read about what you carry, and thanks so much for the support & feedback. Really glad you like our stuff :)