EDC carry: really necessary?

[Diane Pinkers]

A few years ago, I got into an EDC mindset–because, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT CAN HAPPEN. I carry a waterproof match case with button compass on top, with matches, tinder and a sparking rod and striker. That's in one pocket, with a pill pocket bag with a couple of water purification tabs and a quart zip-loc bag folded up for water carrying. In the other pocket I have my SAK, a Photon Freedom, a keychain pill case with cotton in petroleum jelly, a whistle, and a tiny, mini keychain lighter–can you tell I think I might need to light a fire? I also carry my cell phone w/GPS program and a map in my pockets. This all gets really heavy. On my last trip, I was hot so I ditched the skirt and ran around in camp in just my running shorts. This was so blissfully light that I'm really starting to reconsider the pocket stuff. I think it is important stuff to carry–but does it have to be on my person? At all times? How often do folks really get separated from their backpacks? Tell us some stories, scoff at my pocket carries, tell me I'm not carrying enough and I NEED TO BE PREPARED AT ALL TIMES! Go!

[Ken Thompson]

I'd take the EDC stiff on day hikes. Otherwise I have everything I need in my pack and I will make all attempts to keep it with me.

[David Thomas]

When I fly in a small plane or am in an open boat, I ALWAYS have a PFD on and its pockets have a PLB, VHF, knife, line, and fire-starting gear. Because if the boat sinking or plane ditching goes really well, you end up on a cold, desolate beach, wet, and without shelter. On such a beach, watching our boat tumble in the surf, I was really glad to have that PFD on, and more so, to have the radio and beacon with me. When I walk the dog on the beach, I wear a little fanny pack, mostly to hold the leash, dog treats and poop bags. But I also leave a knife and flashlight in there. Because you never know. And while a true emergency is very unlikely, finding a cool lure or length of line I wish to cut free or maybe stretching the walk further past sunset than I had planned definitely happens. Thinking about it now, I'm going to add a mini-Bic and short length of line (emergency show lace / dog leash / etc).

[Steven Paris]

Hey Diane! I don't think you need all the emergency items in your pockets at all times, as long as you are carrying them in your pack. Anecdotally, it seems like most emergency situations involve someone who doesn't have any gear or the appropriate gear for the time or weather or situation they are heading into. Just be thoughtful when you are stepping away from your pack (doing anything away from a camp or dropping the pack for a summit, etc) or if you were doing a tough stream crossing. For organization, I usually carry my phone in a shoulder strap pocket (from Zimmerbuilt or ZPacks). On my last trip, though, I wore a Gossamer Gear hipster fanny pack and liked it. Also, having a brightly colored small stuff sack or zippered pouch for your essential gear can be nice so it stands out from other gear. Montbell makes the UL Paper Pouch (0.4 oz) in a bright orange that's nice: http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=3226&p_id=1123863 i just saw this, too, at 0.8 oz: http://www.montbell.us/products/disp.php?cat_id=3216&p_id=1123777 That would make a nice little emergency bag if needed.

[Andy F]

You need to go PUL (Pocket UltraLight)! ;-) In my pocket while hiking, I usually carry a little less: car/house keys coin light (Photon-like) whistle small firesteel/striker map tiny button compass maybe a tiny SAK Being separated from my pack is a situation which is quite probable due to: * it suddenly rolling down the mountain due to careless placement (nearly happened to me once!) * setting it down for just a second to do some scrambling or make a fecal deposit and then not being able to find it * water crossing "incident" * bear attack * bear theft * wilderness mugging? (lol… "put your hands up and hand over your pack!")

[Mark]

Think it really depends on what you're doing and where. It's rare i don't have a whistle (live in a very active earthquake zone) and a torch (i'm a service engineer so usually peering into somewhere dark). Other than that it's really just my phone (on-call a lot) and wallet. I have absolutely no need to start a fire where i live or even when out day hiking. I know what you mean by being drawn into the EDC crowd, i've been there, end of the day though i can't see how anyone else can advise you on what you feel you need to carry. I looked at all the nonsense i was carrying with me and realised that i never used any of it, so i gave most of it away, now i only carry what i use on a regular basis.

[Roger Caffin]

I carry a handkerchief in my pocket, my watch (so I know when it is morning tea time), my compass around my neck, and possibly/sometimes a very small pocket knife – maybe. Anything more and my pockets are too heavy. My pack is where I put my gear. Quite frankly, and in my opinion, and others will I am sure disagree, all the other emergency stuff is futile. All this 'but what if …' is just one's insecurities showing through, and that is what BPL tries to overcome. 'What If' is a great way to increase the weight of your pack for no return. Am I going to become separated from my pack that easily? NO **** WAY! I am not that silly. Yes, I have cached my pack at the foot of a climb or something similar – but GREAT care is always taken to put it somewhere very easily identifiable. Often it is visible from above – by intent. And great care is taken during the return. Could I survive using just a few things in my pocket? If I could, why am I carrying that pack? The survivalists are just playing games: how many of them have ever actually tried to do what they preach? Maybe one in a thousand – for a few hours. Note: this does not apply to non-pack situations like boats and small aircraft. In those you do not have control over what is going on. OK, my 2c. Cheers

[Anonymous]

"I carry a handkerchief in my pocket, my watch (so I know when it is morning tea time), my compass around my neck, and possibly/sometimes a very small pocket knife – maybe. Anything more and my pockets are too heavy. My pack is where I put my gear. Quite frankly, and in my opinion, and others will I am sure disagree, all the other emergency stuff is futile. All this 'but what if …' is just one's insecurities showing through, and that is what BPL tries to overcome. 'What If' is a great way to increase the weight of your pack for no return." +1 to your entire post. Add my two cents to the ledger. :) Cheers

[John S.]

EDC is not about backpacking (is a preparedness topic) but about what you carry with you every single day when you are not backpacking (mostly but of course you take it while backpacking too).

[Mike M]

I kiiid :) A lot of what gets carried on my person is directly related to what my trip looks like. When I did the Bob Open last year we were faced with multiple very tough river fords- the possibility of losing a pack was a real one; on that trip I insured I carried sufficient fire starting items, knife, compass/map, light on my person. I don't think it's a bad idea to have a way to start a fire and a small knife on your person. A whistle/photon on a lanyard around your neck goes completely unnoticed- I've never had to use the whistle, but the photon around my neck gets used almost every night I'm out. I probably fall on the higher end of the boyscout scale, but it could be blamed on having been involved with dozens of SAR incidents where folks were most often unprepared.

[Roger Caffin]

> EDC is not about backpacking (is a preparedness topic) but about what you carry > with you every single day when you are not backpacking That, dear Sir, is called a Credit Card. Cheers

[Rick Reno]

Maybe my favorite piece of kit is my Zpacks Multi-Pack. http://www.zpacks.com/accessories/backpack_lid.shtml It's with me on just about every day hike, walk in the woods, bike ride, kayak paddle, etc., and about half the time I go to work; either around my waist, over my shoulder, strapped in front of my pack, or inside. It holds most of what you mention and usually a bunch more. Most of the time my rule of thumb is I'd like to be able to get through a night safely (if not comfortably). YMMV, HYOH, IMHO, etc.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

A few weeks back I wrote a post on EDC….which I am going to hedge I carry a lot more than most of you all. But bonus is I have a purse backpack and am female, so I can ;-)

[Ian]

There are a few practical items I EDC in the front and back country. The fact that they are in my pocket on the off chance I $%!+ the bed during a river crossing and lose my ruck is a plus I suppose. I carry a SAK classic, whistle, tinder container thingy, and a photon light knockoff. I've never used the tinder container so I guess I could ditch it but as previously mentioned, it's on my person every day so I really don't notice it any more and it doesn't bother me. The other stuff gets used so it's as much for convenience as anything else. I never use the whistle backpacking but use it all the time when I volunteer with SAR; it's a great way to quickly locate other people in a pinch. I've used it kayaking the Columbia when there were some islands separating me from the rest of the group and it helped us regroup. The only thing I add to this in the front country is a Benchmade 940 and some work related stuff that make bed wetting liberals cry.

[Kenneth Keating]

For me it depends mostly on the hazards, temperatures and remoteness. If it’s going to be cold at night, lots of steepness/drop-offs and remote with little possible help I carry along a lot more than if it’s warm on a flat trail where there’s lots of people. I try to evaluate on a case by case basis.

[jscott]

never mind.

[Dean F.]

Good Lord, no, don't carry all of that. I have to agree with what Roger and Tom said- that's why you have a pack. I actually dislike having things in my pockets when I have my pack on since it's just one more thing to rub in the wrong spots. If I separate myself from my pack for a sidehike or something then, yes, I grab a few things. I long ago decided that in a real emergency so long as I had a knife, a way to start a fire, and a way to purify water then barring injury I would probably be able to muddle through until starvation starts to become an issue in a few weeks. (A really BIG fire will solve most potential hypothermia situations, but it's admittedly an act of desperation.) So I grab my knife- I do usually carry a Mora as one of my 'luxury' items- and a magnesium firestarter, and honestly I usually don't worry so much about water purification. I have considered getting a metal water bottle so that I could boil water in it (since I'll almost certainly bring some water on a sidehike, anyway) but for now I still tend to favor light repurposed plastic bottles. A bubble-pack of AquaMira tabs would be a light option if you were so inclined. All of this is light and easy on the pockets, assuming the knife is clipped to a belt. The magnesium firestarter is the only true "backup" item I carry- my usual firestarter is a MiniBic- and I chose it because it's indestructible and reliable, which are two very desirable characteristics of an emergency firestarter, and because a fire is such a critical survival need. With it I also don't have to worry about it ever "going bad" and needing to be replaced, like matches, or getting crushed and igniting, like strike-anywhere matches. It might be hard to use when hypothermic with cold hands, though, I admit. If you wanted to keep your bit of petroleum cotton to make that easier, go ahead, but those tiny aluminum screw-thread thingies would also be tough to open with cold hands so I'd recommend a tiny plastic pill case of some sort instead. If desperate, you can just smash it open with a rock. Some people like old film canisters but those are big and annoying for a pocket, but you could cram half a dozen compressed cottonballs in the tiny screw-top here: (from MLD's web-page) But, frankly, if you're carrying the petroleum cotton you don't need the magnesium- just a spark. A lot of knives today come with a ferrocerium rod in a little loop on the sheath (like the Mora Survival Bushcraft Orange) or even hidden in the handle (like Mora's "Swedish Fireknife"). Then all you have to do is clip the knife in it's sheath to your belt and pocket the cotton canister. I guess the ideal all-in-one solution would be a lightweight knife in a sheath with both a ferrocerium rod loop *and* a tiny pocket for your tinder (they exist). But I'm rarely in situations where inadvertent separation from my pack is a realistic concern- stream crossings are about the only one I can come up with for my usual hiking style.

[Katherine .]

On a group trip I went on last summer one woman wore a pouch independent of her pack hip belt. At some point I'd like to experiment with that. 1. comfort, so I could put it in front. sometimes hip pockets on the side brush against my arms 2. convenience, I'd like those little items to be in the same spot all the time. Right now, when I'm making camp/cooking dinner they migrate around from my pack pockets to my puffy pockets. 3. safety, for that unlikely event that I were to get separated from my pack. What you're talking about. another poster linked to a Zpacks pouch. A little different than what I had in mind, but I'm thinking a decent sized hip belt pocket on a seperate elastic. I'm so not a pant pocket person. I'd prefer no pockets there at all. It's something I'd like to address, but it's not such a high priority/risk for me that I feel a need to address soon.

[William Chilton]

"I'm thinking a decent sized hip belt pocket on a separate elastic." I carry a standard Zpacks hip belt pocket on some nylon flat cord round my neck/over my shoulder. Originally it was intended for carrying breakables to and from the trail head when travelling by public transport, then on the hike I'd attach it to the hip belt. After a few trips, I realised it was easier and just as comfortable to keep it round my neck during the hike, too.

[HeathP]

Ian I had a good chuckle at this "work related stuff that make bed wetting liberals cry". I don't carry any EDC stuff on my person when hiking. Only thing in my pockets are a snack and my cellphone. I do carry EDC stuff when I am off trail. That is a whole other thread though. Hill People Gear kit bags are fantastic for carrying items you may need when separated from your pack but I think most of the crowd here will probably lose their minds over the weight. For me its worth it as these are incredibly durable and are great if you are bushwacking/climbing/scrambling as they take up little room and don't get caught on things. Especially if you carry stuff that makes bed wetting liberals cry. https://hillpeoplegear.com/Products/tabid/762/CategoryID/1/Default.aspx

[Dave @ Oware]

So was on a SAR nordic ski training. Needed some weight in a sled to practice on steep hills, so everyone just tossed their packs in the sled to avoid using a real person for the near vertical stuff. We had just jumped out of the truck and many hadn't even unpacked their beacons. (Breaking protocol by the way, they are supposed to go on when you dress at home before the trainings). It was a warm spring day, sierra cement snow that hadn't slid anywhere in view for days. Couldn't make it slide when we tried. No layers left in the snowpack, just homogenous snow in our pit. The idea was to see how steep we could reasonably control a sled on. Well, we found the aspect and slope degree that would let loose under the weight of 6 people and a sled. Everyone let go and was safe, but the sled ended at the bottom of a 8 ft cliff with 6 ft of snow on top of it. All our shovels were in the packs under the snow, along with some folk's beacons. So approaching and digging out the gear was rife. Lesson learned, again. Don't get separated from your pack.

[Mike M]

…..having a few bits to get a fire going will be most welcome :)

[Larry De La Briandais]

"how many of them have ever actually tried to do what they preach? Maybe one in a thousand – for a few hours." Les Stroud, and for quite a bit more than a few hours.

[Larry De La Briandais]

I tend to want to carry all kinds of survival stuff. I made a lanyard to put around my neck with a whistle, fire steel, SAK and button light. I probably have a bic in my pocket. That's it. I take my phone, wallet and keys with me, but they are in my pack. I don't carry tinder as I have never had a problem finding it. Water purification I don't worry about for survival. I can drink the water untreated and survive. Giardia won't kill me. ;^) Something to remember about this kind of survival kit is that it is for survival, not comfort. I want to be able to start a fire and I want a knife for anything else I might want to do. Everything else is comfort. :^)

[Ian]

For me, the few backcountry EDC items I carry are things that would otherwise be in my backpack. Having a third front pocket that's zippered ensures that I don't lose them on breaks from having them fall out of my pocket. A consequence of my job is that I have to carry credentials in my pocket among other items. The few items I carry backpacking aren't noticeable to me. Thanks for the link Heath. I'll check it out later.

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