edc troubles

[tomongoose]

I was watching this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkUFmVFFpx4 and I was thinking about my edc kit.

I carry a swiss army knife, some fat wood and a ferro rod on my keys. I have a paracord bracelet with a compass on it and in my wallet I have a wire saw another compass and a bit of tinder but I don't carry anything on me to boil or store water. I don't really fancy lugging a bottle round with me all the time does any one have any solutions?

 

[ged]

In Plymouth, you're never very far from water and you're never very far from a tin can either.

 

[jacko1066]

How about somethng like this - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2x-Vapur-...gGoods_HikingEquipment_RL&hash=item231dfb68f9

I have recently bought them and the quality is good.
Not so great at hanging over a fire though if thats what you mean by edc
Cheers
Steve

 

[bushwacker bob]

In Plymouth, you're never very far from water and you're never very far from a tin can either.

or a kettle.
If you have problems snapping small branches burn them whole. If you carry a lighter and can recognise natural tinder you can leave the ferro rod, fatwood and tinder at home
Learn to make cordage and read the direction indicators around you and you can leave the bracelet at home.
A knife and lighter are all you really need and you don't actually need them in the UK.
The farthest you can get from a metalled road in the UK is 11 miles in Scotland.
I carry a penknife as it gets used several times a day, I carry a lighter but don't smoke anymore, it is often borrowed from me tho' anything else is worthless hype.

 

[bushwacker bob]

In Plymouth, you're never very far from water and you're never very far from a tin can either.

or a kettle.
If you have problems snapping small branches burn them whole. If you carry a lighter and can recognise natural tinder you can leave the ferro rod, fatwood and tinder at home
Learn to make cordage and read the direction indicators around you and you can leave the bracelet at home.
A knife and lighter are all you really need and you don't actually need them in the UK.
The farthest you can get from a metalled road in the UK is 11 miles in Scotland.
I carry a penknife as it gets used several times a day, I carry a lighter but don't smoke anymore, it is often borrowed from me tho' anything else is worthless hype. ( Money would be useful in most UK emergencies)

 

[sandbender]

I was watching this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkUFmVFFpx4 and I was thinking about my edc kit.

I carry a swiss army knife, some fat wood and a ferro rod on my keys. I have a paracord bracelet with a compass on it and in my wallet I have a wire saw another compass and a bit of tinder but I don't carry anything on me to boil or store water. I don't really fancy lugging a bottle round with me all the time does any one have any solutions?

As others are pointing out you really don't need these things with you day to day, string is always useful though, I can make decent cordage but I keep various bits of cord in a pocket for tying things up for travel etc. A knife might be a bit trickier to replicate but to build a shelter and make a fire (in the UK) for a night or two you do not really need one.

Should you suddenly feel the need to drop what you are doing and wander away into the woods you could pick up much of what you might need as you travel, from discarded bottles to bin bags and old baked bean cans. Nice gear and gizmos can be handy but I could grab a butter knife from my kitchen drawer on my way out the door in the morning and be certain of a nice warm night and a fire by nightfall (a full(ish) belly would be season dependant).

I should also add that I do carry a small bottle of water with me and my keyring is festooned with nic-nacs, but these are mostly to entertain or hydrate my daughter when we are out and about.

 

[RichardIT]

Maybe he likes carrying them? Nothing wrong with that IMO.

 

[sandbender]

Maybe he likes carrying them? Nothing wrong with that IMO.

Nothing at all. But folks shouldn't get hung up about what they do or don't 'need' to have on them or to become dependant on a specific set of tools.



Edited to add:

As a person who does occasionally wander off into the woods for an unplanned night out I'd suggest that (in the UK anyway) the best bit of EDC gear someone can carry is a decent woollen shirt stuffed into the bottom of their day pack.

 

[Perrari]

To Be honest I have never understood this EDC thing ? I always have a small knife on me as it could be a useful tool for many applications,( it has a length of stron nylon cord on it as well which could be useful)a mobile phone, wallet, and I do smoke so have a lighter. These are just things I automatically put in my pockets when I leave the house.
Do people actually carry 'survival' gear with them in their every day lives ? Just my opinion but it seems a bit extreme here in the UK. If you work in the outdoor industry eg as an instructor who is actually taking people out in to the countryside then it would be a good idea (and also very responsible) to have a basic emergency pack (and I would of thought this would be common practice, and you would probably be carrying more than a basic kit.). But otherwise carrying things like tindersticks with you at all times seems a bit silly.
If you are an instructor(or similar) then fine, but if you are travelling to work in a factory or office everyday, then why do you need them ??


This is just

I was watching this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkUFmVFFpx4 and I was thinking about my edc kit.

I carry a swiss army knife, some fat wood and a ferro rod on my keys. I have a paracord bracelet with a compass on it and in my wallet I have a wire saw another compass and a bit of tinder but I don't carry anything on me to boil or store water. I don't really fancy lugging a bottle round with me all the time does any one have any solutions?

 

[tomongoose]

In Plymouth, you're never very far from water and you're never very far from a tin can either.

I'm not always in Plymouth I spend a lot of time outdoors working and walking and in the surrounding countryside and on the moors. My edc for me is comforting to have as much as anything else and I use my knife all the time.

If you have problems snapping small branches burn them whole. If you carry a lighter and can recognise natural tinder you can leave the ferro rod, fatwood and tinder at home

I personally think my ferro rod is much more reliable than a lighter and I am perfectly good at finding natural tinder but its often wet so its nice to have some to hand that I don't have to go searching for.

 

[Bluebs4]

Edc , my working week is in London ,buses ,tubes and sell the water I can drink but a couple of months back a newly planted oak in mad around the Olympic village was snapped by some mindless thug . So repaired it with my paracord bracelet and every time I'm in the area I have a little walk past and it's doing fine with its olive 550 NOW THAT'S SURVIVAL

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Bluebs4]

Sorry for spelling can't turn off spell check thingy

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

 

[cbr6fs]

It's odd with this EDC thing as some folks see it as kind of a badge of honour.

For me everything depends on what i'm doing.

99% of the time i carry a bum bag, i'll have:
Mobile phone in a pouch on the side - obvious reasons, plus i'm usually on-call for work
Wallet obvious reasons
Keys obvious reasons
Drivers license and ID obvious reasons
Torch (usually a Zebralight SC600) Gets a LOT of use, from power cuts while on the toilet, through to helping folks who have broke down, i charge the battery once a week and that's usually 2 hours use a week all in
Leatherman skeletool CX Don't use this much but when i do it's usually needed
Doug Ritter RSK large lock knife Use this even less and it often stays at home
USB drive (work transferring files etc) Used a couple of times a month
Small collapsible pen Very very rarely used
Whistle I live in a very active earthquake zone so i usually have a whistle in every room of the house and clip small whistles on or in everyones bags

Basic FAK the contents of which i'm happy i know how to use:
Couple of plasters with the kids these usually get rotated a LOT (both 11)
Resuscitation mask hopefully i'll never need to use it, but if i do i 100% want it there ready
2 x Nurofen Usually popular with the women
2 x soluble a few relatives with heart problems
Eye drops/cleaner I get hayfever and again 2 very active kids
2 x Imodium Greek food
1 x Blister plaster usually get through a couple a year
Antiseptic wipe obvious reasons
Tweezers obvious reasons

Sounds a lot to carry around daily, but the FAK fits in a very small aloksak and everything fits in the bumbag easily and i don't really notice it any more.

If i'm out hiking i usually take another bag with a more comprehensive FAK with things like small splints, tick remover, bandages etc.
In winter i'll take an emergency bivvy shelter and in summer i'll load up with as much water as i can comfortably carry.

In the cars i have FAK's aimed towards RTA's, again usually between 3 and 6 litres of water and sunblock, in winter i'll throw in some wool blankets and emergency bivvy bags and thick reflective coats.


If i don't use something then i tend to not bother carrying it
Things like water and sunblock is just sensible in a country that sees mid 40c's ambient temps, likewise the whistles.

I'd sit down and think about what you'd have liked to have near to hand over the last year.

Word of warning though you can't even begin to carry everything you could possibly need, and if you carry a FAK make sure your trained and comfortable using everything in it.

 

[sargey]

Edc , my working week is in London ,buses ,tubes and sell the water I can drink but a couple of months back a newly planted oak in mad around the Olympic village was snapped by some mindless thug . So repaired it with my paracord bracelet and every time I'm in the area I have a little walk past and it's doing fine with its olive 550 NOW THAT'S SURVIVAL

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

that is totally awesome!:You_Rock_

it also serves well to illustrate why having a few bits and pieces about your person is so valuable. tbh, edc kit is very rarely employed as a counter to full on zombie attack, or even in case you're teleported into the wilderness as part of an experiment by a higher species. in spite of the fact that some naysayers seem to think that's what it's all about.

i've prevented/resolved a few emergencies over the years. my favourites have been wardrobe malfunctions from girls in the office when skirt buttons and zips have gone pete tong. sewing kit is very very useful, or even just a few safety pins.

on the way out to a very early gulf conflict, we sailed on a car ferry, doing PT up and down an empty car deck. there were no where near enough showers to go round. i decided that i was going to have to use the showers up stairs that were reserved for very, very senior officers only. i ninja'd my way round and up the ship, had a most satisfactory shower, then discovered that i was locked in. this was going to end very, very badly. definitely not a career enhancing moment. fortunately, at that time, part of my edc consisted of a swiss army knife round my neck on paracord. even in PT kit and the shower. so swiss army knife deployed, dysfunctional door dismantled, sargey scuttles off to safety.

another classic moment was out sailing on a friends newly refitted racing dinghy. i'd taken a small water activity knife along, in spite of my friends comments about "why do you think you need that?" so we set off down the river a short way and it became apparent that the autobailers and been badly fitted, we were essentially sinking! knife deployed, gadgets unscrewed and refitted. we were on our way without danger of drowning.

edc, gotta have it.

cheers, and.

 

[vizsla]

I think edc is a personal thing like some people feel lost without wareing a whatch even though they could use there phone. And for some people edc is like a hobby collecting and carrying all the little nicknacks.
I edc my knife all day everyday and would be lost without it for i also carry a dog whistle.
Most of the time. iv got the dogs with me so iv got my dog bag with gundog bits in plus water cup and coffee. And a few other savers like toilet roll firesteel millbank bag and bits and pieces.

 

[redandshane]

Just my thoughts but carrying water around id something most people do
You will find water more useful as edc than a wire saw


If you want to think about your edc try this forum http://edcforums.com/

 

[vizsla]

I guess anything is only any good for edc if its going to be used. Some people probly carry a knife everyday and only use it once a week to open a hiennie parcel with another knife inside.

 

[tinderbox]

My EDC: testicles, spectacles, wallet, watch and keys. These days some drop the watch for a mobile phone, I carry both.

My FAK is a few plasters and a wipe in my wallet, plus my baccy to stop bleeding.

With my baccy I have an IMCO, so that's fire starting taken care of.

Apart from that it is just a British Army clasp knife, a bit of string, and sensible clothes. The string is my emergency tinder. Anything else I can improvise.