Wear it or carry it. Poll.

[iano]

Aye in hindsight a few turns of black maskers might have saved the day! I did briefly consider trying to solder the damn things together - but it would've been a bugger to replace the batteries... O well, the LED torches were pretty cheapo anyway - first was a gift that wasn't actually that bright at all, and its replacement was thrown in cut-price when I got some kit from Blacks.

Cheers for the heads-up that the same happens with the Maglite (solitaire?) - that could have been a costlier mistake! Was also toying with the idea of one of those Gerber Recon (recce?) torches, the 4 in 1 type, they look gucci... But then that's getting a bit pricy...

 

[Neumo]

Great thread, as I have been thinking about this now that I am back woking in the smoke again. On my Keyring I have:
- AAA torch
- small Army firesteel (the thin one with a metal strip on the back)
- a serrated striker (from another fire steel set)

I bought a pack of assorted black heat-shrink tube off the bay & covered the firesteel & striker in it, so the firesteel wont spark if it ribs of something suitable & the serrated edge of the striker does not cut.

Interesting point about keychain lights falling apart; I have had 2 lost because of this. It happens to me where the tube screws on to the end plug that fixes to the key chain; a bit of duck tape sorted that out.

In my shoulder bag I have a small no-name multitool, lighter, another AA torch, a decent face mask (I blame Ron Hood's Urban Master 2 DVD for that) and a few other bits that I plan to add to.

 

[Neumo]

Great thread, as I have been thinking about this now that I am back woking in the smoke again. On my Keyring I have:
- AAA torch
- small Army firesteel (the thin one with a metal strip on the back)
- a serrated striker (from another fire steel set)

I bought a pack of assorted black heat-shrink tube off the bay & covered the firesteel & striker in it, so the firesteel wont spark if it ribs of something suitable & the serrated edge of the striker does not cut.

Interesting point about keychain lights falling apart; I have had 2 lost because of this. It happens to me where the tube screws on to the end plug that fixes to the key chain; a bit of duck tape sorted that out.

In my shoulder bag I have a small no-name multitool, lighter, another AA torch, a decent face mask (I blame Ron Hood's Urban Master 2 DVD for that) and a few other bits that I plan to add to.

 

[3bears]

as i've said in other posts, I'm very much inn favour of open carry - I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but my philosophy is, if you're hiding something you're up to no good with it. OK, fair enough, when I'm up in Manchester its different story compared to back home in Wales, where I've been in supermarkets, all damn day nearly in Betws-y-coed while looking for a pullover fleece that fitted, and even a good few pubs with a knife on my belt- heck the landlord in one of the pubs even asked to see it and have a go of the firesteel striker on the sheath- never any hassle.

but for most of my day to day stuff, I keep a Leatherman Surge in my bag, a UKPK in my pocket and a Streamlight Micro stream, and if anything, it's the Leatherman that's attracted more attention than anything I own sharps wise!

 

[lucan]

Depends on what i'm doing or where i'm going, I always carry a certain amount in my day bag in a little pouch.

Multitool.
f.a.k.
Lighter.
spork.
watch/gps.
Small l.e.d torch.
wet gear.
waterbottle.

Sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

[beenn]

In my pockets I carry a swiss army knife, lighter and some innertube and my small first aid kit, everything else goes in a rucksack with water on the outside of the pack

 

[Fjällräven]

Every day I use cargo trousers with lots of pockets both at work and when im off. When im off its always Fjällräven trousers that I wear, because of the amount of pockets.

I always carry on me my Case Sodbuster folder, Nokia cellphone and my wallet. On my wrists i wear a Casio G-shock with small Silva compass on the strap or one of my two Suunto watches (Observer black and Vector) and a paracord bracelet.
In my backpack I always carry a medium size waterproof first aid kit (Ortlieb), Petzl Zipka LED headlamp, pen and paper, small roll of ducttape, Lifesystems waterproof + regular matches , an EKA Swede 88 folder and sometimes a Leatherman Kick of Fuse.

 

[mark]

Many years ago I was involved in an unsavory incident in the desert, about 25 miles from the nearest civilization. To cut a long story short I ended up "running away" in what I stood in - Shirt, shorts, tevas, watch and camelback with about 1/2 l of water. My other kit had things like a compass, altimeter, goggles, shemagh, boots, knife, mobile phone, passport, water etc. I never saw this kit again. It was 45 degrees at night (I laid up until it got dark before moving out).
I learnt from that incident that if you ain't wearing it, you ain't got it!

 

[comeonbabylightmyfire]

I'm quite intrigued by what you describe as an unsavoury incident in the desert. Blimey. Good to know you got out of the situation without any further trouble. Well done.

 

[Highbinder]

Day to day edc I haaaate carrying in my pockets, and in a bag even worse. I've slimmed down what I carry, like I took all the junk off my keyring, don't bother with wallet/id/cards (take a few notes instead), swapped my zippo for a clipper, leave the phone at home if I'm not planning on using it. Ditto pen and paper. Day to day I carry keys, sunglasses, UKPK, and tobacco tin.

When I'm out hiking most of my edc fit into the elastic hip pockets of my rucksack; fak, headtorch, firesteel, chopsticks, phone, mp3 player, etc. I still keep my UKPK and a lighter in my pocket, tho.

I'm still looking for a better way of carrying essentials day to day and in the bush. I was real close to buying one of those horsehide gunbelts, look like normal belts but are more rigid and designed to carry weight without suspenders. I intended to use it with something like the small maxped organisers. Had to hold off as it's hard to justify the expense on my current wage.

 

[ganstey]

I'm intrigued that so many carry firelighting kit with them everyday. I can understand it if you're a smoker, but don't understand the need to carry a firesteel. If you're going on a bimble and are taking other stuff in case you get stranded, then fair enough.

My EDC when out and about (urban) is phone, wallet, and Victorinox SAK on paracord lanyard. Most of the time, but not always, I'll also have a pair or two of vinyl gloves in case I need to deal with anything icky. I need to replace my resus mask and find a practical way of carrying it. St John used to do a black belt pouch (stockman style) just big enough for mask and gloves, but now its a really loud green and I'd feel silly wearing it all the time.

I'm just putting the finishing touches to my emergency bag that'll live in my van. That'll contain reasonably comprehensive FAK (including various medications for self administration), hat & gloves, firelighting kit, camping gas stove and camping kettle, army water bottle & mug, Mora knife, brew kit, couple of ratpack meals and probably a few other things I've forgotten. Just need to get stove and kettle out of the garage (a not insignificant task!) Having experienced coolant problems with my last vehicle, I also carry a 3L bottle of water in the van.

The van also always has a 25-person first aid kit, lantern torch, seatbelt cutter, and various tools etc.

Graham