What do you need EDC? How do you meet it? How do you carry? For what?

[Tom Munch]

I thought a thread of what our needs are EDC-wise & what we carry to meet them would be good.  Then show how you carry it & what you use it for. 

This would really help understand the design of these multitools & how we incorporate them into our lives. 

It would also give everyone new ideas on how to use our toys & how to carry them.

I vary my EDC, but here's what I'm carrying today.


My EDC needs are:

-good one-handed blade
-regular screwdriver
-eyeglass screwdriver
-phillips screwdriver
-can/bottle opener
-pliers
-nail file/cleaner
-ruler
-scissors
-saw
-flashlight
-pen
-tweezers
-toothpick
-prybar
-magnifying glass or strong reading glasses for detail work
-cell phone
-organizer


How I meet them:

LM Charge TI:
-good one-handed blade
-regular screwdriver
-eyeglass screwdriver
-phillips screwdriver
-can/bottle opener
-pliers
-nail file/cleaner
-ruler
-scissors
-saw

Vic Voyager Lite:
-regular screwdriver
-eyeglass screwdriver
-phillips screwdriver
-can/bottle opener
-nail file/cleaner
-scissors
-flashlight
-pen
-tweezers
-toothpick

Atwood PryBaby:
-prybar

+3.0 MicroVision reading glasses
-magnifying glass or strong reading glasses for detail work

Treo 700p
-cell phone
-organizer


How I carry them:

LM Charge TI:
pocket clip on right front pocket

Vic Voyager Lite:
leather belt sheath on right hip

Atwood PryBaby:
Right front pocket (may try in or on sheath with Vic)

MicroVision glasses:
left shirt pocket

Treo 700p:
left hip in horizontal sheath & bluetooth wireless headset in left front shirt pocket with glasses


What I use it all for:

good one-handed blade:
letter opening, opening boxes, you name it

regular screwdriver:
fixing hinges, tightening mic clips, general

eyeglass screwdriver:
tightening glasses, opening electronic cases

phillips screwdriver:
fixing door latches, general

can/bottle opener:
opening bottles, cleaning nails

pliers:
pulling everything, holding bolts

nail file/cleaner
dressing nails for guitar & fine file work

ruler:
measuring small items

scissors:
cutting ads, opening bags, opening clamshell packages

saw:
emergency rope & strap cutting

flashlight:
reading menus, setting up in dark clubs

pen:
signing checks, signing credit card slips

tweezers:
removing splinters

toothpick:
picking teeth

prybar:
everything I don't want to wreck my knife or screwdriver on

magnifying glass or strong reading glasses for detail work:
everything my almost 50-year-old eyes can't see well

cell phone:
business & personal calls

organizer:
sales data, customer lists, contacts, vehicle logs, calendar, planning lists, e-mail, books, chord charts, jokes, tracking income & expenses, alarm & timer

[Fred]

That's alot of stuff you must have really big pockets! Ill post some of my stuff when I get some pictures taken

[Tom Munch]

Naw.  It's just the LM Charge TI, Vic Voyager Lite, Atwood PryBaby, Treo 700p, & a pair of glasses.

[J-sews]

I vary my EDC, but here's what I'm carrying today.

Tom,
(maybe you already told us and I forgot) what is it you do for a living? By the looks of your list, it appears as if you are in the entertainment industry. I guess I never realized the variety of tasks you folks need to be prepared for.

~Bob

[David Bowen]

When I am at work I rotate out a wave or Xti simple because of the pocket clip, sometimes I throw the crossgrip into that mix. When I am off work I carry the Spirit or a Powerlock.

David

[Tom Munch]

Tom,
(maybe you already told us and I forgot) what is it you do for a living?

~Bob

Yes, I am a musician.  I do a lot of honey-do's & fixing stuff too.  It's amazing how everyone needs help when they know you are handy & have tools.

[J-sews]

.....It's amazing how everyone needs help when they know you are handy & have tools.

Amen to that!
It's sort of a mixed blessing though.......I enjoy being asked to help out or fix something; I'm honored that folks look to me for help. On the other hand, it gets to be a hassle when they begin to EXPECT me to do everything for them, just because I'm handy and have tools.

I've only got one wife, but I swear sometimes it feels like I've got about TEN honey-do lists for different people!

[Lion]

Nice idea. EDC threads are often just a list without any explanation. Tends to make more sense when you have the why. I'll give it a go after I think about it a bit.

Leo

[Tom Munch]

I started this because I see some of the tools that people EDC, & I want to know why they carry them & how they use them.  This helps me build a better EDC.  I love to buy new tools just to have them, but I'm always re-thinking my EDC & trying to decide what I really need.  Otherwise I'm the guy with a hammer for whom every problem looks like a nail.

I saw the same thing with PalmPilot users.  Everybody has the shiny new toy, but nobody is really getting any use out of it.  I don't alway have 100 things to do with my Vic or LM or Atwood every day, but reading how someone else uses it gives me a new perspective on their usefulness.

-----

Speaking of which - why do people use lanyards mainly?  Is it mostly for decoration?  A handy grab handle?  A way to clip it to a belt loop & so have it dangling in a pocket & less cumbersome than at the bottom of the pocket? 

For me a tool or knife is almost always in a sheath or clipped to a pocket.  I hate them making my pockets bulge at the bottom of the pocket.  I have tried a small clip on a pocket with a swivel & twine or heavy fishing line & then swivel-clipped to a LM Squirt or Vic Classic, but I've not tried a bigger tool with a clip for the belt loop with a lanyard.

I won't EDC something that seriously hampers my ability to do everything normally in my day.  And I don't want a huge tool belt & a wad of keys like some guys carry.

[edited to add lanyard question]

[Tom Munch]

I'm going to add a new post here with the 4 main questions I have.  You can just copy the 4 questions & paste them into your reply if it's easier.


My EDC Needs are:


How I meet them;


How I carry them:


What I use it all for:

[Grant Lamontagne]

Speaking of which - why do people use lanyards mainly?  Is it mostly for decoration?  A handy grab handle?  A way to clip it to a belt loop & so have it dangling in a pocket & less cumbersome than at the bottom of the pocket?

I like lanyards on SAKs but I think they get in the way on a multi.  I carry them for all the reasons you stated above but also because they are a handy source of cable if you need them.  In many of the lanyards I tie you can shrink about 1 foot of cable to less than an inch, and with others, two strands of paracord, leather etc can be shrunk to about an inch.  You can actually carry a significant amount of line without taking up a serious amount of space.  I am also a big advocate of wrapping paracord around kydex sheaths and knife handles for the same reason, as well as improved grip.

You will only have to have that line come in handy once to realize why you should have one!

Def

[Tom Munch]

I had thought of having line handy too.  I've done that before in my BOB 4-wheeling bag to carry a lot of cord easily & without tangling.  I just don't want a big fob that gets in the way & gets hung up when I brush by something.

[Grant Lamontagne]

I find many of them hany- on some things.  In this old SAKtivity pic you see my modded OHT with a lanyard on it.  I like this size on my OHT because it's a big knife and I find this balances it nicely.  My other OHT, modded into a recurved blade, has a similar lanyard, only in orange and black and that helps to find it in the woods, in the dark or if some idiot (like me!) accidentally drops it while on the water.

They do have uses, but as with anything else, it's up to the user to decide if they like them or not.

Def

[parnass]

There are enough questions posed in this thread to warrant a few different threads. 

I use short 550 paracord lanyards on small flashlights to make them easier to pull from holsters and pockets.  On bigger flashlights, I use larger lanyards around my wrist so I won't drop the flashlight to the ground if I lose my grip -- easy to do when you wear gloves in cold weather.

Though I don't use lanyards on most multitools, I have installed medium size split rings to the lanyard attachment point so I can more easily pull a slippery multitool from its holster.

[Tom Munch]

Thanks for the lanyard answers.  I guess I'll try to use a couple for a while & see how they work for me.

Now back to the EDC tools...

[Styerman]

I EDC a Charge Ti - mainly it gets used for the plier/cutter function , the serated blade gets all the dirty jobs you dont want to use a real knife for . The master 154cm blade is a general backup . The other tools are rarley used , but when needed come in very handy .

My main knife is either a Spyderco Delica 4 , or a Strider PT , kickass blades in a small envelope .

I carry a Streamlite Stylus - looking into hollow walls , holes etc , a McLux-IIIPD - general edc lite , and an Arc-AAAP , general backup lite .

I have an Atwood prybaby on my keys , handy for abusive type jobs , also godd to lend to sheeple who want to borrow a knife . Ya simply can't kill em .

Electronics wise , I carry a cell phone , and a Palm/Garmin PDA/GPS

I dont carry a wallet , essential /minimal ID is carried in my ID folder , Money is carried in a money clip .

I also have a small note book , with a fisher space pen , to back up ordinary pens and mechanical pencils .

Chris

[Grant Lamontagne]

Lately I have been edc'ing a silver Farmer, Leatherman Juice XE6 and a Wenger Nail Clipper for tools, and of course I don't go anywhere without my rugged Sanyo 7300 cell phone.  I used to carry a Palm Tungsten E and a Zayo Razor/ASUS a600 Pocket PC, but the PPC recently crapped out on me, and the Palm doesn't see much use in my current existance as a truck driver.

As for watches, I usually wear either a Victorinox Garrison watch or a Seiko Orange Monster, although recently I got a cheap Casio Telememo 30 which I have been wearing because I kinda miss the fancy digital features of a sport watch.

Def

[Tom Munch]

I'm starting to see that everyone uses their mutlitools differently.  I use mine more for the screwdrivers than the pliers.  Other guys seem to use the pliers more than anything else.  Fascinating.

[Ging]

I have started carrying my modded Vic Climber in my left front pocket (I don't no why, I am right handed, I just like it there).  I have modded it with a plus scale form Rotokid so it has a pen which is very useful.  I carry my Kick (thanks guys) in my bag so I have a good covering of pliers, scissors and screwdrivers. 

I think a use the pliers and screwdrivers equally but pliers are harder to 'fudge' if you need them.  As a small screwdriver can still turn a big screw if needed.

[prime77]

Right now I carry a LM Charge with the pocket clip, a LM folder (can't remember which model, it has a phillips, flathead driver, assisted opening blade and the caribiner/bottle opener) A Micra, photon, and a custom pribar on my keychain. A Zebra compact pen in the fold of my wallet and a pocket mod in on of the wallet pockets.

[Tom Munch]

I carry a Charge TI with a Leatherman knife as one of my rotating EDC's - good choice.  You're one of the first guys to admit you carry the Leatherman knife.  I think it's one of the best one-handers I've used - good weight & balance, & I really like the Leatherman flicker thing.

[prime77]

I like the LM folder I use. It's one of the smaller ones. Model c304 I think. I got it cheap at a pawn shop. Your right the blade launcher is pretty cool.

[Tom Munch]

That's the same one I have -  in a combo.  I also have the straight blade too.

[Tom Munch]

Continuation of the lanyard questions.

I'm trying my hand at making lanyards.  I'm concerned that so many folks take out the middle strands of the paracord.  I know it makes a sleeker knot, but it negates the idea of carrying cord for emergencies, doesn't it?  How much strength is lost by taking out the inner strands?

[J-sews]

I don't know a darn thing about lanyards Tom. I'm hoping someone else with more knowledge than me (which is pretty much everyone!  ) will jump in here and answer your questions.

~Bob

[Grant Lamontagne]

I have no idea how much strength is lost.  I would assume that the vast majority is lost though, as those inner strands are pretty strong.  However, my theory is that if the braid is inconvenient, you might not have it with you when you need it.

Kind of like sacrificing some of the function for convenience, because a lack of convenience negates the whole equation.

Or something like that!

Def