Absolute minimum EDC

[Lynn LeFey]

So, at some point, I decided to cut my EDC stuff to bare bones.

So, I tried cutting my stuff to just a Leatherman Style PS, and a small Fauxton light.

And...

So far, it's been okay. And LIGHT!

I should be honest in saying, I still have a small first aid kit and sewing kit. So this is really 'EDC Tools' I'm talking about.

And, as I wanted to give it a test run, I currently also have a Wenger Evo S17 riding along. Not a need, but just for testing.

Anyone else have a stripped down setup? And if so, any news on problems with it?

[Metropolicity]

Oh yah, for whatever reason I decided to switch to a juice s2 and used it for a while, the made notes on what didn't work. Made the right mods and its now one of my favorite tools.

I then went on to make a PS4 sans file and replaced it with an awl and Phillips, mirroring the s2 load out. That again, caught my attention. I've been swapping between the two.

As for lights, I never carried anything bigger than an aaa light so it's never really something to downsize.



No problems so far, but knowing the limitations of your tools helps make the judgment call. I never try to force a smaller tool to so something a bigger tool can do.

[Landrew]

Heading out tomorrow for 5 days in the forest, I'll be loaded pretty heavy.  I'll have the Surge, the Charge TTi, the Juice CS4, the Vic Huntsman and the Vic SwissChamp.  I may even take my Vic Outrider along.  If I can find a north woods machete along the way, I'll pick one up also.

[tosh]

Heading out tomorrow for 5 days in the forest, I'll be loaded pretty heavy.  I'll have the Surge, the Charge TTi, the Juice CS4, the Vic Huntsman and the Vic SwissChamp.  I may even take my Vic Outrider along.  If I can find a north woods machete along the way, I'll pick one up also.

That made me howl !!

Post title "Absolute Minimum EDC"......

Landrews answer ..

Surge
TTi
CS4
Huntsman
Swisschamp
Outrider ??
Machete ??

Erm'.....do you think you've got it covered there Landrew?? - lol 

Hope that backpack's got wheels!!

Kidding aside - Have a safe trip my friend   

[Landrew]

Heading out tomorrow for 5 days in the forest, I'll be loaded pretty heavy.  I'll have the Surge, the Charge TTi, the Juice CS4, the Vic Huntsman and the Vic SwissChamp.  I may even take my Vic Outrider along.  If I can find a north woods machete along the way, I'll pick one up also.

That made me howl !!

Post title "Absolute Minimum EDC"......

Landrews answer ..

Surge
TTi
CS4
Huntsman
Swisschamp
Outrider ??
Machete ??

Erm'.....do you think you've got it covered there Landrew?? - lol 

Hope that backpack's got wheels!!

Kidding aside - Have a safe trip my friend   

Yes. No joke; minimum carry for the bush.  My minimum carry for the office downtown, a bit lighter. Just the Charge, Vic Huntesman and the Juice.  Minimum carry for meetings/gatherings, just the Huntsman.

[stealth007s]

If I HAVE to go minimum I will only carry a S2 on me. My Original Wave and Swiss Champ are always in my pack JIC.

[lowtech]

My EDC is quite boring and won´t change much. I carry a Gerber MP 600 with a Mini Prybar in it´s pouch. Other EDC is a Mini Bic, comb and Pen.

I work as a Janitor / Facility Manager so a small MT won´t do the job.
I cut down to a compact or Spartan when i wear a suit, but tend to wear my Gerber even in my freetime, as i do ride old bikes and tend to fiddle around my own flat quite a bit.

[gregozedobe]

Gerber P4 and a fauxton is my minimum setup - but I usually have a vehicle somewhere close with a load a bit like Landrew's "small" setup 

[Boyen]

As for lights, I never carried anything bigger than an aaa light so it's never really something to downsize.

There are several lights in the Qyuantum DD size so it is possible 

As for me, my minimum carry is my keychain so, a small multi/sak, a whistle, a USB and a light.

[Steinar]

Right now it's a Dragonfly Salt, a straight 3" pocket widgy, a Led-Lenser T5, a ResQMe, a Photon II and a folding pocket razor if I do a tally of the EDC stuff in my pants pocket and my jacket. It's the widgy and the Dragonfly I have in my pants pockets. It covers my day pretty well, actually, as I work in an office. A knife is all I need most days.

[16VGTIDave]

I have an absolute minimum that is carried on my person:
1) Knife
2) Flashlight
3) Lighter

I have a broad assortment of each, and pick and choose which to carry depending on the days planned activities or the dress code.  Most days a small slip joint, an Olight i3 flashlight, and a butane lighter are in a leather pancake sheath in my left front pocket. Perfect for carrying when I'm visiting clients or in an office. A +B stayglow OHT, waterproof butane jet lighter, and a 2xAA LED converted Maglite with IQ switch are the choice when going geocaching. And there are a few other combinations, because I like choice and variety.

In addition, I also carry a "Go bag" with me that includes a broad selection of tools, equipment and supplies. But it usually stays in whatever vehicle I'm traveling in.

Dave


Sent from my iPad2

[hiljentaa]

I think my typical 'EDC' is quite minimal (in comparison to most 'EDC enthusiasts[?]').

For work: Watch, pen, card case, flashlight, tool. I remove the pen when not at work.

My most minimal tool set-up is Alox Bantam or Micra and Klarus MiX5. Very light, and capable of most/all everyday-type tasks.

[sawman]

Ohhhhh. Don't make me choose 

[nuphoria]

Good question
Full size knife of some kind, decent 123 light and fire. - that's the bare minimum I feel comfortable with.

Wallet, phone and keys would get me through most basics, but that's because my keys always have a Rambler and a small light on them. I have cut down what's on them to the things I can't live without if my pockets are otherwise empty... that's a constantly evolving obsession though

I much prefer having my other usual extras on me, but that's not too heavy either; my EDC pouch but that has things like meds in so it's generally to hand out of necessity. It also contains a few goodies like a pen, gaffa tape, sewing stuff and band aids which do come in handy (depending on the size of the wound ).

So yeah, without all the clutter, knife, light and fire will do me.

[David]

I'm not a edc minimalist but if forced I might be able to get by some how with these.         

[Gareth]

Heading out tomorrow for 5 days in the forest, I'll be loaded pretty heavy.  I'll have the Surge, the Charge TTi, the Juice CS4, the Vic Huntsman and the Vic SwissChamp.  I may even take my Vic Outrider along.  If I can find a north woods machete along the way, I'll pick one up also.

tell me you're at a static camp and not planning on lugging that lot around all day for five days?   Anyway, whichever it is have fan.


Back to the opening question.  On a weekend I'm perfectly happy to just carry a couple of things on my keys, a small SAK or MT plus a 1xAAA light.  I also habitually carry a peanut lighter on my keys as well but that's rarely called into service.

[peacemaker885]

I'm giving my Minichamp a break, so its my Spartan today.  I love the Photons.  I very much prefer the Micro II but its the Freedom's turn now.  Easily fits in my jeans coin pocket.

[nuphoria]

I only have Fauxtons, but even being the cheaper version they are hugely useful little things

[Millhouse]

Minimum on my person is my wallet, phone, full size MT. In the spring/summer months, the ITP A3 on my keys suffice. For autumn/winter, I will include an additional light, usually 18650 powered, just in case I need a lot of light.

As I pretty much drive everywhere, my car contains substantial kit.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

For me, it's different levels of carry... I keep dedicated selections of tools in various packs/bags so no matter what I'm carrying, I know I'll have something.  It gives me a small measure of redundancy too, so if I lose or break something, I'm usually still covered.

On my person, usually in a pocket, is a small light and pocket or key-chain sized tool.  Lately it's been my Squirt S4 and HCRI Q-mini AA.  I also alternate between the S4 and my Vic Exec.

On my key-chain, I've got my Wenger evo-81 and a Photon Freedom Micro with a covert nose.

In my EDC bag is my Stretch 2, Juice S2, CT 41, and my HCRI Preon 2.

In my day-hiking hydro-pack/PSK, I have my BK14, Skele-CX, modded Vic Hunter, and my neutral white Q-mini AA.

In the glove box of my wife's Sienna I've got my ST300 and my Jetbeam PA40.

In my adventure pack it's my Gerber Big Rock, my Juice CS4, Wenger PER Ranger 179, regular Quark AA, Zebralight H51Fw, and sometimes my Sven Saw and my Condor Golok.

In my bike toolkit I carry my Crunch along with a selection of other bike tools, and I have a Zebralight H51Fr as my tail-light, a Romisen RC 29-II on my handlebars, my Jetbeam Jet-III Pro St on top of my helmet, and my Zebralight H502d under my helmet's visor.

[Landrew]

Heading out tomorrow for 5 days in the forest, I'll be loaded pretty heavy.  I'll have the Surge, the Charge TTi, the Juice CS4, the Vic Huntsman and the Vic SwissChamp.  I may even take my Vic Outrider along.  If I can find a north woods machete along the way, I'll pick one up also.

tell me you're at a static camp and not planning on lugging that lot around all day for five days?   Anyway, whichever it is have fan.


Back to the opening question.  On a weekend I'm perfectly happy to just carry a couple of things on my keys, a small SAK or MT plus a 1xAAA light.  I also habitually carry a peanut lighter on my keys as well but that's rarely called into service.

Actually, I'm in a vehicle most of the time, on-site environmental monitoring, within a few hundred meters of the construction of an oil well and access road.

[powernoodle]

Here is my absolute minimum, as for MT, knife and light.  It covers 98.15% of what I "need" on a daily basis:

[AimlessWanderer]

I have various lightweight combos (which will probably come as no surprise to many here  ), and I'll just grab whichever suits the mood. Examples:

Keys: Vic Manager, Photon II, Utilikey
Wallet: Classic, Screwzall, Endless Match, Mini Bucktool

What my comfortable "minimum" is, depends what I'm doing and where I'm going

[stealth007s]

I'm going minimalist today with a S2 I need to be at too many places that my complete load out would kind of be frowned upon.

[sir_mike]

Alot of the time, I leave the house with only the Rambler on my keys!  That is pretty minimal but has never let me down.

[Heinz Doofenshmirtz]

Here is my absolute minimum, as for MT, knife and light.  It covers 98.15% of what I "need" on a daily basis:

(Image removed from quote.)

Alright,... make your data public; I'm gonna check your statistics!   

[sotto]

OK, absolute minimum?

Toilet paper. I can do without everything else, if need be. Been there, done that. If there's no more TP, put me in the ground.   

[Landrew]

OK, full disclosure. Several yards of TP in a ziplock bag, an inside pocket with emergency prescription and non-prescription meds, a small electric shaver, a butane lighter, credit card wallet with note paper, sandpaper and spare cash, a Fisher bullet pen, a Gerber Remix, a Juice CS4, a Vic Huntsman, LM Charge TTi, a Wenger Evolution, a Vic SwissChamp, a Lexar Firefly, a Panasonic ZS25, an HTC Desire HD, a Blackberry for work, Maglite XL200, a microfiber cloth, a Blackbox pen/microfiber stylus, and keys.


And some other stuff sometimes.

[kiak]

If I have to choose absolute minimal, I'll take Vics Rambler and iTP EOS A3 in a pocket. But prefer Vics Compact in a leather pouch and Fenix LD12 attached to it on my belt.

[powerring]

Not counting wallet, keys and phone, I feel pretty comfortable with just a Vic Midnight Manager.  It's not my daily carry but it's good when I'm going ultralight.