How often do you use your EDC gear?

[Landrew]

Speaking for myself, I find myself shedding some of my EDC gear fairly often, as I find that I really don't use it that much. I add things that I think I'll need, but it often turns out I don't.


Does anyone else have a similar experience?

[pfrsantos]

+1

My EDC is a work in progress. Once in a while I trade some less used item for a new one. I tend to use what I carry, just get better versions of it.

 

[Fattsgalore]

Everyday. My SAKs get used everyday at least. Other items no so much, but I rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

[Higgins617]

I get some sort of use daily, but often I find I carry too much just in hopes that I'll find a reason to use the stuff I have. 99% of the time I'm pretty confident I could solve my issues with just my Minichamp, if not less. But what fun is it having just one tool to fiddle with?

Honestly, for me, the stuff I carry serves as a small happy distraction from the rough parts of life. If I'm sitting somewhere absolutely stressed and miserable I find myself playing around with one of my tools daydreaming about what I could be using it on, or the project sitting at home that I can't wait to use the tool to make progress on. Above all else, I carry all my gear because it makes me happy and I enjoy the stuff I have.

[Roc]

I use my torch several times a day. My MT has days where it may only get used once, but that's still enough for me to justify carrying it. Plus it's fun to fiddle with when I'm bored. My folder gets used when I need to cut something already in hand. Still, I find that I could get through a day without anything. I'll never try it though.

[ducttapetech]

The stuff I carry gets used all the time. It is very rare if I don't use something.

that's us mobile

[ironraven]

Every day.

Some if it only once a month, some of it even less often (some times in the FAK), somethings many times a day. On average, 2.63 uses of day of the EDC ensemble. 

[jerseydevil]

SAKs and dedicated blades, multiple times a day every day.  Pliers?  Not so much, but I always have a plier-based tool at least in my bag nearby.

[Aloha]

My simple answer is my work "EDC" gets used pretty much all day every day.  I carry certain items because my experience tells me I WILL NEED CERTAIN ITEMS.  I carry other items that may be useful and if I find they aren't then I keep them close by.
 
My off work EDC get used every day as well with the exception of my plier layer.  My plier layer gets used but not as much as my SAK or light.  I carry items based off my needs of certain items in past situations.  I have a PFAK and while I hope to not have to use it it's nice to have.  I am always assessing my off work carry and determining better options or carry methods.   

To me the idea of a EDC or A Daily Carry is carrying items that you needed but didn't have at the time and/or carrying items that could have been useful to you or others.  Your situation is probably very familiar to most who EDC items and find they rarely if ever use them.  EDC has become a fun hobby of gear junkies who want to carry cool stuff and hope to use it.  I think it's great and I'm stoked that there are so many of us out there in the wild that have killer gear that if I ever needed a hand someone would pop up.

Evaluate weekly and shed the gear that doesn't make sense but carry some basics.  I was having trouble deciding what to carry on my off days because I too wasn't using what I was toting around.  I stopped carrying certain items and sure enough I needed something.  I broke down my carry into 3 layers to keep it simple.
1. Plier
2. SAK
3. Light
I add to this and change out items but always carry these three basic items om my off days.  Today I have my Juice S2/Explorer Plus/Thrunite Tis.  If I leave the house I'll add my PFAK and depending on where I'm going I'll toss in my Moleskine notebook.  I may carry my Skinth or my niteize case or pocket carry these basics but I always have them on me.

I posted not long ago about USING your daily carry.  I feel its important to know your gear so if and when you need it you will know it's capabilities and limitations.  Find something to tighten/loosen/adjust/cut/pinch/pull/twist/turn etc.  I realize for some EDC is a fun hobby but having these great tools is no fun if you are not using them so go use your gear and have some fun.   

[powernoodle]

Part of my EDC is for "what if", not "I use it everyday".  I have carried a gun almost everyday for the past 20+ years, for example, and thank God have never used it.  Many of the tools on my Explorer Plus don't get used often, but when I need them, its real good to have it.

For me, and I think many others, part of EDC is simply the preparedness aspect - i.e., knowing that you are ready for whatever the world throws at you that day, even if you don't use what you carry.

[Jothra]

I use my SAK many times every day. It's almost always faster than finding a dedicated tool, and that's really the point.

The flashlight also gets used at least once daily. The phone, wallet, and keys are no-brainers.

The only everyday thing I don't use every day is the Zippo. I just like having easy fire with me. If I'm short on pocket space, it's the second thing I'll ditch (after the phone, if I have my way).

[Kampfer]

For me, and I think many others, part of EDC is simply the preparedness aspect - i.e., knowing that you are ready for whatever the world throws at you that day, even if you don't use what you carry.

+1
From 2002 to 2013. The only gadgets I EDC was the Utility key and  a lighter. They solved my trouble daily. But now I am packing a full size MT, a folder and a flash light 24/7, and applying for CCW permit, purely for preparedness.

[Lynn LeFey]

Some of the stuff I carry gets used every time I go out. I seem to use at least one function on my Crosscut if I'm out of the house for more than 2 hours. I find myself needing a flashlight with fair frequency. I carry a pen, and it sees frequent use, probably once a week. I think that easily justifies it.

I carry a baseball cap in my handbag, and it's a real time/weather thing. SUPER useful for driving at sunset, or walks in the park on sunny days. But it can go months without use.

I carry two granola bars. They may go months before being needed or replaced, but sometimes my bloodsugar just takes a nosedive, and I get all shaky and... mean. Safer for all involved if I have them on-hand.

I carry $3 in quarters, and I might go months without needing change, but it's REALLY nice when I need to feed a parking meter, or buy a soda or bottle of water from a vending machine, etc. I get rid of any other change that builds up, and stick it in the change jar at home.

I carry a little first aid kit and have never needed anything from it. Luckily. I had to use and replace the nitrile gloves in it a month or so back. Nothing serious.

I carry earplugs for no really good reason, except we go shooting on occasion, and if someone comes along without their own hearing protection, I have something. Well, we went to a concert (not like Rock, a symphony) and my husband was having some ear pain, and used one. That's the first time it was ever used.

My phone gets used. Im turning into a phone addict. Not talking, but if I'm bored, I'll pull up a news site or play sudoku or something. Or read a classic book I downloaded for free from Project Gutenberg. I also carry a USB/power cord, and a wall plug to charge the phone.

I have waffled back and forth about carrying pepper spray. But then I got attacked by my neighbor's dog, and put it back in. I've sprayed that dog twice. It seems reluctant to approach me now if I extend my hand. Effective!

I carry of stuff that I probably ought to just keep in our car, and should probably sit down and reevaluate.

[PTRSAK]

My Wave and flashlight get used multiple times daily at work.
Out of hours I probably use a flashlight most nights just getting to the car, taking the garbage out, etc and probably about 50% of the days get some use out of whatever SAK/MT is doing duty.

[kkokkolis]

Like most people here, I use some item many times a day but some others might be used once a week or a month (the lighter is one of those things but I'm happy I don't use it more the 20 times a day like I used to). Moreover, I keep my EDC for fun, joy and distraction of a stressful life (my job is to manage the stress of others, you might imagine what it is like, or perhaps not). I want my items to look shiny, feel velvety, click musically as well as work perfectly.

[Freaver]

Well, I see that alot of us share the same "predicament" about our EDC's. Personally, my EDC differs whether I'm at work or off work. At work, I always carry my Multimate Mini (small plier-based MT), my zippo, a pen and occasionally a folder. When off work, it's usually my Squirt P4 and still the zippo - after all, a smoker needs a lighter.

Come to think about it, I've never really needed any kind of MT or folder out of the apartment. And even when I'm at work, I almost never use anything other than the pliers and knifeblade on my MT; however, I like having to possibility to tighten a screw, open a bottle or similar. Just like I'm always carrying a paracord-bracelet. In my 24 years I think I've needed rope/string perhaps 3 or 4 times, to keep a car trunk closed, when hauling big items. Yet, I like to be prepared.

Only once, have I ever really, really needed my MT. A storm was raging at the store I work at, with gusts reaching hurricane-speeds. One of our flags got ripped of the flagpole at the top, with the flag waving wildly over the road, while still connected to the bottom of the flagpole. If I haven't had my MT in my pocket, I would have spend a helluva lot more time, looking for something to cut the line, with the added risk of the flag being the cause of an accident in the meantime.

I suppose it's a general feeling, among everybody that carries MTs, folders, SAKs, pocketknives and the like; we don't necessarily use it, but we rather have them and not need them, then need them and not have them.

Morale of the story: Never leave home without a MT!

[glorn]

Part of my EDC is for "what if", not "I use it everyday".  I have carried a gun almost everyday for the past 20+ years, for example, and thank God have never used it.  Many of the tools on my Explorer Plus don't get used often, but when I need them, its real good to have it.

For me, and I think many others, part of EDC is simply the preparedness aspect - i.e., knowing that you are ready for whatever the world throws at you that day, even if you don't use what you carry.

This.


I would say that I probably carry more than most of you, but less than some folks I have seen on EDCF. I think about my EDC and what others carry quite often, and mine does get used and it does evolve. I have a bag for my kit out of both necessity and preference.

Much of what I carry is due to "what if", but that  doesn't mean it isn't useful daily. Let's put it this way, "what if" describes some items, but it defines the design of others.

For example:

I always carry water. I drink from and refill the bottle throughout the day. At my desk, on a job site, in my Jeep, at the gym... This is a daily use item for me. Now I could carry any type of water bottle. I choose to carry a wide mouth Nalgene for reasons of personal preference as well as "what if".

It has measurements on the side. This doesn't help me greatly when I drink from it every day. But it sure would help if I had to purify water and possibly follow liquid to treatment ratios.

It also nests with my steel cup. That I don't use daily, but.. It sure would be useful in an emergency.

A Nalgene is lashable by way of its cap design. This is handy daily as well as in an emergency.

My particular bottle is also GITD. I admit to having a bit of a remnant childhood fetish with all things GITD. So I simply like that it glows. But on a daily basis, I can find my bottle easily at night on the floor or table. And in an emergent situation, I can imagine that a bottle that glows could serve a number of purposes.

So the bottle design informs, and is informed by, my daily needs as well as my possible needs.

I try to make this true for as much of my kit as I can.


Some of the kit is absolutely daily use:

Knife

Water bottle

Pen

Pliers on the multi (my job requires pliers often)

Titanium Spork (I'm a little bit "green" and choose to use disposable utensils as little as possible)

Folding ripstop shopping bag (See "green" above)

Flashlight (I use mine every day without fail both at home and at work)

Antibacterial hand wipes


I doubt there is much in that list that anyone would claim as not being useful in an emergency.


And then there are items I use often but not daily:

Bic lighter

Saw on multi

Awl " "

Wire cutters " "

Drivers

Bandana

Dice (Yep. I carry some small classic six sided dice. I play dice games socially over drinks at a bar with friends often. I also roll them myself for a time waster, or play dice games with my daughter at the market over tea. So they are used as well as good for an emergency. A lot of emergent situations can come with boredom. Nine tiny little plastic dice are a good way to keep the brain occupied. Sometimes I go with travel dominoes or water proof playing cards as well.)

FAK

Toilet paper


Next is the stuff that is mostly for emergencies, but some of which gets used in practice in the outdoors on hikes or camping:

Firesteel

Fixed blade

Waterproof matches

Compass

Cordage

Steel cup


And finally there is that which is only for emergencies and never gets used:

Heatsheets emergency blanket

Signal mirror

Whistle

And so on.


I guess it all depends on what you personally want to be prepared for. Just daily inconvenience, or other possibilities? I spent some years living out of my bag. So it doesn't bother me much to carry one still. I prefer to have what I need as well as the basics of what I might need.

I also don't want to pocket and belt carry my phone, wallet, keys, multi, comb, change, pen, bandana, lighter, flashlight, water bottle, knife, etc.

So my thinking is: I've got the bag already. Might as well add some "what if".

And just to clarify, I'm not so keen on the whole TEOTWAWKI SHTF BUG OUT OMFG thing. That's not really what my daily carry is about. I'm more concerned about being broken down in the middle of nowhere, having to overnight outdoors unexpectedly, floods, serious weather issues, power outtages that lead to discord, and I suppose some kind of attack by zealots of some sort.

But that's much more than you asked, now isn't it.

[Jothra]

Glorn: you have described with alarming accuracy the contents of my scrambling pack. Eerie.

[Singh]

I live walking distance from work, so there isn't a need for me to carry a bag of gear.

What I carry on me is minimal;

• watch
• keys
• phone
• wallet; I have two band-aids (plasters) and 2 alcohol prep pads in my wallet because finding a bandaid is impossible when you need one.
• Pocket Skinth with these items:
  

All items get used daily or about as much.



 

[glorn]

Glorn: you have described with alarming accuracy the contents of my scrambling pack. Eerie.

Well, you know what they say: "Great minds pack alike."

 

[nate j]

How often I use something is only one of the questions I consider when selecting EDC gear.  My EDC changes depending on what I'm wearing, what I think I'll be doing, where I plan to go, whether I've acquired something new that I want to carry, etc.  I also ponder questions like, "If I need this item but don't have it, is it likely to be a life-or-death situation or merely an inconvenience?"

The result is that some items I carry get used daily, others a couple of times per week, a few just occasionally, and one or two hopefully never.

[charlie fox]

I just cut down on some of the gear I was carrying after asking myself this same question. I'm making my EDC more situational now; work gets one style, home another, going out to the store another, etc. I find that I'm carrying a knife and flashlight of some flavor almost all the time, but the multitools and multiple knives get left at home. Frankly, I went a whole week with nothing more than a SAK Classic and a Photon light....oh the humanity!


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[Singh]

I went a whole week with nothing more than a SAK Classic and a Photon light....oh the humanity!

A  classic and a phoon is a perfectly capable setup. I got a photon my keychain. I think most of the time, my daily needs could be met with just my alox minichamp and photon light. But it's nice having a full sized SAK and light.

[trouthunter]

I find myself using my EDC supplies daily.  It if it not for this it is for that.  But then oh yeah so and so needs this done, etc...