How do you view EDC?

[Grant Lamontagne]

I just want to toss this out to the community- I was thinking about this on the (long) drive into work and I was curious where you all land on this:

Is your EDC (tools, flashlights, knives, bandannas, etc.) a hobby in its own right? Like, do you collect and carry gear simply because you love the gear itself?

Or is it more of a support system- gear that enhances your other passions, like always having a Swiss Army Knife on a hike, or a solid flashlight for camping?

Maybe it’s all about utility, such as streamlining your workday with the right multitool, like my buddy who swears by his setup for “handyman stuff.”

So what drives your carry? Passion, practicality, or a mix of both?

Drop your thoughts, setups, and stories below- I'd love to see your thoughts on this and figure out whether I spend too much thinking about this stuff or not... 

Def

[Antti Lammi]

I see my EDC being necessary evil since i when i dont have anything with me i feel naked and usually i need them way or another.
I could of course get tools i need but multitool is handier and faster to use since i have it with me and dont need to go find tool for like fast cutting or screw few screws.
 Sometimes people jokes me when i carry MT but sometimes they ask do i have MT with me for fast job without they going search right tool.
When im at work i carry MT, SAK and Vic ratchet/l-wrench and basic bits

[IMR4198]

   It is all need and utility for me.  I don't feel the need for it, then I don't burden myself with it.  Knife, phone, watch, keys, bandana/paper towels, wallet are about it.  I use that stuff regularly.  Don't need a flashlight most of the time.  Or a lighter.  Don't need/want anything titanium.  Don't like one-piece tools generally or pry bars.  If I need a pair of pliers, then I put one in my pocket.  Always have two or three in the vehicle, work bench, near my equipment outdoors. 
   I carry a Leatherman sometimes.  Just as a knife substitute.  They have a pretty good blade and aren't too heavy.  If I am doing outdoor things, I carry a belt pack with a few other things.  Little first aid kit.  A coil of light nylon rope.  A lighter.  Another thing or two. 
   I don't have a problem with people carrying a bunch of stuff.  Do what you like.  Actually, I don't even need a watch anymore.  Phone suffices for a watch and flashlight substitute.  It is just hard to break the watch habit. 
Best wishes.  Gary

[charlie fox]

I see it as a combination; there are certain things I don't like to be without when I leave the house, but I carry things that I like. For instance - my daily knife of choice changes frequently based on my mood, but it's always generally the same; a 3" one hand deployable locking folder. This is what I have identified as my need.

On the other hand...

[Alan K.]

I carry a lot of stuff in case I need it.  Somehow, I never needed this stuff, or never knew I needed it, until after I found MTO.  Twenty-year-old me carried just a single blade pocketknife.  Thirty-year-old me got a multitool. This month I will have been on MTO for 10 years.  When I empty my pockets at the end of the day it looks a bit like the scene in Beyond Thunderdome, before Max is allowed to enter Bartertown. 

[Djiaux]

To me, it is a matter of having handy things with you.

Also a hobby because I buy WAY more things that I need. These things are useful for some of my hobbies like cycling and hiking.

So A and B but mostly 'I want to carry these things with me'.


After many tries, I only carry a Swisschamp and a small 14500 flashlight. If I go hiking some other EDCy items go into the bag, if I go cycling some other EDCy items go into the bag.

[MadPlumbarian]

If I step out of the house I have to have things on me or else I feel naked, I used to have to carry a 2aa flashlight, and multitool, but with the way things went and newer technology the simple keychain flashlight is just as good and brighter, let alone rechargeable and not wasting batteries, and instead of a multitool I dropped down to a sak, let alone a mini on the keychain, as for anything else, yeah I have a mini bag with a first aid kit and other must haves, but it only gets taken when we’re going to be out long, which isn’t much,
JR

[BPRoberts]

I chose B. I try not to buy anything I won't use. The current size of my collection shows that I'm, at best, modestly succesful at it, but these are all tools, and I at least try them out. I don't think there's anything that hasn't seen at least one day of pocket time, with the exception of a few of the newest acquisitions and random bonuses that got thrown in w/ orders.

 Sometimes I carry for a week and realize it wasn't quite what I was hoping for. Sometimes they get passed on to others, stashed around the house/cars, etc. At some point, I would like to do a yard sale or go on an ebay spree of not just some multis, but also other stuff. There are some things that I've been moving from apartment to house for over a decade that've barely seen a light of day in that time.

[Jack the Zipper]

Combo of desire and necessity. I try to keep getting new stuff to a minimum because I already have my bases covered. But sometimes you just have to get that certain special piece of kit because... you just have to, ok?! I blame it on my relative poverty as a kid. Back in the 70s we didn't have much in the tool / man toy category. I had a cheap Mora and was gifted a SAK, and that was it. I wanted a Bat Belt but had nothing to put in it. Until much much later I saw a picture of a Leatherman PST in an outdoor magazine. Naturally, I couldn't afford it. So when I finally pulled the trigger, it became my most prized possession. Now I get major FOMO if I don't at least try some nifty new gadget. And we've come so far! Lately it feels like there's nothing new and interesting, just rehashing of old ideas, so I go for classics like Victorinox. And as years go by, there are fewer and fewer interesting projects and tasks for all the nice items I've accumulated.

I dream of simpler times, being able to walk around with a leather belt, openly carrying a big fixed blade, and some stylish Western style pouches for that ultimate MT/light combo. Wood, leather, brass, carbon steel, that's my future, in a perfect world.

[fullbreakfast]

It's a hobby unto itself, because I love and get satisfaction from gadgets and ingenious things, particularly if they are well made and aesthetically pleasing. They have to be functional first of all, though. I only rarely buy things I don't think I will, or at least might, get some practical use out of. And I don't like the idea of carrying anything that doesn't have intrinsic usefulness - like fidget sliders or EDC coins.

This is all bound up with being prepared for daily tasks. I like to carry things that will, to quote the YouTuber Jon Gadget "reduce friction in everyday life". To me that means having the things I will find useful to hand whenever I need them. Flashlight, utility blade and various tools on my SAK (but especially scissors) are all things I will use multiple times every day. Having them with me has become a psychological need - as some have said, I feel naked without. More to the point, if I'm not carrying my EDC and have to spend time hunting for a pen or a blade or a pair of scissors, I get quite annoyed.

Part of the fun comes from building kits and optimising carry. How can I carry what I need in the most compact and light form, consistent with also carrying tools that are a pleasure to look at, handle and use? What should go in my sling bag, backpack, work bag?  The possibilities are endless...and what is 'optimum', never seems to stay that way for long.

[magentus]

Being lucky enough to work in maintenance at a college I get to carry tools around all day so I like to put all my stuff to use.

[Jack the Zipper]

Well put, fullbreakfast! Spot on from Jon Gadget as well.

Carrying stuff rises out of necessity. Whenever something comes up, I think "can I handle it and if not, what would I need to handle it?" The needs are so different in everyday grind and hiking, for example. But EDC as in Every Day... It started with a knife, then SAK or multitool. Light is a necessity. A lighter comes handy. Pen and paper, even though the modern marvel, smartphone, covers many uses. There haven't been that many new additions to the EDC in years. If not for the advent of the PBMTs and LED lights, the basic carry could be the same as in the 80s.

The hobby side becomes obvious when you buy your tenth or twentieth folder, SAK, or MT.

[powernoodle]

EDC = pain avoidance, through having phone and internet, firearm/pepper spray where applicable, MT/SAK, Sharpie, light/torch, etc.

Much of humanity - everyone who can afford it and has access to cellular - already EDCs a phone.

MTO Legends just take it 19 steps farther.   

[smiller43147]

Like most here, it's a combination of a hobby (obsession), and wanting to be prepared "out there".  There's "the collection" that collects dust (figuratively, it's all in one container or another) and the stuff that actually gets used.

[greenbear]

I voted: A combination of any of the options above- I am now explaining below.

If EDC is defined as carry, for example, an SAK a small torch, maybe a glasses screwdriver then, yep, I am all for EDC. However I don't really get very impressed by morale patches, fidgets toys, little tins for pills etc. So, I guess, kind of minimalist EDC, but not really much of it.

[David Bowen]

EDC for me is a combination of collecting and having a preparedness for what may come up during my day. I've took a hard look at things in the last couple of years and I could make do with just a single blades knife, something like a sak that's lightweight and has the tools I use most and a small AAA flashlight. If I take work out of the equation I can probably go a week and only use my knife a handful of times. Light maybe once or twice and maybe same for tools. I carry the stuff I carry more for preparedness than necessity. In the world we live with pens, paper, scissors, real tools etc we or rather I can survive without this stuff. But, I enjoy the stuff I have. I enjoy knife and multitool design, it's a fascination for me and I appreciate the time and ingenuity that crafts then. Deep down I'm more of a collector I guess. It's complicated lol

[AzteCypher]

I've been EDCing a pocket knife since I was a kid.  I went from cheapie knives to a Classic SD to a Vic Tinker.  Once I got into college I carried a Kershaw Leek until my boss at the time gifted me a Leatherman.  This is when I started carrying more than a pocket knife as I needed a multitool for work.  Lost the Leatherman along the way, picked up a Schrade Tough Tool, then a Gerber MP600.  The Schrade stayed in my car and the Gerber MP600 traveled with me for work.  Several years later I picked up and Olight Baton 2 because my phone light wasn't cutting it.

Up until this point my knife and multitool were a necessity mostly because of my job and partially because I liked being prepared.

I met a guy at work that was into knives so I started collecting folders here and there.  Then Covid hit, I got the collecting bug and I started seeking out a few Vics.  Then I met you lot.  I mean, "I met you fine people on this outstanding forum."  And it went down here from there.

Now, I'm a bit of a collector.  I have throttled it back a good deal because I've come to the realization that I don't want my kids to deal with my "stuff" when it's my turn to go.  Luckily my son really gets a kick from collecting knives and multitools so of course he'll get the pick of whatever he wants when I'm ready to pare it all down.

When I'm not doing a challenge, I EDC a keychain flashlight, a flashlight clipped to my left pocket, a Minichamp on my keychain, and a Super Tinker.  I'm looking to add a fixie to my EDC rotation now that I'm doing the Fixed Blade Challenge though.  Why all this?  Because I like being prepared.      And cuz I think I look cool with all my gear.   

[tosh]

Hmm

I don’t ever carry anything on me per se
There’s simple basic tools I leave around…

Both cars, loft, under stairs, ruck sack, works locker etc etc
So I’m never really that far from a tool should it be needed
Apologies - both cars have the obligatory 58mm SAK on the keyring along with house key.. so I suppose I edc a 58mm

I remember when it was announced Wengers end. Both me and a mate headed to a local camping store.
The Wenger stock had mostly gone except for a few Wenger Alox S1
I grabbed 3 and my mate took 2
A chap appeared and grabbed the last
A conversation struck up and he thought it necessary to show us what he carried on a daily basis

Multiple knives (one a spyderco), SAKs big and small
MTs big and small, flashlight .. most were either on various chains or inside belt pouches or in his pockets!!

I came away thinking I never want to be grouped or viewed as sad as that chap

Hence I never carry edc on my person (besides the 58 if I’m out of the house).
I was embarrassed for him. Whenever I see the derogatory term “ Mall Ninja “ I always now automatically think of that chap. 

Edit

However if ever Victorinox reduced the spirit to LM juice proportions and swapped the silly useless neednose for blunt…

I’d edc that bad boy til the day I died


In other words I’ll never edc a MT !!

[Grand_Banana]

I voted combination.

I see EDC as a spectrum from the total collector with pocket jewelry to the person who uses their items daily as a necessity.  Collectors and hobbyists who use some and don’t use other pieces are on between.

The term EDC is often incorrectly used I think when people write “my EDC for the day” because it’s not an everyday… that’s just a pet peeve of mine.  EDC is a daily carry. It can change but should encompass something you carry every and ideally use/need or prepares for something you might need for the day. Sometimes I get annoyed with the Reddit and YouTube personalities that claim “my EDC for for the last year,” but look brand new or clearly haven’t been used. It just seems silly to me to carry a bunch of stuff daily that you don’t use or need. The exception is the “be prepared” mindset.

I do have what I consider a real EDC, although it’s really a set of a couple tools and other things. 

I daily carry a Spirit X and rally in my bag to work. Spirit goes in the sheath on my belt or both in pockets once I get to the lab.  I also carry a moleskine XS, space pen, and Coast A5. These all go back in my work bag when I get home because they are daily needed items in the lab. 

At home or out not to work I daily carry a Spirt butter blade and Explorer along with an Olight pen, i3T, and a different Moleskine XS. When I leave the house I take the Explorer out of my pocket because I have another rally attached to my keys. The Spirt takes care of 99% of everything.  I don’t carry anything I don’t use regularly.

I do have quite a collection of other tools some are used and others not so much or are backups. But I don’t really consider them as daily carry. I don’t tend to rotate and if I do it’s for specific purposes and don’t consider those items as “EDC.”

[Jack the Zipper]

Fair point Grand_Banana. EDC is more like COD, carry of the day. "Every Day" comes from the fact that every "slot" of carry is filled, every day, but the items vary. The only things that stay the same are the likes of wallet and phone, car keys, watch unless you're a watch person, keychain tools once you've found that sweet spot... Most multitools, knives, torches, handguns, etc fill an identical role and may be swapped around on a whim. I can totally symphatize with people who have shiny, new, hardly used toys for each day. That's how I would roll if I had the means. Wealthy people may have different cufflinks, cigar cutters, sportscars and other useless stuff for every occasion, a closet full of silk ties and alligator boots, stuff that is only meant to impress and boost one's self confidence. But tools have a clear function, and the better your tool of choice fills a need the better. For the first half of my life I carried the same cheap folder, old SAK and finally the PST when I could afford it, and that was the daily carry because that was all I had. I'm very happy to be able to diversify, even though that means that some items get hardly any use. I don't earn my living with my EDC and I have other stuff for hard use. The EDC is there for when all else fails.

So IMO EDC is a function, not a fixed set of items.

[Vidar]

It is a combination for me. I've been told I'm a tool junkie, so maybe a hobby in its own right at some level. And I do use them for various other daily and work tasks. I can't say they are a necessary evil though because I just don't carry if I don't see any likely use coming up. (Which of course happens from time to time anyway, and then I do feel silly for having many multitools around but not with me...) I also got paid to buy various reference tools and using them as research for work some years ago, so EDC as such was a paid task. Can't complain about that. 

[Grand_Banana]

Fair point Grand_Banana. EDC is more like COD, carry of the day. "Every Day" comes from the fact that every "slot" of carry is filled, every day, but the items vary. The only things that stay the same are the likes of wallet and phone, car keys, watch unless you're a watch person, keychain tools once you've found that sweet spot... Most multitools, knives, torches, handguns, etc fill an identical role and may be swapped around on a whim. I can totally symphatize with people who have shiny, new, hardly used toys for each day. That's how I would roll if I had the means. Wealthy people may have different cufflinks, cigar cutters, sportscars and other useless stuff for every occasion, a closet full of silk ties and alligator boots, stuff that is only meant to impress and boost one's self confidence. But tools have a clear function, and the better your tool of choice fills a need the better. For the first half of my life I carried the same cheap folder, old SAK and finally the PST when I could afford it, and that was the daily carry because that was all I had. I'm very happy to be able to diversify, even though that means that some items get hardly any use. I don't earn my living with my EDC and I have other stuff for hard use. The EDC is there for when all else fails.

So IMO EDC is a function, not a fixed set of items.

Thats a good perspective.  If i rotated all the MTs I have on a daily basis they would certainly appear less used.  I suppose I'm nit picking on semantics.  I like the COD use more than EDC in that context. 

If I had the means, I would have multiples of all the new shiny MTs.  But, I'd still probably end up with my current EDC, used here as a proper everyday.  Id also have a cigar cutter in my EDC and a couple cubans with some pappy every night. 

I also got paid to buy various reference tools and using them as research for work some years ago, so EDC as such was a paid task. Can't complain about that. 

That’s the dream!

[Jack the Zipper]

Not to mention spares! As a rule, I have generic or cheaper MTs like Stanley in different kits that are (hopefully) never used, like in car emergency kits,  and good knives and MTs and lights in preparedness setups. Makes sense to rotate them, keep everything oiled and to make sure nothing's missing or misplaced, check the batteries... Then maybe take that spanking new Rebar into active use and leave the Gerber in its place. Also, I have three grown-up sons and sometimes they leave with something of mine, even though I gifted all of them a black Wave and a Peltonen puukko when they went to the army... So there's more to having a "collection" than a hobby.

[ToolJoe]

I will only carry what I will use. My Rebar rides in my work bag everyday and it gets used at home or at work. My wallet carry flashlight never changes and I rotate between a Vic Bantam and a Tinker. A Super Tinker is a staple on my dresser and gets used around the house.

[Farmer X]

"Is EDC a hobby unto itself or a function of a hobby?" Taken at face value, that's a simple question. But the answer I'd give is pretty complex; therefore, my poll response was "a combination of...options."

I've been in this hobby for less than five years, but I've carried knives and multis since grade school. I graduated high school in 1997, and I never had a problem bringing sharps to school. (Back then, if you didn't flaunt them, there was no issue, even in California.) Before 2021, those sharps were strictly tools. I bought them to use. If they got scratched and dinged, I tended not to care.

Everything changed early in 2021, when I noticed my old Super Tinker wasn't cutting paracord as well as it once did. I ordered up a new Fieldmaster to use as a working tool. Said Fieldmaster had a Wounded Warrior Project logo printed on the front scale. I thought it would be a shame to have the logo wear away, so I bought a second to keep all nice and pristine. Not long after that, things snowballed. I was more often than not buying in double, again with the intention of carrying one and keeping the other as a safe queen. That pattern continued for a short while.

And then I started to wonder what the smurf I was doing. I took a leave of absence from the forums, and I couldn't stand to so much as look at my collection for much of that time. A reevaluation was in order. That started with the intention of largely reducing the number of safe queens I keep on hand. Or maybe I merely found another means to justify the safe queens: they're backups just in case I lose or destroy a carrier.

My carry has evolved quite a bit this decade. I started with only that Super Tinker. Then I went to carrying half a dozen knives and multis just for grins. The Loaded Pockets Challenge began my shift away from that mentality. Unintentionally dropping about 30 pounds is what got me completely away from it. Nowadays I carry not more than three sharps at a given time, and very often just one.

As Jack the Zipper said, EDC is a function. I see testing out various items to determine which work (or don't) for you as a key function of EDC. Luckily for me, I've made that determination in a few categories: SAKs, PB multis, and dedicated folding knives. Fixed blade knives are a whole different ballgame. More extensive testing of those will have to wait until I've moved to another state. It may be a while before I hash out the perfect pen and flashlight, but until then, I have options close to hand. Handguns...we'll see how that goes. Thank God I don't need to tote a long gun or an axe everywhere I go.

And my SAK carry preferences have changed pretty drastically. More will be written about that in the next few days.

If you made it all the way to the end of this ramble...

[Pauldmmwc]

Hello awl
Mine started as tool and was for a long time my daily user.   I became quite reliant on my trusty Wave and then when I was in a place where there was better access to
relliable postal services etc I purchased a few more MT s and all of a sudden the dreaded collectovitus bug bit and it has become a hobby as well.  When I am back home in as few days I will post some pics
of the small collection.

 
PD

[rodia77]

I was EDC'ing stuff before I knew there was a name for it. Mostly out of practicality, preparedness -- I mean, go out in the wild world without a penknife and a keychain torch? Never! Go outdoors without those and a watch and compass and can opener? No! But I think it did turn into a hobby, too. Sure, I do buy stuff I don't 'need', but I will normally only carry what does or can come in handy. So my answer is D.

[lnytunes]

@rodia77 My thoughts exactly. You've summarized my EDC journey in just a few lines. 

[Jack the Zipper]

I wonder who coined the phrase EDC? I remember reading it on bladeforums ca 2000. So someone just came up with a name for something that has been done since time immemorial.

[Farmer X]

That's it in a nutshell. Before the acronym "EDC" was coined, I just called it "the smurf in my pockets."