EDC

Anonymous asked: I have been lurking around for 2 weeks and have questions. First, why are so many people carrying flashlights everywhere they go? Is there a rash of power outages I've missed? And could you explain your philosophy/reasoning for what makes a good edc kit?

You don’t need to be in a power outage to understand the value of carrying a flashlight. Every time the sun goes down (I think this happens quite often) there is a potential need for a flashlight. Sometimes in urban areas, there are light sources around but they are inadequate.. I think it’s more dangerous to trust fixed light sources if you’re walking around at night, especially if you aren’t familiar with the area. Carrying a flashlight allows you to supplement or overpower misleadingly-not-so-useful light.

Even then, there are instances indoors (during the day too) that could call for a flashlight. Any time a little extra light is needed, a flashlight is in my pocket. Although I’ve answered this question dozens of times, I still can’t really think of a convincing answer other than you’ll need to carry a light to understand its utility. In the end, it’s pretty simple — a flashlight gives you extra light if you need it. That’s all there is to it: can you think of any instances where you needed some light but flipping a lightswitch was too much or whatever lights were on were not enough?

Regarding an ideal EDC, here are the things I look for when deciding what to carry for myself:

1. Manages most common daily tasks specific to my lifestyle
2. Prepares me for emergency situations or uncommon tasks
3. Not too little, not too much
4. Quality/durable gear that I can rely on every day
5. Comfortable to carry and conceal accordingly
6. Comfortable and easy to access and use each tool
7. Looks gr8 on my desk

There are many more thoughts and considerations that influence what and how I carry, but it would be difficult to write them all in a single post… To give you an idea, it took a whole post just to write about 5 and 6. Another noteworthy aspect of EDC that’s different from the common pedestrian carry is the mindset behind it — EDCers tend to think “it is better to have and not need than to need and not have” as opposed to people new to the whole concept who would scoff at someone carrying a flashlight thinking they’re a catburglar or someone with a knife, thinking they’re a serial killer -_-. The funny thing about that, though, is it’s usually the people you help out with your flashlight/knife/multitool etc who ask you “why do you carry a _____?” Anyway, I digress…

I hope that cleared some stuff up for you.