EDC

Everyday Carry, or EDC, generally refers to small items or gadgets worn, carried, or made available in pockets, holsters, or bags on a daily basis to manage common tasks or for use in unexpected situations or emergencies. In a broader sense, it is a lifestyle, discipline, or philosophy of preparedness.

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Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor

 

submitted by Drew My daily carry. Nixon wallet - had it forever and really like it cause it’s very slim Timex military style watch - love these things even though they are cheap Cross pen Notebook Sunglasses Car/House keys Cell phone (not pictured) Lightsaber (green blade) - obviously for dual purpose, light and defense.  In all seriousness though, I really dig this site. Lots of cool gear shown here. Finding lots of pointers for picking out reliable flashlights and knives. Hope my little joke doesn’t offend. Editor’s Note: Ah, nice primary blade/light combo. It’s a bit on the larger side to EDC for my tastes but I understand you have to sacrifice portability if you want long runtime and decent throw. I wish I could carry one but unfortunately I believe California laws prohibit automatic blades, not to mention the length on that is roughly a meter… I also imagine it would be too floody for my tastes with such a diffuse beam pattern. I see you opted for the green version. I honestly can’t stand that tint (some of my XP-G lights gather dust for that reason), I would’ve gotten the neutral saber if that were an option. Anyway, thanks for sharing! I didn’t really catch your little joke so I’m sure nobody’s offended by it. Carry on~

submitted by Drew

My daily carry.

  • Nixon wallet - had it forever and really like it cause it’s very slim
  • Timex military style watch - love these things even though they are cheap
  • Cross pen
  • Notebook
  • Sunglasses
  • Car/House keys
  • Cell phone (not pictured)
  • Lightsaber (green blade) - obviously for dual purpose, light and defense. 

In all seriousness though, I really dig this site. Lots of cool gear shown here. Finding lots of pointers for picking out reliable flashlights and knives. Hope my little joke doesn’t offend.

Editor’s Note: Ah, nice primary blade/light combo. It’s a bit on the larger side to EDC for my tastes but I understand you have to sacrifice portability if you want long runtime and decent throw. I wish I could carry one but unfortunately I believe California laws prohibit automatic blades, not to mention the length on that is roughly a meter… I also imagine it would be too floody for my tastes with such a diffuse beam pattern. I see you opted for the green version. I honestly can’t stand that tint (some of my XP-G lights gather dust for that reason), I would’ve gotten the neutral saber if that were an option. Anyway, thanks for sharing! I didn’t really catch your little joke so I’m sure nobody’s offended by it. Carry on~

Anonymous asked: If you had a choice between High CRI with lower light output or a top bin Cree XP-G or XP-E led in the same light, which would you choose? Why?

Wow, this is actually a tough question. ~^-*NICE ONE*-^~

For this question, let’s state a few assumptions: The LEDs in question use the same package and have the same die size, but would differ only in flux and tint bins. Think XP-E Q3-5B neutral versus an XP-E R2 cool white. Conflating XP-G and XP-E like you kind of did in your original question overlooks differences in beam patterns, so let’s assume their physical properties and beam patterns are the same. But unlike an actual XP-E Q3-5B neutral, let’s assume this particular LED would have much higher CRI (exaggerated 90+) and a much lower flux bin, with a total output of say… 50% of its cool white counterpart.

Now we’re left with two options: High CRI at say, 100 lumens and regular cool white light at 200 lumens. This was my dilemma before I convinced myself out of buying a HDS Systems Ra Clicky (High CRI vs 170T).

My conservative answer is that it depends on your uses: if you find yourself using your light outside in the forest or in rural areas with very little light pollution, I would say 100 lumens is enough to get by. High CRI would make your visual experience that much more enjoyable.

If you’re like me, however, and you live in an urban area with annoying, ugly tinted light pollution, 100 lumens outside isn’t going to cut it. I find myself using my Quark on max all the time when I’m outside to compete with random fixed lighting. In urban environments with lots of concrete and metal, cool white doesn’t look that bad.

If we make a more realistic situation like a Zebralight SC30 XP-G R5 at 193lm versus a Zebralight SC30w XP-E at 160ish lm in neutral, I’d take the neutral white as with such bright lights, a 30 lumen difference won’t make much difference to your eyes. In fact, with a smaller die in the XP-E but using the same optics, the light will throw a little better and give you the perception of possibly being brighter at the hotspot anyway.

Sorry, this post was probably a lot more involved than you wanted… and I probably just lost a bunch of followers…

TL;DR version: Top bin cool white with lower CRI.

SpongeBob Squarepants S6E120b - Toy Store of Doom (2009) Editor’s Note: I was just watching Spongebob (smh sorry) and noticed Patrick EDC’d a flashlight that he stuck into his ear, which eventually gets lodged into his brain, leaving them trapped in a toy store during a power outage or something.

SpongeBob Squarepants S6E120b - Toy Store of Doom (2009)

Editor’s Note: I was just watching Spongebob (smh sorry) and noticed Patrick EDC’d a flashlight that he stuck into his ear, which eventually gets lodged into his brain, leaving them trapped in a toy store during a power outage or something.

Zebra Sharbo X LT3 vs ST3

Editor’s Note: Listen to this nerd talk about very similar yet slightly different pens! I am not affiliated with JetPens, fyi.

via chipwillis Editor’s Note: This is a shot of the business end of Data’s Tri-V flashlight. Some of you might not understand what you’re looking at, but let me assure you, this is a flashaholic’s next level wet dream. It’s a custom-built titanium flashlight with three emitters under a single user interface. Using a selector ring you can choose and program brightness levels of the three heads — one is a warm tint, full flood light. The other is a neutral white tint, normal reflectored flashlight. The last head is a cool tint aspheric for maximum throw. This light combines and controls various brightnesses, 3 color tints, and 3 beam patterns in an elegant package. Yours for only $3295.

via chipwillis

Editor’s Note: This is a shot of the business end of Data’s Tri-V flashlight. Some of you might not understand what you’re looking at, but let me assure you, this is a flashaholic’s next level wet dream. It’s a custom-built titanium flashlight with three emitters under a single user interface. Using a selector ring you can choose and program brightness levels of the three heads — one is a warm tint, full flood light. The other is a neutral white tint, normal reflectored flashlight. The last head is a cool tint aspheric for maximum throw. This light combines and controls various brightnesses, 3 color tints, and 3 beam patterns in an elegant package. Yours for only $3295.

“Russell, give me your knife!” - Carl from Disney-Pixar’s Up (2009) Editor’s Note: This is the best scene of the movie. Without this knife that bird would’ve died and that house would’ve burned.

“Russell, give me your knife!” - Carl from Disney-Pixar’s Up (2009)

Editor’s Note: This is the best scene of the movie. Without this knife that bird would’ve died and that house would’ve burned.

Batman’s Utility Belt — Full of useful gadgets and emotional scarring (submitted by idort) Editor’s Note: Batman appears to be a fan of spy capsules, naturally. In case you were wondering — the infrared flashlight he carries is used for nightvision. IR light is not within the visible spectrum, so whatever unprepared criminal he’s chasing won’t be able to see him coming. Editor’s Note 2: I strongly advise against wearing a utility belt in public, not because it isn’t useful, but for other reasons…

Batman’s Utility Belt — Full of useful gadgets and emotional scarring (submitted by idort)

Editor’s Note: Batman appears to be a fan of spy capsules, naturally. In case you were wondering — the infrared flashlight he carries is used for nightvision. IR light is not within the visible spectrum, so whatever unprepared criminal he’s chasing won’t be able to see him coming.

Editor’s Note 2: I strongly advise against wearing a utility belt in public, not because it isn’t useful, but for other reasons…

Zebralight H31 Headlamp Editor’s Note: I think this will replace my Quark Mini 123 as my EDC light when it comes out. It’s incredibly small, has a unique UI and its form factor makes it a versatile tasklight, headlamp or flashlight. If we take a look at the specs on paper… It’s small: Only 2.57” long. It’s barely bigger than the battery but it still manages to utilize a push button! That’s rare in lights these size — they often go with a twisty UI. It uses the latest technology and it uses it well. It pushes 220 OTF (out the front) lumens on a primary CR123A. It will probably be even brighter using lithium-ion chemistry. Its UI is fantastic — it has the ability to come in in turbo mode or low mode depending on how you press the switch. This is a refreshingly convenient change to the UIs I’m used to, where I’d have to cycle through modes to get to high first. The levels are also logically spaced and you have the ability to choose and retain 3 of the 6 levels that you want. At either end of available levels, 220 lumens and 0.5 lumens are still very useful modes, depending on the situation. The design is a perfect blend of aesthetics (imo) and utility. It has clean lines without that tactical look (excessive knurling/texture). The “fins” on the head provide proper heatsinking. The stainless steel bezels around the reflector and switch, along with the glow in the dark silicone ring near the tail are nice touches also. If you read everything so far, you might be as big of a nerd as I am. I salute you. Lastly, the 90 degree angle of the emitter to the body/switch allows the user to use it as a headlamp on the included headband, a tasklight (probably even more useful if I mod a magnet into the base somehow) or a normal flashlight (it has a reflector).

Zebralight H31 Headlamp

Editor’s Note: I think this will replace my Quark Mini 123 as my EDC light when it comes out. It’s incredibly small, has a unique UI and its form factor makes it a versatile tasklight, headlamp or flashlight. If we take a look at the specs on paper…

  1. It’s small: Only 2.57” long. It’s barely bigger than the battery but it still manages to utilize a push button! That’s rare in lights these size — they often go with a twisty UI.
  2. It uses the latest technology and it uses it well. It pushes 220 OTF (out the front) lumens on a primary CR123A. It will probably be even brighter using lithium-ion chemistry.
  3. Its UI is fantastic — it has the ability to come in in turbo mode or low mode depending on how you press the switch. This is a refreshingly convenient change to the UIs I’m used to, where I’d have to cycle through modes to get to high first. The levels are also logically spaced and you have the ability to choose and retain 3 of the 6 levels that you want. At either end of available levels, 220 lumens and 0.5 lumens are still very useful modes, depending on the situation.
  4. The design is a perfect blend of aesthetics (imo) and utility. It has clean lines without that tactical look (excessive knurling/texture). The “fins” on the head provide proper heatsinking. The stainless steel bezels around the reflector and switch, along with the glow in the dark silicone ring near the tail are nice touches also.
  5. If you read everything so far, you might be as big of a nerd as I am. I salute you.
  6. Lastly, the 90 degree angle of the emitter to the body/switch allows the user to use it as a headlamp on the included headband, a tasklight (probably even more useful if I mod a magnet into the base somehow) or a normal flashlight (it has a reflector).