“Be prepared” Scout motto

This page is a breakdown of some of the things that I like to have with me when I leave the house.

Every Day Carry, or EDC, refers to the items that you carry on a daily basis. For most handbag-less people, this isn’t much more than phone, wallet, keys, but there is a subculture of people that put together collections of tools that solve a wider range of day to day challenges. Essentially, it’s being over-prepared on purpose, and the added opportunities to help someone solve a problem can be rewarding, and fun… I promise!

1. Fanny Pack (or Bum Bag, if you’re British)

During the pandemic I asked my sister to get me a fanny pack for our not-so-secret Santa exchange. Not having worn a belt in months, I wanted a place to keep my phone to stop it and other items weighing down my pockets. At first, it was mostly empty, but I soon filled it with items I thought might come in handy:

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  • [1.01] Card wallet
  • [1.02] Reusable shopping bag
  • [1.03] Collapsible water bottle
  • [1.04] Emergency cash
  • [1.05] Phone
  • [1.06] Headphones
  • [1.07] Portable charger
  • [1.08] Lip balm
  • [1.09] Multi tool
  • [1.10] Pliers
  • [1.11] Alan Key and Screwdriver Set
  • [1.12] Chewing gum
  • [1.13] 2x Sanitising wipes
  • [1.14] Altoids mint tin
  • [1.15] Mould-able wire wrap
  • [1.16] Caribener
  • [1.17] Keys (keychain)
  • [1.18] Torch (keychain)
  • The multi tool in question is a Leatherman Free T-4. I upgraded from my old Swiss Army Knife because the Leatherman can be operated one handed and uses a locking mechanism to secure tools in use. The old SAK remains in rotation - the Leatherman is not legal to carry in some countries because of the locking blade.

I have had to perform repairs on a fanny pack - I once over tightened and ripped a strap putting my pack on after airport security. Luckily, there was enough time to break out a sewing kit and fix it before my flight. Where did I get a sewing kit, you ask? I keep one in the Altoids tin.

2. Altoids Tin

Altoids tins are a very popular container for EDC enthusiasts, and a quick YouTube search will show you many examples of the useful things people put in them. Mine usually contains:

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  • [2.01] Needle and thread
  • [2.02] 3 x Pieces of gum
  • [2.03] Paper measuring tape
  • [2.04] Single use hand sanitiser
  • [2.05] A lens cleaning wipe
  • [2.06] 2x Alcohol swab
  • [2.07] 3x Plasters, different sizes (band aids)
  • [2.08] Paracetamol and/or ibuprofen
  • [2.09] Small strip of self amalgamating tape
  • [2.10] Small strip of gorilla tape
  • [2.11] USB stick
  • [2.12] Hot glue stick
  • [2.13] Cigarette lighter
  • [2.14] 2 x Bobby pins
  • [2.15] 2 x Paper clips
  • [2.16] 4 x Zip ties
  • [2.17] Mouldable wire wrap
  • [2.18] Small amount of emergency cash
  • [2.19] Dental floss
  • [2.20] 2 x Tooothpicks
  • [2.21] Rubber band
  • [2.22] Multi-tool (Prybar)

All this fits in a tin that is smaller than the wallets or purses many people carry around.

  • Make a note of the expiry dates for any medications. It is also a good idea to use the gum regularly to avoid it going stale.
  • Self amalgamating tape is tape that sticks to itself and nothing else.
  • Hot glue gun sticks can be melted with a cigarette lighter. I find them easier to store than small superglue sachets, which would be an alternative.
  • You can get an unlimited supply of paper measuring tapes at IKEA.
  • The emergency cash is a redundancy for the cash in my fanny pack, which I often use in non-emergencies.
  • I use small magnets glued to elastic to keep things in place and stop the tin from rattling.
  • The USB stick uses Ventoy, an open-source tool for booting different ISOs from a USB stick. You can do a lot of things with Ventoy, just make sure to encrypt any of your own data as you could easily lose this USB stick.

If I am going somewhere without my fanny pack I will swap out one or two items for my debit card and identification, and use the tin as my wallet.

3. Water Bottle

My last regular EDC item is a water bottle that I keep in my bag when I need to carry one. In addition to performing it’s intended function as a water bottle it also has:

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  • [3.01] 10 ft 550 paracord
  • [3.02] 20x Different coloured rubber bands
  • [3.03] 15 ft Monofilament fishing line
  • [3.04] Small amount of emergency cash
  • [3.05] Carabiner
  • Paracord is incredibly versatile. NASA used 35 feet of spare paracord to improvise a repair on the Hubble Space Telescope in 1977!
  • Emergency cash is tucked under the paracord.
  • The carabiner can be clipped to a bag. The swinging is annoying, and it is easier to just carry it, but sometimes you don’t have a spare hand.
  • Rubber bands are just useful, if you’re wondering why I like have so many, and different colours, it’s because I occasionally use them to mark things, like whose drink is whose.

March 2025 Update - Winter EDC

This breakdown was initially written in the summertime - a glorious time of year in Toronto when all but your lightest and most waterproof jackets are put away for the season. As it gets into the colder months, and they are cold here, it makes less sense to wear a fanny pack considering most winter jackets are covered in large pockets.

4. Keychain

  • [4.01] Keys (obviously)
  • [4.02] Torch
  • [4.03] Mouldable wire wraps
  • [4.04] USB stick (and USB-C to USB-A adapter)
  • [4.05] Small multi-tool

Having a torch on your keychain is a great way to avoid fumbling around trying to open doors on dark winter nights, and keychain sized torches are pretty powerful these days, so you can use them for more than just opening doors. The one I have has a reversible clip so I can attach it to my hat and use it as a headtorch, it also has a red blinking light to make me more visable to motorists if I’m cycling.

5. The Winter Pouch

I’ve had this neoprene pouch for quite some time, it came with a pair of headphones I bought many years ago. Now I use it to store my EDC items in the winter, it can fit more than an Altoids tin, but it is not so bulky that it is uncomfortable to carry around in my pocket. The neoprene makes it easier to cram items in and out, so I don’t have to meticulously re-organise it every time I need to add or remove an item like I do with the altoids tin.

  • [5.01] Utility knife
  • [5.02] Multi-tool (Leatherman)
  • [5.03] Multi-tool (Prybar)
  • [5.04] Pliers
  • [5.05] Zip ties
  • [5.06] Lip balm
  • [5.07] Tweezers
  • [5.08] Chewing gum
  • [5.09] Emergency cash
  • [5.10] Portable charger
  • [5.11] Sanitising wipes
  • [5.12] Card sleeve(s)
  • [5.13] Needle and thread (card sleeve)
  • [5.14] Paper measuring tape (card sleeve)
  • [5.15] Single use hand sanitiser (card sleeve)
  • [5.16] A lens cleaning wipe (card sleeve)
  • [5.17] Alcohol swabs (card sleeve)
  • [5.18] Plasters, different sizes (band aids) (card sleeve)
  • [5.19] Paracetamol and/or ibuprofen (card sleeve)
  • [5.20] Small strip of self amalgamating tape (card sleeve)
  • [5.21] Small strip of gorilla tape (card sleeve)
  • [5.22] Mould-able wire wrap
  • [5.23] Hot glue stick
  • [5.24] Cigarette lighter
  • [5.25] Bobby pins
  • [5.26] Paper clips

Plastic card sleeves are a great way to keep flat items organised and easy to access. You can buy them in bulk quite cheaply, and use some kind of card holder to keep them in. I use the holder for my old UK rail card.

Things I want to add:

  1. Torch

A small torch capable of attaching to my hat and casting a wide-ish beam.
This year’s not-so-secret Santa, thanks Mum!

  1. Magnet

A small rare earth magnet that could possibly retrieve my keys in the unlikely scenario I drop them somewhere out of reach.

  1. Dyneema thread

A super-strong and super-lightweight polyethylene thread. Similar to Kevlar thread but more flexible and therefore superior. Kevlar is so hard that it cuts into itself at tight angles.

  1. Window breaker and seat belt cutter

A small two-part tool capable of cutting a seat belt and breaking the window should you experience or a car accident and need to get out of the vehicle.
Update: I now own such a tool, however, I only carry it on the rare occasion when I know I’ll be travelling by car.

  1. Telescopic pen

A collapsible pen, for writing stuff…