EDC - Everyday Cary

EDC, or "everyday cary" are the items you keep on your person when you leave the house everyday. For many people, this might just be their keys, wallet and phone. It can also include glasses, medication, a watch, a day planner, etc. Your backpack, purse, or briefcase could also be included, but that's a separate topic I cover on my "backpack project" page, though I do mention some of it here where there's some cross-over. When EDC is someone's interest, it usually involves adding items like flashlights, pocket knives, multitools, small first aid kits, pens (usually with hidden functions), paracord bracelets, that kind of thing.

If you look at my "Personal Uniform" page, and look at the photo of me there, it doesn't look like I'm carrying much, but I actually have a pretty extensive loadout of gear on me. The pants and shirt just hide it very well. I'll try to break it down into sections to make it easier to tackle.

Standard Fare:

Keys: I just carry my car key. Everything else has codes so that keeps my pockets lighter. For keys I need rarely, I keep them in my car so I don't have to remember them, but I also don't have to carry them in my pocket. I don't like keys.

Wallet: I just have a very simple but nice, hand-made, leather, single-fold wallet. I just have a couple credit cards, my debit card, driver's license, my Emergency Management Volunteer card, my BC Ferries card, and a credit card-size fresnel lense (super thin magnifying glass - can look at small labels, and it's also a way to start fires in necessary). I keep cash in a separate, secret pocket so if I loose my wallet I still have the cash, as well as the credit cards on my phone. My phone also has all my loyalty cards (eg Save-On-Foods, Scene Rewards, Canadian Tire, etc.) so those aren't beefing up my wallet.

Phone: - I go with a larger phone, right now I have a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. I have a Mous case, which makes it compatable with Apple Magsafe mounts and chargers, which is great as I have one in my car mounted to my dash and it's awesome. A phone can actually become a huge topic when you look at what it can be used for:

They usually have a GPS and compass built-in. You can download topographical maps of your area, and I have a PDF of seasonal and year-round fresh water sources on the Saanich Peninsula, in addition to the usual Google Maps (which I recommend downloading your area so you don't need connectivity in an emergency). I also have first aid instructional apps, the Alertable app for emergency alerts, the BC eID app for accessing government services in an emergency, the PulsePoint app which has locations of AEDs available to the public, and the CRD app which has emergency information.

In my phone case, I have a couple of laminated cards with emergency contact info for my family members (who memorizes anyone's phone numbers anymore, right?), my home insurance info, auto insurance info, last four digits of my credit cards and the numbers to call to cancel them (in case my wallet is lost or stolen), numbers for poison control, my family doctor's phone number, and some relevant ID numbers (driver's license, PHN, my volunteer number for ESS, etc.). I also have listed the meeting spots I'd meet my kids at in an emergency. I made similar cards up for all my kids, with info relevant to them. If my phone dies, I still have access to this important info.

I also have my credit and debit and customer cards on my phone. This isn't just a convenience thing - by having the cards on my phone and the physical ones in my wallet, plus cash in a separate, secret pocket, I can forget any two of those three and still be able to get food, a hotel room for the night, and/or a ferry ticket home.

Power: