I came across some websites where people discuss the things they carry every day (EDC) and I was surprised to find out the amount of people who carry stuff like tactical knives, firearms, ammo etc. So is there anyone here who carries that sort of stuff on a regular basis? Along with the usual stuff; phone, watch, keys etc.
Reported for forum change.
Moved to IMHO, and thread title edited to better indicate subject.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Why would you not want to be prepared?
On my bike, I carry a tool kit in a pouch under my handlebars. My saddlebags have an emergancy book, a couple of bottles of water, some sunscreen, a can of fix-a-flat and a small first aid kit and 3 MRE’s. Oh, and 5 $20’s and my registration and insurance cards under my license plate.
My car has also has all of the above, along with an animal carrier and a leash and some kitty treats. Dogs love kitty treats, so I don’t bother carrying dog treats.
I also carry a glock on my person, a swiss army knife, spare ammo, more cash and my e-reader. I also have emergancy books downloaded to my phone.
Hmmmm…it looks like I’m more afraid of getting stuck somewhere with nothing to read than anything. Wonders what that says about me.
A Kershaw Tremor assisted opening knife is always in my pocket. A discrete little dugout/one hitter lives in the other pocket.
No, I’m not a weirdo. (Well, yes I am, but not the kind that carries a gun and extra ammo and grenades everywhere I go.)
The only things I feel like I must have with me are:
When going out in the car to run errands - phone, wallet, hairbrush, and at the moment, (since we recently moved and I don’t always know where stuff is) the iPad.
Going out to dinner w/ my husband - maybe phone & wallet, maybe just the clothes I’m wearing.
Going for a ride on my horse anytime I’ll be alone - helmet on my head and phone in my pocket.
I usually have two knives within easy reach. One Swiss Army and one with a 3 1/2 " locking serrated blade. Oh, and the entire sum of human knowledge and GPS with 500 songs and 40 books and a nice camera/video recorder. (my android phone)
My watch, my wallet, my keys, my wedding ring, and my cell phone. And a pen. (Nah, not really mightier than the sword, or a glock, but it’s what I need.) True my keychain has a small multi-tool on it …
Not all the time, but on my way to and from work in Chicago via commuter train, I take such things as pepper spray (the gel form, which has fewer blowback risks), a Swiss Army knife, first aid kit, windbreaker, umbrella, emergency rain poncho, Nalgene full of water, energy bars, dust mask and work gloves, backup power supply for my phone, flashlight/emergency flasher, that kind of thing. In winter I add stuff like hand/foot warmers and glove liners. I like being prepared.
I always have at least a small multi-tool on my person, plus a knife. And that’s just going to the mailbox! If I’m in my truck I’m prepared to face a zombie apocalypse (or an earthquake. Same-same around here.)
I really don’t think I’m a weirdo because I carry a gun. I’m a small person of the distaff gender and I ride a Sportster. The only thing that vibrates more than my Milwalkee vibrator is a helicopter. Parts fall off on a regular basis. Being broke down in the middle of BFE is kinda scary. So far, all of the people who have stopped to help have been good people, but you never know.
However, and this might make you think that I really am a weirdo…I take self defense and gun safety classes every year.
Do you have a Bug Out Bag? That’s the bag you grab when you have to leave in a hurry and don’t know where you will end up or what resources will be available. Ours have cash, water purification tablets, MRE’s, a paperback book, socks and underware, soap and and a handful of traveling toothbrushes and cat kibble.
Of course, I used to live in the land of wildfires and now I live in the land of hurricanes, so I might be a little paranoid.
I try not to leave home without a flashlight, tissues, phone, and some kind of soothing goo for my lips.
Keys, wallet, phone, cigarettes, lighter. It’s rare that I have anything else on my person.
Mrsin and I will be the first to die when the zombie apocalypse occurs. I sometimes remember to bring my DL and sometimes a credit card when I go out. I also sometimes remember my phone, but it is usually dead. Recently mrsin and I went to the store and when we got there as we were walking in we looked at each other and said “Did you bring your wallet?” The answer in both cases was “NO”. We are going to be the first two eating all your brains.
No, but the first several times the fire alarm went off in my stupid building (now we just ignore it because it happens often enough), I grabbed my purse, keys, guinea pig, cell phone, Kindle, laptop, and maybe some other random shit. If my building burns down I’m going to be extremely upset and have to stay at my mom’s house for a while but I’ll live. If a situation happens where I need water purification tablets and MREs in order to survive, I’ll just go ahead and die because I’m really not interested in living through the zombie apocalypse or whatever.
Anyway, the OP seemed to be about weapons mainly. I do have a thing of pepper spray in my bag but haven’t had occasion to keep it in my hand yet (before I got it there have been a few times I would have, which inspired me to spend $10 to buy it, like when some creepy guy was waiting in a deserted parking lot the middle of the night by my car to ask directions, but that’s rare). I find it pretty crazy to bring a gun and extra ammo (!) everywhere you go.
Or Katrina, or Hurricane Sandy? Disasters don’t have to be The End of the World to put you in a bad way far from help, depending on where you’re living and how far you have to evacuate to get away from whatever is going down.
Even if you’re in an area where you think you’ll never be far from help, it wouldn’t hurt to at least have a bag with a document packet (lease/financials/insurance contacts/phone numbers if your phone is dead/etc.), maybe a bit of clothing and toiletries, that kind of thing, in case you have to GTFO quickly.
A Leatherman Squirt PS4, Thrunite AAA flashlight, handkerchief, phone - in my pockets or within reach pretty much always.
And when i leave the house: a money clip with cash and minimal cards, house keys with a micro Verbatim USB drive.
If I’m going to the corner liquor store: my keys & my wallet
If I’m going anywhere else I will also take my shoulder bag which contains 2 canvas shopping bags, my reading glasses, a pen and a note pad and my cell phone (maybe).
No weapons, no bug out bag and I almost never have cash on me.
Now you see when I lived in a part of the city that had lots of muggings I always carried a little cash, just not too much. The idea was to have enough that the mugger wasn’t pissed but not so much that really cared. Defending myself with potentially lethal force and possibly getting myself killed in the process? Meh. My manhood doesn’t need it. My plan was always: Here take my 20 bucks and cheap watch … can I keep my driver’s license please? Thanks.
But then my bug-out plan for our closest to natural disasters hereabouts (we get the nearby river flooding and knocking out power regionally every year or two) is to stay at a local hotel and eat out. I appreciate the fact that it is not a bad idea to have a bug out bag. Really I do. But you know my MIL evacuated on short notice from Sandy … she still had time to gather up the vitals of what she needed. I tend to go with the odds that extreme events are rare and usually not without any warning.
Of note my oldest (adult) son was mugged a bit back for his iPhone in the wee morning hours and without thinking said no and grabbed the guy who ran and by fact that others saw and called police and another followed the guy up to the El tracks was arrested. He was upset with himself for having risked himself that way on impulse (the mugger claimed to have a gun but clearly did not have one) after the fact but he was leaving the country in a few hours and felt he really needed his phone.