Avoid Everyday Carry Show-off Syndrome

Since 2010, I have been into the survival niche, both the wilderness stuff and the urban stuff — even the tacticool stuff. I’m not as into military larping as a lot of other nerds out there, but I’ve always been an aficionado of the everyday carry concept. I have an Altoids tin I got back in early 2011 from a candy stall in Trinoma that I still use for carrying my super glue and micro screwdriver. But there’s a lot about the scene that turns me off, and I’d like to offload my more negative feelings about it here.

Some of you may not be familiar with the term ‘everyday carry’, but you may recognize those images of neatly-arranged personal effects that populate Instagram and Pinterest. They usually consist of wallets, phones, keychains, notebooks, and pens. Many enthusiasts — either legit or just dweebs — accentuate theirs with flashlights, mini pry bars, knives, and even handguns. However, even with those ‘legitimate’ everyday carries, their inclusion of certain brands

Brands like Leatherman, Victorinox, Olight, and so on are proven with their functionality and build quality. There’s no denying they’re good stuff, but they also cost a lot. Carrying and using something on a daily basis means there’s a risk of breaking or losing them. When most of your stuff costs at least 1,000 pesos or so, you’ll eventually be less motivated to carry and use them.

The satisfaction (and maybe even smugness) of posting one’s EDC loadout on Reddit, Instagram, or local EDC Facebook group is enough to motivate some to spend tens of thousands on the grand hobby of online shopping for manly-looking trinkets.

NOTE: You have to be careful with using ‘EDC’ as a hashtag or search term because it also stands for Electric Daisy Carnival, the music festival where girls dress like cyberpunk pixies. I remember posting a picture of my #EDC loadout station, expecting it to show up with other pictures of flashlights and keychains. Instead, the hashtag led to pictures of raves and ABGs.

Coveted Brands and Items

As mentioned, there are brands like Leatherman, Victorinox, Gerber, CRKT, Spyderco, Benchmade, Olight, Fenix, Nitecore, and so on that are well-known throughout the global EDC community. They all make good stuff, and there’s a whole niche of influencers and content creators who feature and review their products.

Some of those items include:

• Swiss Knives: The legendary sidearm of the Armed Forces of Switzerland.
• Multitools: They’re like Swiss knives, but with pliers or big scissors.
• Pry Bars: Useless pieces of metal shaped like they’re supposed to be useful.
• Flashlights: Actually useful, but your smartphone has one as well.
• Knives: Pretty okay for opening boxes, not that good for self-defense.
• Lighters: Either you smoke, need a firestarter, heat shrink tubes, or like doing Zippo tricks.
• Money Clips: For people too cool for wallets, too manly for purses, and too rich for coins.
• Phone Wallet Cases: Same as money clip, but also for people too attached to their phones.
• Key Organizers: Great if you don’t like your keys clinking and want to hide the bitting from potential thieves.
• Pocket Organizers: Pretty useful, but costs a pretty penny if from Maxpedition.
• Pens: This shouldn’t cost more than your coffee.
• Notebooks: This shouldn’t cost more than your pen.

There’s a lot more, but listing them all would detract from the point of this blog post. You can look up EDC loadouts in Google, Instagram, Pinterest, and so on. When you do, look up what those items exactly are, find them in online marketplaces, and check out their prices. A lot of those items tend to cost more than what you may be willing to pay for.

As you may see from my descriptions, I don’t have high opinions on a lot of them. Seriously, some of them are so hyped and marked up that you’d rather bring kitchen utensils with you instead. Your mama’s kitchen shears are more useful than half of those pieces of crap.

No, really. If you’re willing to bring it with you, a pair of these all-in-one kitchen shears with a can opener, bottle opener, and vegetable peeler can be at least 75% of your EDC. You’ll get some raised eyebrows and a few giggles, but they’ll soon go ‘ooh’ and ‘ahh’ once you use them.

Utility vs. Aesthetics

As shown in my use of those kitchen shears as an example of a more practical EDC, I’m more about utility over aesthetics. It’s not to say I don’t like stuff that looks good, but that’s not the first thing I look for when I shop. I have a need for more functionality and convenience, I find something that fits the bill, I determine whether its apparent utility is worth the price, and I finally get it if it’s indeed something I find value in based on its usefulness.

I don’t always hit the mark since I’ve had some instances of buyer’s remorse, but my rate of success has been pretty good over the years.

If a certain product has both utility and aesthetics, they tend to be expensive, especially if it’s a well-known brand. The more well-known a brand is, the more focus there is to aesthetics. Their ‘replica’ brands also have a focus on aesthetics, although it’s more about copying their designs. After long enough, some of those brands break out and do their own designs, and a handful of them end up being pretty damn good at what they do.

Seek those brands because they’ve become refined enough to make their own stuff close to the looks and quality of brands they used to or continue to rip off.

The Pry Bar Dilemma

A certain trend within the EDC community and the loadouts that tend to get upvotes in recent years. If I remember correctly, I started noticing it around the late 2010s as more people desired to replace knives with something more TSA-friendly. This gave way to the mini pry bar, which is basically a piece of metal shaped to have a blade, spudger, bottle opener, and so on.

Instead of using a knife or your credit card to pry things open, a mini pry bar at the ready that’s designed for such tasks can be used instead. You won’t have to damage your blades or other items, and the pry bar can take all the abuse and accomplish the job easily.

The only problem is that you may not have a lot of opportunities to pry stuff in the first place.

That’s what a lot of people who got pry bars have been experiencing. They may be pry bar owners, but you can’t say they’re pry bar users since they don’t get to use them. They just carry them in their EDC as manly keychains and don’t get to do much with them.

I’d instead recommend a Swiss+Tech Utili-Key. I carry one and I found it to be way more useful.

You can do whatever you want with your life. You can follow your passions or whatever lets you support yourself and your family. I can’t say anything that can dissuade grown-ass men and women from doing what they intend to do with their existence on this planet.

However, if there’s anything you can take away from this wall of text, please don’t buy a pry bar if you don’t need it. It’s just going to be a useless piece of metal in your pocket.

But for those out there who do carry pry bars instead of knives, more power to you.

Merits of Buying the More Expensive Stuff

Take note that I’m not knocking the expensive stuff, as long as it’s actually needed and not just acquired for arbitrary bragging rights. It’s understandable if you show off your fake Rolex, but there’s no amount of prestige to be gained from showing off your expensive keychains and your overpriced flashlight collection.

I can get behind a really nice leather wallet, but it’s no good if there’s no money in it.

However, some of these high-end brands do deserve their reputation for premium quality. Leatherman is the best example of this, being known as the best multitool brand for decades. Everyone who has a use for a multitool — either for work or elsewhere — tends to have a favorite Leatherman model.

I’m still lowkey ashamed that I don’t know whether I’m a Charge man or a Surge man.

Just know that if you commit to such a brand, it’s recommended that you go through the effort of getting the most value out of whatever you end up buying. Let’s say you get a Leatherman Charge for your everyday carry at work. Take a closer look at every tool, find out if you can take them apart and replace them, research where you can procure spare parts, and see what other people say about those tools.

You’d want to interact with the community so you can see how they live with their tools.

If you buy cheap stuff and do the same to make it last, more power to you. But if you decide to buy the top-of-the-line stuff, then you better do everything you can to make it worthwhile. Otherwise, that precisely designed and engineered product is wasted on you.

My Everyday Carry (as of July 2024)

Since I’m talking about EDC here, I might as well show mine. It hasn’t changed much over the years; the most significant change was the exclusion of a knife in appendix carry since I became a proper adult (my early 30s). I like how it is nowadays — this has to be the best iteration thus far, especially since I can better procure components these days.

(My EDC loadout is the featured image of this post.)

Right Pocket:

• Xiaomi Redmi 12 Pro 5G: I swore to never buy an Apple product, so I use Android. Xiaomi is my brand of choice due to availability and how fast they charge their batteries. While I’m still missing the boat with wireless charging, I still feel that this phone — which I bought to keep my old daily driver at home as my banking phone — is the best bang for buck I could get at the sub-25k price point.

Left Pocket:

• Keyring w/ Swiss+Tech Utili-Key & Titanium Belt Clip: Aside from my keys, I also have a Swiss key that allows me to open boxes and packages without needing a separate knife. The belt clip is slim and holds tight enough to keep my keys from falling out of my pocket. I can get a key organizer to hide my keys from prying eyes and cameras, but I’m not too concerned with having my keys duplicated by some miscreant with a 3D printer since they have to get up here to my place in the first place, and I live in a condominium with competent enough security.
• Pocket Organizer: I got this particular pocket organizer because it’s small and cheap. I’ve had one to hold my notebook and pen in my bag for a long time, but it was only recently when I decided to buy three more — two for my other two bags and one for my pocket. Whenever I don’t bring a bag with me, I put this green one in my pocket to hold coins, as well as a notebook and pen.
• (in pocket organizer) Quokka Kraft Notebook: It’s not quite Field Notes, but I think it’s better. Whenever it’s somehow too inconvenient for me to bring my phone out, I can take this out and write on it or tear a page out whenever scratch paper is needed.
• (in pocket organizer) Miniso Gel-Ink Pen 0.5mm: It’s either this or the Dong-A Anyball as my personal favorite ballpoint pen. I found 0.7mm to be too fat and wasteful, so 0.5mm is my preferred thickness. I like the Miniso due to availability; I prefer the Dong-A for comfort and handwriting quality. I like writing by hand, and my handwriting isn’t bad at all since I went to engineering school, where the first thing you learn is technical lettering.

Left Back Pocket:

• Card Case Wallet: No brand, but it’s the perfect wallet for me. It’s thin enough to not give me sciatica, but still holds my cards and cash nicely.

Right Back Pocket:

• Face Towel: It has to be a small square one. Handkerchiefs are not absorbent enough, so I go for face towels instead because I’m a really sweaty pig.

Belt:

• Boruit V20 Flashlight: I previously explained here why I like this flashlight. While my phone also has a flashlight feature, this has a brighter light with more spread and other features that can be useful in certain situations. I carry this particularly when I’m out at night so I don’t have to drain my phone battery whenever I’m in need of light at crucial times. It has a two-way clip that lets me fasten it to my belt easily and securely.
• Fiio BTR5: I continue to resist switching to wireless earbuds, but I did realize that I needed to free my phone from the bondage of the headphone jack — although I still need it as a backup. I got this Bluetooth DAC upon DankPods’ recommendation.
• IEMs (Moondrop SSP or Moondrop Aria Snow Edition): I have a small IEM collection, and I’ve become attached to my Moondrop IEMs. The SSP is good because of their size and lightness, while the Aria is good because of the sheer audio quality.

Bag:

I also have 3 EDC bags, which I’ll discuss more in a future blog post and/or video. For this post, I’ll give a brief glimpse into what I call my errand bag — the smallest one designed for quick trips outside.

• Filed TriZip Coin Purse: This is the best coin purse ever, made by the brand Filed. With three separate compartments, you don’t have to fumble for coins anymore. I put my ₱5–20 coins in the red zipper, ₱1 coins in the blue zipper, and 25₵ coins in the bottom purple zipper.
• Power Bank: Nothing too big, just a thin power bank I have lying around to charge my phone by at least 30%. I have an Anker Prime in my other bag and a chonky TechnoAmp 64,000mAh power bank that can power a laptop in my big backpack.
• Hygiene Kit: It’s a pouch with a toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, liquid soap, deodorant, moisturizer, cotton buds, tissue, nail clipper, and comb. It’s always handy to have them.
• Pocket Organizer: As mentioned, I bought more of these things to put in my bags. However, unlike the one I actually put in my pocket, I fill the ones for the bags with as much conveniences as I can fit — Tide To Go Stain Remover Pen, B-7000 All-Purpose Adhesive,
• Bigger Face Towel: Just in case I forget to put one in my right back pocket, I still have one in my bag. This one is meant for wiping the ick and slick off my body, especially on a hot day.
• Travel Umbrella: It’s always a good idea to bring an umbrella since I’m neither a psychic nor a meteorologist, and I’m certainly not both. At this age, catching a cold is a real pain.
• Aquaflask 22oz Water Bottle: Hydration is always important. I also have 40oz bottles, but I got this 20oz one specifically for two purposes — portability and for containing caffeine.
• Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro w/ Keyboard: I don’t always bring it, but I can fit it inside here whenever I know I’ll either have an opportunity to write or need to enter more data than what I can manage with just my phone.

Stick With What Works for You

New stuff always comes out. For instance, you bought a new phone, tool, or flashlight and have been using it for six months or so. Then one day, you see on the internet that they just released a new model that’s prettier, sleeker, and more feature-packed. You feel the pull and perhaps even a bit of regret — if you held out for six months, you could’ve bought that one instead.

I remember buying a mechanical keyboard back in 2012 that only had LEDs on the left side for some reason. Some months later, the same brand released a version with all keys lit. I was quite pissed since I paid ₱4,000 for the keyboard I got — mechanical keyboards were only starting to become mainstream in the Philippines during that time.

However, once you find something that works really well for you, stick with it.

Resist the temptation of shiny trinkets and cutting-edge tech that seem like they’re even better than what you already use. Unless you get to try them for free, it’s best to stay away. Perhaps you won’t be able to help but covet them, and that’s fine — we’re human; we desire.

I felt that recently when Creality announced their new K2 3D printer — I own the K1C.

But before you get on a shopping app to hurriedly put that shit in your cart because the payday sale is getting close, ask yourself the following questions:

• Have I been using it a lot?
• Do I really need the new features?
• Can I sell the one I already have?
• Is it certain that someone will buy my old one?

If you can’t honestly answer all four questions with a definitive ‘YES’, then there’s no need for you to buy the new one. If you answered ‘no’ to the first question, then maybe you should sell or give that to someone else anyway. Always find a way to declutter and simplify your life.

Got Feedback?

Have something to say? Do you agree or am I off-base? Did I miss a crucial detail or get something wrong? Please leave whatever reactions, questions, or suggestions you may have in the comment section below.

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