Every Day Carry - How Much Is Too Much?

[Tommygunn]

O M G I realized I have the same type of miniature light on my keychain as the guy in the first video!!!

I am a MALL NINJA!!!! ...

 

[wvshooter]

I live in a medium size metro area and usually carry one full size semi auto and a folding knife. No extra mag or anything else. But I'm sure there are some remote areas out west where anything less than an AR or AK type is foolish.

Being confronted by a rifle toting bad guy in the desert while armed only with a hand gun is not a good way to stay alive.

 

[ccsniper]

My EDC is,

Glock 22
5 spare mags
Buck folder (for casual use)
CRKT folder (social work)
spare CRKT folder (in case I need to dual wield knives)
spare Glock 22 (in case situation negates dual wielding)
5 more spare mags
Gerber Torch Tanto (to throw)
Surefire flashlight
spare Surefire
spare batteries for both lights
Gerber Machete (in case I find myself in the jungle all of a sudden)
Streamlight tactical light
Glock 27 on my left ankle
S&W 642 on right ankle
spare .38 special (on speed strips 18 rounds)
Kel tec sub2000 (strapped to inner thigh)
Kel tec Su16 (folded up in brief case, in case skinheads try to rape me)
Second Chance body armor (level lla with trauma plate)
spare trauma plate duct taped to my body





Oh and my wife carries an H&R .300 win mag to take out the guys at long range in a brief case. I thought about adding some 33 round glock mags but kind of thought that might make me look paranoid.

 

[ny32182]

If I'm going to work: wallet, keys, phone
If I'm not going to work: Add G19 + mag, sometimes a knife depending. Honestly the primary purpose of the extra mag is to help balance the pistol weight a little bit. The pistol is the only item in that list I'm not likely to use in any given day. I never figured out the infatuation with flashlights.

That is my personal weight limit.

 

[Kleanbore]

I cannot tell whether the guy is serious or is joking.

 

[wow6599]

Gecko45 has returned!

 

[ccsniper]

I had to re-watch the second one, I couldn't make it through the first time. At the end when he says "watch your six" I felt a little sick.

EDIT he has another vid where he Updated and now is carrying handcuffs.

 

[gun guy]

Vassili Zaitsev usually took a half a dozen rounds with him every day, during the siege of Stallingrad. I went on many operations, with 1-20 round mag. These were combat situations. To me, someone going to burger world for lunch, that takes a primary weapon, spare mags, a secondary weapon, spare mags, a bowie knife, a folding knife, flamer thrower and rocket launcher, is some kid that is rushing to get in over his head so fast he couldn't spell CLUE, if he had a crayon, in the library, with MR. Mustard!

 

[huntsman]

Am I the only person that thinks this is ridiculous?

no

I'm guessing a lot of guys never watched MacGyver

I carry a wallet with ID (state mandated)
1 gun and spare mag
Money (if I have any)

 

[MisterMike]

I didn't watch the videos, but I do wanna say I'm uncomfortable with criticizing people who have gear with them just for that shear fact by itself.

I don't share your lack of comfort in criticizing others. Simply put, there's a world of difference between being mentally and physically prepared, and being a bed-wetter who has to carry eight or ten weapons (if you doubt this, watch the second video) when venturing out to walk the dog.

None of us draws the line in exactly the same manner and, admittedly, there are plenty of people who think that carrying any weapon signals disrupted thinking, but there is a point where paranoia, delusions of grandeur, or some other wackiness takes over.

Here are a few thoughts that come to mind:

-Going to buy milk is not a "mission."

-The terms "weekend" and "Not on Assignment" are not synonyms.

-People who know what to do when the you-know-what hits the you-know-what do not need three tactical flashlights . . .

-nor do they display Star Trek episodes on their iPhones when touting their readiness.

If one carries two pistols with spare mags, three knives, two stingers, a kubotan, and the aforementioned three tactical flashlights, one is not thinking tactically, one is not supremely prepared, and one is not a sheepdog. One is a moron.

 

[ccsniper]

If one carries two pistols with spare mags, three knives, two stingers, a kubotan, and the aforementioned three tactical flashlights, one is not thinking tactically, one is not supremely prepared, and one is not a sheepdog. One is a moron.

I can't stand the whole "sheepdog" mentality. I don't appreciate someone walking around "protecting" me with no training and little common sense, which sadly is synonymous with those kind of guys.

 

[General Geoff]

Sub2000 in .40S&W, three 31rd magazines (all reliability tested), four 15rd factory Glock 22 mags. This is what I carry in my laptop bag along with my laptop and paperwork.

Overkill? In 99.99% of situations, yeah. But it does not inconvenience me at all, so I figure why not? Better to have it and not need it.

 

[Zane]

When you start trying to conceal a Barrett 82, it is time to lighten the load.

 

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

Maybe it's because I know people from work and from my Army unit who a lot of people on THR would call a Mall Ninja or a "gear queer" from the amount of Blackhawk and Magpul stuff they have. On in particular always has the latest addition to his M4 or vest from all the top companies. The thing is, he's one of the best team leaders I've ever met, and is on his departments swat team. He's got the skills to back it up, which I have personally witness multiple times, and not just in training. But I don't doubt many people here would dismiss him as a fraud.

Maybe that's the difference. I'm around people all the time who buy and use a lot of "tacticool" gear and I have chances to see people who know what they're doing use that kind of stuff in real life. I imagine that cannot be said about many posters on THR. Some, but not all. For a lot of people, that stuff probably really is just a bunch of doodads in a Bravo Company catalog. If you have no reason to use that stuff, and don't know anyone who does, I guess that would be a reason to think it's all useless. But keep in mind there are people out there who shoot at stuff other than paper targets, and for whom something like night vision optic or a tactical vest might really be what saves their life.

 

[MinnMooney]

I believe that both have crossed the line from "being prepared" to mall ninja.

Having 2 handguns (one for some occasions and the other for the rest of the time) makes sense but to have both with you plus a spare mag for each is just overkill and entirely unnecessary. Why would you pull out the .380 ACP when you haqve a .45 ACP w/spare ammo?
Why a flashlight in broad daylight? Why 2-3 knives?

He just seems to have an adolecent, mall-ninja attitude.

 

[Sgt_R]

Keys w/ OC and mini LED light
Folding knife
Wallet w/ ID and CC's
Cell phone

That's it for my EDC. Once I get my CCW permit, I'll add a Kahr P380 + Desantis Superfly. I also carry cash if I have any, and a lighter if I think I'll use one.

Once I get my CCW permit, a G27 will go with me when and where circumstances permit. I doubt if I'll ever carry a spare mag for either gun, as a 'New York reload' should be plenty.

R

 

[e2cTrainer]

I'd agree, Overkill is entirely possible, but depending on the encounter, some experts say facing more than one attacker is highly likely.

In an extreme circumstance you could be facing multiple weapons or automatic weapons in which case the extra mag may be useful

 

[Strahley]

That seems like a lot in the OP

As for me, I keep it somewhat simple

Gun, 1 spare mag
Wallet
Keys
Gum
Gerber Clutch (mini utility tool)
Maglite solitaire (mini flashlight)
Phone

I have a "get back home" bag & rifle in my truck, in case the zombies or something try to get me while I'm at Wal Mart. But I don't really need more than that

 

[CoRoMo]

If this type of preparation is such a ridiculous entitlement of the 'mall ninja' label, I suppose you guys will think I'm a mall ninja. The only item in my "EDC" that I don't use on a daily basis, is my gun. Most everything else gets used almost every day. That's why I carry it all. To qualify that, I don't carry near the amount of gear as some of the YouTubers do, and my gear isn't quite the expensive products that they carry. Rather than list out what I carry, I'll just say that all those guys carry the same type of things that I do, but they carry a few more things that I don't.

I have nine keys on my key-chain.

 

[MisterMike]

Rather than list out what I carry, I'll just say that all those guys carry the same type of things that I do, but they carry a few more things that I don't.

Those words could be the lyrics of a chart-topping country music hit.

If you're not willing to list everything in your pockets, I'd say that you are not, by definition, a mall ninja. A mall ninja, hoping to divert attention from his bed wetting, goes into excruciating detail about his tactical gear.

 

[rbernie]

I do wanna say I'm uncomfortable with criticizing people who have gear with them just for that shear fact by itself. I really have no idea what their skill level may be. Preparedness is not a zero-sum game. More gear does not subtract from mental skill.

This bears repeating.

The fact that I choose a slim and minimalist EDC load does not make me morally or intellectually superior to anyone else. It just makes me, well, me.

 

[LawofThirds]

I'm all about the minimalist approach myself. That and I don't know how those people do that in anything but things like 5.11 pants.

1 S&W 642, front left pocket
1 speed strip in cargo pants pocket, otherwise it's in the back with the pocket knife
1 Cell Phone front right
1 Ipod front right
1 pocket knife back left
1 wallet back right

Then again, I've been known to have a Mossberg 500 in the trunk of the car ready to go if I know I'll be traveling in less than savory neighborhoods.

 

[ccsniper]

Maybe that's the difference. I'm around people all the time who buy and use a lot of "tacticool" gear and I have chances to see people who know what they're doing use that kind of stuff in real life.

That is the difference, your friends have an actual need for that stuff and the skill set to back it up. Were discussing the guys who think that going to get a gallon of milk requires 2 guns, 3 spare mags, 2 knives and 3 flashlights. The kind of people who think everyone is out to get them. They also think that the more stuff they have equals the better prepared they are as opposed to learning how to use it.

 

[Armored farmer]

My edc stuff is used daily
gerber multi-tool
streamlite penlite
folding gerber utility knife
hankerchief
billfold
ink pen

I have a Utah non-res ccp, but it doesn't do much good in Illinois.

What gets me as much as the guys that pack two of everything is the number of people who have nothing. Not even a pocketknife. I always have a pocketknife...always.

A friend rolled her car upside down. She and her son both hung upside down for some time until rescued b/c their seatbelts were jammed.

After that, I made sure all our vehicles had a knife and flashlite clipped to the visor.

 

[ccsniper]

If this type of preparation is such a ridiculous entitlement of the 'mall ninja' label, I suppose you guys will think I'm a mall ninja. The only item in my "EDC" that I don't use on a daily basis, is my gun.

That makes it practical, not mall ninja. It is when you have stuff you don't need like handcuffs (when your not a cop) that makes you a mall ninja. In the second vid he did an update and was carrying handcuffs.