Why so ridiculous on EDC?

[improperlyaged]

I just watched a small number of EDC videos on youtube and seriously where the crap do people put all that crap? 4 knives, 3 pens, wallet, fake wallet, swiss army knife, multi tool, notepad, combat tacticool belt, emergency first aid kit, backup magazine, backup gun, backup magazine for backup gun, 5th knife, brass knuckles, pokey stick thing that goes on keychain, etc ad nauseam. I'm not even mentioning the 5 or 6 flashlights they carry. I consider what I carry a bit much.

My personal carry gear is XD9sc, holster, wallet, keys, pen, pocket knife, Streamlight and phone. The end. Occasionally chapstick. I don't carry a spare mag (never needed to pull my gun, let alone reload it) Also why on earth do people carry "combat" knives? If you have reason to stab them you have reason to shoot them. I understand if that is all you have to defend yourself then fine go ahead but there is no need for carrying more than 2 knives on your person. There is one video that last more than 30 minutes and the guy has over 30 things on his person including 6 different knives, 3 flashlights and multiple pens.

 

[1911 guy]

I'll admit to not watching too many CCW videos. Most of my opinions have been formed by 20-plus years experience carrying a gun and various handgunning classes.

I wonder if they're packing a lot of stuff to prove a point about how much you really can carry if you organize it correctly and efficiently.

I do have two thoughts about specific things you mention, though. First, the knife. I do often carry a fixed blade "combat" knife. K-Bar TDI, to be specific. It's a retention tool, not really a secondary weapon. Second item, the reload. Carrying a reload has nothing to do with putting more lead downrange, but with solving malfunctions. The weak link in any autoloader is the magazine, have a spare for when yours poops out. Murphy's Law, after all.

 

[Robert]

I love how people get wrapped around the axle over what other people choose to, or not to, do. Carry what works for you and don't worry about what YouTube does.

 

[JSH1]

Some people are just really, really paranoid.

 

[tarosean]

My personal carry gear is XD9sc, holster, wallet, keys, pen, pocket knife, Streamlight and phone.

and some people would think thats too much...

 

[Swing]

I love how people get wrapped around the axle over what other people choose to, or not to, do. Carry what works for you and don't worry about what YouTube does.

^. Let me check; do I care what other people carry in their pockets? No, no I don't. Not even kind of.

 

[tomrkba]

I don't carry a spare mag (never needed to pull my gun, let alone reload it)

Your call, but one purpose of the spare magazine is to have a spare in case the magazine in the gun is bad.

 

[fastbolt]

I actively try to avoid watching video clips of what people carry for "EDC". I mostly don't care.

I do sometimes get tickled by reading or listening about the amount of weapons, extra ammunition and "survival gear" some folks seem to like to carry around with them all the time.

Lots of folks seem to like to carry a LOT more gear on their persons, just walking around the streets as private citizens, than I used to like to carry while out and about working as a plainclothes cop.

Some of them even seem inclined to carry around more weapons and gear than I did when working uniform and wearing a gun belt (what's often called an equipment belt, nowadays).

Not my problem, though, presuming they're law-abiding citizens. Not my pain around the waist, in the back & hips or down the leg.

Sometimes it's not the amount of the stuff some folks claim to carry, but the carry method and location involved that causes me to feel an occasional twinge of sympathy pain.

 

[sappyg]

I stopped watching EDC videos quite a while ago.

My EDC includes a sawzal, circular saw and a surface pro II (what a POS) among other sundry items because I need them. On my physical person not so much. A hanky, wallet, SAK classic, and a lighter... And the pocket knife de jour.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Some people are just really, really paranoid.

And some are gun nerds that buy a bunch of that crap....I know a guy that never goes to the range without his tactical tomahawk or whatever you call those things. I think he carries it around strapped to his go bag full of Ho-Ho's all the time. Mind you he couldn't run up a flight of stairs without getting winded, but he is sure he's ready for a knife fight once the ammo runs out.

 

[improperlyaged]

I love how people get wrapped around the axle over what other people choose to, or not to, do. Carry what works for you and don't worry about what YouTube does.

The primary thing I get annoyed at is the idea of carrying a "combat knife" as nearly all of the uploaders on youtube do. Why oh why would you prefer to stab someone if they are trying to cause you harm? In what situation would that be preferred?

Your call, but one purpose of the spare magazine is to have a spare in case the magazine in the gun is bad.

My gun has never jammed on me. I shoot it all the time and it hasn't had one failure. If it jams when I needed it most, that is what I call Providence and it was my time to go. I carry enough stuff as it is. Also there is only one malfunction I can think of that would require anything more than a tap and rack.

and some people would think thats too much...

And I would agree, I am trying to trim the fat but every time I do I find out I needed what I took out.

 

[ConstitutionCowboy]

The older you get, the more you need. The harder it gets to run and hide, the more you need to stand and fight.

Get to my age, and you consider filling an empty tube of Abreva with Preparation H just in case ...

Be prepared.

Woody

 

[76shuvlinoff]

pistol: Might be LCP .380, or XD40sc, or Kimber Raptor II .45, whatever + spare mag.
knife: Benchmade assisted opener clipped in front pocket, small fixed blade in winter coat pocket.
Flask: bourbon

It's been plenty enough..... so far.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Some folks have nothing better to do. I carry as little stuff as I can get by with.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I gave up carrying ALL that stuff when I discovered a jacket with pockets big enough to carry Chuck Norris in.




Seriously...I may roll my eyes on what some other people choose to carry, but in the end I really don't care. Their choice.

But for those who DO care...I'll eventually get into the button-pushing game when I get one of my other pistols on my wish list: A Wildey .475 Magnum with a 1- to 12 inch barrel.

I'm seriously gonna contact CraigC about making an IWB holster when I get one. And then Ima gonna post pics.

 

[MedWheeler]

The fighting knife is, for many people, a backup means to deploy in CQB situations in which the primary sidearm has been neutralized.

In 2011, a uniformed LEO in Tennessee used one to carve off an attacker who had ambushed him in a restaurant restroom and had a hold of the officer's holstered sidearm. The LEO, using one hand to retain the firearm in its holster, was forced to use his patrol knife to get the attacker off of him.

That being said, I carry neither a fixed-blade knife (I do have a folder) nor a backup gun. I should start carrying either the latter or, at the least, a spare magazine for my sidearm, though.

When walking my neighborhood, a flashlight gets carried if dark, and an expandable baton if not (these are more for dogs than for people.)

 

[mljdeckard]

Why do I carry a knife? Because I have had to cut a lot more things than I have had to shoot. Why do I carry a light? Because most armed encounters take place at night. (And you can carry a light places you can't carry a gun.)

There are many things which you find you can use quite often when you have them with you all the time.

I carry a spare magazine, because the thing most likely to fail on any automatic firearm is the magazine. It's not about having more bullets, it's about clearing a malfunction.

 

[short barrel]

I Carry my gun and a reload. No light, no knife other than a small leatherman.
Mr retirement credentials, billfold and that's it.

 

[C0untZer0]

I want a machined titanium case to hold my strontium-enfused glow rod,


I just don't want it anywhere near my vestibules.

 

[notaglockfanboy]

I carry a firearm and a pocket knife on my person. These guys who have a duffel bag full of unneeded crap are "tacticool" range ninjas who watch too many videos of range ninjas doing the same thing.

 

[tipoc]

I do have to ask, when a person starts listing...

My personal carry gear is... wallet, keys, pen, pocket knife, Streamlight and phone.

That stuff as "carry gear". With the exception of the flashlight most of that stuff is carried by teenagers. There are flashlight apps on smartphones. My wife uses it to read menus in restaurants.

To put it another way. When did your keys, wallet, money, pocket comb, folding knife, phone, get to be "carry gear" and not just the stuff in your pockets or purse?

I may have a flashlight in my jacket pocket if it's night out. But usually not otherwise. I have a couple in my vehicle.

To call all that "carry gear" seems a bit melo-dramatic.

tipoc

 

[C0untZer0]

You have to list all your stuff man - even a pack of chewing gum or a tin of breath mints.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I watch EDC videos for entertainment value. Some of these guys carry more than I did when on patrol in Iraq.

My EDC seems pretty tame by most standards.

Taurus 709 slim.
spare mag.
CRKT Folts minimalist Tanto.
Wallet.
Keys.
Phone.

Sometimes, like today, an extra knife. Today it's a Smith & Wesson Bullseye folder.
When I get around to replacing the batteries, I'll carry my Streamlight and pocket watch again, too. Both are redundant, since my phone has a flashlight app, and tells time. Kinda why I haven't put new batteries as a high priority.

Used to carry a lot more, realized I never used most of it, and a lot of it was redundant. I keep tools in my car, my house and at work, so I'm never too far from a screw driver, wrench, hammer, etc. if I really need it.

 

[urbaneruralite]

Everyone has their own take on things. No big deal. I carry only keys, wallet, knife and revolver. The knife is a bigger one because I'll carry A knife anyway so it might as well be one to also cover defensive situations where a handgun is the wrong tool for the job. It's not like handgun is a remote control for bad guys. You may have to actually fight them. Different people have different ideas.

 

[Hardtarget]

I've tried to keep my stuff as minimized as possible.. Even at that my co-workers do poke fun a little.

Besides the gun/holster there is a mag, pocket knife, phone, I gotta have keys.

I will add a light (rarely) and have been known to swap for a larger knife. At first I carried a little more but I got tired of wagging the extra stuff with me.

Must be enough. I still have the ammo I was using in 1971 when I was carrying a Colt Diamondback .38...and the first SD ammo for my .45. I just don't shoot the carry ammo much. Just enough to know it works in my gun.

This is an interesting thread...to see how you approach you EDC gear and why those choices.

Mark