EDC: Not just what, but why?

We often list our EDC but we don't always have a clearly defined rationale for what we carry and why we carry it. Before 9/11 it was sort of a nice fun flashlight thing for me but since then, having been quite close to that event, and after going through the recent blackout I've thought more carefully about it.

To me EDC means exactly that, the lights you always have on your person, not in a bag or in your car but on you, so the lights have to be small and light. There has to be more than one light, and the whole package has to be suitable for ordinary use as well as emergencies in addition to being comfortable and compatible with business dress. My definition of an emergency is a threatening unanticipated event of unknown duration and nature, and my second definition of EDC is "Extremely Dire Circumstances. Here's what I wanted:

1) A very small very bright long-throw incandescent <font color="red">*</font>
2) A powerful very broad beam area light
3) A medium power regulated long burning light as the basic workhorse light
4) A long burn keyring backup light
5) A last ditch backup emergency light
6) A comfortable and convenient way to carry extra batteries
7) All of this in a configuration that was as small, light and unobtrusive as possible

Sound excessive? Perhaps so but that's what I wanted. I know many people, especially those far from urban uncertainty feel that many hours of EDC are unnecessary regardless of the emergency and that it makes little sense to carry a really bright light. I must respectfully disagree. After all, this is a personal decision and I have already had occasion to use the very bright EDC as well as the others.

Anyway, here's my EDC and why I arrived at this particular combination. All runtimes include extra batteries I always have with me.

1) Very bright/small/long throw: Streamlight TL-2 Xenon – 1 hr non reg<font color="red">* As of 1/04 replaced by McLux PR/917 which is the first very compact, regulated "long throw" 2x123 LED light that out-throws the E2E/MN03 xenon (but not the SL TL-2). See thread:</font> CLOSING THE "GAP"

2) Powerful broad beam: L4 – 2 hr reg
3) Workhorse light: LSH-P 2AA lithium 10-12 hr reg + moon mode
4) Long burn keyring: ARC AAA – 10-12 hrs + moon mode
5) Last ditch backup – Photon II 1 hr? (No extra battery)
6) Extra batteries: 2x123 + 1xAAA + cellphone in my small RipOffs pouch, 2xAA lithium in a tiny custom made virtually invisible belt pouch. Optional modified 6x123 County Comm 2 way X5 pouch, very compact at 4" x 1.5" x 1"

Total minimum runtime: 24hrs from very bright to dim. Optional pouch can also hold 6xAA or various other combinations to double or even triple runtime, but I don't normally EDC it.

I have used the TL-2 in rural Canada to identify a strange noise far down a pitch black country road (dog), and to spotlight a vague shape on a dark urban street. (person). I most recently used the L4 to help locate a dog under a car,. The dog wasn't there but the L4 lit up almost the entire area brilliantly!

I use the LSH-P constantly as a general utility light and a great country walking light.

I used the ARC AAA in a hospital to aid a nurse tending to my dying father.

I try to never use the photon

Total weight of all the lights and extra batteries is 14.1 oz. The weight is distributed so that I'm not even aware of it: TL-2 clipped to my R rear pocket address book modified so the light sits in line with the book to create minimum bulge. The L4 is clipped to my L front pocket. I plan to have my pants altered so it can ride with the clip invisible. LSH-P 2AA is in the tiny MAG 2AAA holster, the smallest holster that will hold it, and virtually the same size as the light itself. It is remarkably slender. The ARC AAA is on my key ring as is the Photon. If I feel like traveling very light I will temporarily remove the L4 or the TL-2 and substitute extra batteries to make up the runtime. My entire EDC is unobtrusive enough to be compatible with business clothes.

Excessive as it may sound, that's my EDC which I find both comfortable and comforting.What's yours, and more importantly - WHY?

Brightnorm

Good Post BrightNorm. Believe it or not I carry in my Carhart Jacket pocket about a 4 year old AA MiniMag(which doesn't even come close to stacking up against the more popular EDC in terms of brightness)for a backup when I am out with the dogs. That is incase the bulb on my Stingers i.e. Stinger XT/HP, UltraStinger or my TigerLight blows when I am out running the dogs, if I am out in the woods I might be able to find my way back to the house with a little luck and a prayer. Because of the rural setting I live in I don't feel the necessity to have a number of back up edc lights on me. Because of where I live (Island in Puget Sound)and what I primarily use my lights for, running the dogs or going out to retrieve more firewood I look for lights with a lot of throw.

But, if I would ever leave this environment and move into an urban area like Seattle I would swiftly take a serious look at being well equipped such as your self.

I carry the (Surefire) TW4 for EDC backed up by a red Photon II. The TW4 gives me over a month of use on a single battery, and has a beautiful quality of light for my needs. I like the lower light output for EDC when compared to the L4, because I find myself using it for such things as lighting up the inside of a computer tower, walking through the house at night with the house lights off to grab an aspirin and water, etc. There are times when more light would be better, but I get by ok with the TW4.
The Photon is there for backup in case I have a loss of power with the TW4, or in case I want a stealthier light, (like observing a night visitor to our fish pond.) I trust it to deliver many many hours of light. These two lights are almost always with me, and serve my needs very nicely. If I ever find a TW4 equivalent in a slightly smaller body, maybe with a CR2 cell instead of the 123, I might go for it, but I like the size of the TW4 pretty well. It normally carries clipped inside my belt loop in front, and the Photon is on my keychain, of course.

David <><

I break down my EDC into Day and night. During the day I
Carry an ARC AAA and an ARC LSH-P. As I live in a rural area the two smaller lights serve me well. During the night I carry an ARC AAA, a L4, and a L1 that takes three 123 cells or two AA. The L1 makes a great working light for me as it is hard to even find 123 cells in small towns. (If I run out of spares) The L4 doubles as a tactical light. Many times I do carry all of these lights
If I am going out and returning after dark.

Dan

The 2 flashlights that I carry in my pockets are those that use the CR123, 3-volt lithium battery; 2 each. I believe in backup; thus the redundancy. However, each flashlight has a specific purpose. I can do without the 5-LED Inova X5 if I lend it, lose it, or it malfunctions. I will not do without the ASP Taclite: it can replace the X5 in most situations.

I carry two CR123s in a Trekker; two more in the ASP Time capsule. The Trekker is connected to my automobile ignition key so they are always in my right front trouser pocket. When traveling by air, the time capsule goes in my suitcoat left breast pocket from my briefcase. When in the Big Apple, a Universal Field Pack for 6 CR123 Batteries purchased from InAnyCase.com goes in my suitcoat right breast pocket.

This combo shoud give me about 10 hours of light - enough to get me through the most demanding circumstances. This estimate is the typical daily "office" hours that I routinely keep.

I was in the Big Apple recently visiting with some former colleaques. We were out and about on several nights. I never once had to activate any of my lights. The guys provided more than enough light from those they carry. This is a big change from before Sept 11. This contingent is VERY prepared!

DanM surely you don't mean a Surefire L1? How did you set it up to run on three 123's/two AA's?

My EDC varies, currently a PT Blast and a CMG Infinity (original).

[ QUOTE ]
__ said:
... When traveling by air, the time capsule goes from my suitcoat left breast pocket. When in the Big Apple, a Universal Field Pack for 6 CR123 Batteries purchased from InAnyCase.com goes in my right suitcoat left breast pocket.

...I was in the Big Apple recently visiting with some former colleaques...this contingent is VERY prepared!


[/ QUOTE ]

Hi KT,

Can you refresh my memory about the time capsule? I can't seem to locate it anywhere. I find that 6x123s fit very compactly in this holster (4" x 1.5" x 1", with end sewn shut). It can go in a pocket or mount vertically or horizontally on your belt:

COUNTY COMM 2-WAY HOLSTER (SMALL)

Brightnorm

Here is a jpg from the ASP web page of the Time Capsule below a leather pouch for the Taclite that I sometimes use.

On my person: L4 for broad, bright illumination of high reliability. Arc AAA LE as backup for even longer light.

I keep fairly fresh batteries in both lights. This thread is causing me to rethink a pair of 123s and an AAA in my pockets as well...but I'm never far from my bag.

I will cop out to keeping the rest of the stuff near me in a shoulder bag. I need several pairs of glasses and I sometimes need to carry data back and forth, so this bag has become an emergency bag as well as general support bag. In it, I have:

E2e
KL1 if I'm in a "situation" where I need longer run times, I can switch the KL4 or the incandescent in the E2e for the KL1.

Batteries
8 123 cells
6 AAA cells
6 AA cells
1 spare lithium for my digicam

This battery supply gives me 4-5 hours of 60-lumen class light plus at least 24 hours of Arc AAA class light.

I carry a bunch of stuff that I use as "consulting tools" ... that's useful being a consultant, and I'm often on job sites.

These include
Metric and English scales
10' 3m tape measure
Pens, pencils, eraser
Kodak DX4330 3.1MP digicam with cable
128MB USB Flash fob (on keychain)
40GB LaCie portable drive with cables
A 2" 3X magnifying glass and a 10x doublet tiny loupe.

I also carry general medicins--I've been caught sick on too many trips over the years.

And there's room for a CD player and a few CDs or a medium sized book...and receipts.

I have clip-on sunglasses, closeup reading glasses, and computer glasses.

The cellphone goes in this bag as well, along with its headset and a car cord.

I've recently added a Sangean AM/FM/TV (2-13)/Weather radio that's very tiny, runs of 2 AAA and will give me info that I hopefully can use to stay safer.

I bring my "big kit" on car trips. This is a small bag that contains:
9P with SRTH and N2
9P with KL3 LED
9P with P90 lamp
1 spare N2 lamp
1 spare P90 lamp
2 P91 lamps and normal bezels
1 SC1 spares carrier (with the P90)
1 SC2 spares carrier (with the N2)
A total of 48 123 cells, including what's
in the SCs and lights.

The car will always have (when the LED arrives) SL TL-3 (with spare lamp) and SL TL-3 LED and 6 spare 123 cells.

EDC what and why,
My main one is the Lambda/ArcMania Micro Illuminator on the keychain. Basically it is a Brinkmann Legend single AAA light that is modified to power a Luxeon high ranked LED at half a watt. The bright flood light with a long throw center hotspot make this light perfect for 90% of my use.
On my belt, a Minimag BB500 R2H Fraen LP sits for the long throw duties. It has a high ranked Luxeon driven at 1.65 watts by a 500mA current regulator. The Fraen LP optics concentrate the light to a large hotspot of light that has at least 100 meters of throw. A Kroll tailswitch completes the package for a small, yet very bright EDC to look at things at long distances.
The Micro lasts 1 hour and 45 minutes on one AAA and the minimag rolls around 2 hours on two AA batteries. Both of the flashlights will still put out usable light for several hours after they go out of regulation.
I have to consider what is the maximum length of time it will take me to get out of the largest building I would frequent. Something in the range of a minute or two to get out of the 6 story building.
The bicycle I ride to work has a 2D Mag Madmax+ R2H and another minimag BB500 R2H Fraen LP mounted on the helmet. The 2D Mag will run 10 hours on a set of D cells and the helmet light does 2 hours.
I don't work in sky scrapers so my EDCs don't need really long run times. My keychain Micro Illuminator fulfills my needs but I like to have the minimag for blinding light for some reason.

Hello Brightnorm,

An interesting question... Why?

I EDC an ARC LSH-P with the 2 AA tail pack and have an ARC AAA on my key ring. I use the LSH-P at work almost every day. The AAA gets very little use. I have 4 AA batteries in my back pack along with a Petzl Tikka headlight.

As far as why goes, I really like the beam shape of the LSH-P and use rechargeable batteries in it. The combination of spot and flood works very well for me. I tried the L4 for a week. It is a lot brighter, but I went back to the LSH-P because of its beam shape. The ARC AAA is my back up light. The Tikka has come in very useful for close up work and shares the same battery used in the ARC AAA.

I am very comfortable in the dark and also am blessed with excellent night vision.

I have a lot of other lights, but these are the ones I never leave home without.

Tom

Why? I don't honestly know.

I carry an SL2LTT in a Ripoffs holster. It rides on my belt just behind my Cellphone on my right hip. I am generally unaware of the bulk of it, but have trouble with it when I sit on wooden dining room chairs. I can live with that. The light has a most usefull LED mode, and a very adequate Xenon beam for when more is needed. There are two extra 123s in a Dry Match Holder fron Walmart in the door pocket of my truck.

My basic premise is, "You never know when you might need a light". Also I use it from time to time in my job.

I carry a backup in the form of an ARC AAA Standard. It rides in the watch pocket of my jeans along with a SAK Classic, because "You never know when you might need a knife". A spare battery for it is my Motorolla Pager, which is done with an AAA LOOONG before it's time!

Also in my truck are several other lights including SL Stinger HP. I'm RARELY inside any building above the ground floor. The exceptions are Hospital and Courthouse. VERY rarely do I visit those.

So I'm generally no more than 2-4 minutes from my truck.

Of course, things would be RADICALLY different if I lived in NYC (or downtown Houston), or even if I worked in a Highrise. But for my life as it exists now, this arrangement will do nicely.

Oops, I forgot the "why" part. My EDC lights these days are a PT Blast and a CMG Infinity, plus whatever is on my keychain. The Infinity because I just got it, and whenever I get a new light I like to EDC it for a while just to enjoy it. The PT Blast because it's bright enough for most EDC usage (about equal to an Arc LS), is cheap enough that losing it isn't a big deal, has an integral pocket clip that makes it convenient to carry, runs nicely on two AAA NiMH rechargeables, looks normal enough that it doesn't attract unwanted conversation when in use and doesn't freak out airport security guards, etc.

I edc Arc-AAA-LE & LS with twisty, at work I add an L1 the Arcs become back up with the option of clipping the AAA on hat or collar for hands free use,I find the single cell 1-watt lights to provide all the light I need for the tasks and locations I use them in.I work in a small town and rual area,I have a large 12v spotlight & a 3-AA luxeon streamlight in my work truck,Camping and home defense have special lights. For EDC at home work or any where, it is the 2 Arcs. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Why? The Arcs take up so little space are reliable give good color definition for wire work long cell life for the output.I only feel the need for 1 spare 123 & no bulbs to carry or change. I run nimh in the AAA and change it once a week.On my person I EDC 2-knives pager and cell phone and at work small tool pouch I have no room left on my belt with out it becoming uncomfortable

I have boiled my carry down to three types of carry lights.

Light 1) Keychain light, this used to be a Photon II, now it is an ARC-AAA

Light 2) A pocketable, single 123 cell light. This currently is an E1e/KL1, but it will probibly be replaced with the FireFly when it arrives and certainly replaced by the ARC-LS4 when it arrives. I have high hopes for this light.

Light 3) Incandescent Throw light. This is not an EDC like the first two but is an Every Night Carry. Ninety percent of the time this is an E2e, but I will switch over to a SF C3 with P91 if I'm out in the countryside, beach etc at night.

REASONS?

Light 1, gives me a small size, reasonable low level, lasting 4-5 hours

Light 2, gives me the rough equivalent of a two or three d-cell light (but with a decent beam) and lasts about 2 hours.

Light 3, gives me a bright longer throw that will last about an hour (20 mins in the C3 w/P91 combo).

Although I have many other lights including the SF M6 and recently acquired SL TT-2L and TT-3C. Those are house and car lights.


GregR

[ QUOTE ]
__ said:
Here is a jpg from the ASP web page of the Time Capsule below a leather pouch for the Taclite that I sometimes use.


[/ QUOTE ]

KT,

Thanks, that is very elegant looking.

BN

I wear a suit almost every day and carry a ARC LS (single 123)in a nylon holster and a ARC AAA on my keyring.
I am in and out of buildings every day at work, from high rise office buildings to warehouses. Since I'm involved in running these buildings, I have had occasion to enter them when the regular occupants were evacuating. I have had to respond to power outages caused by equipment failure, floods, fires, blackouts, etc. Sometimes I surprise myself, as to how often I'll reach for the LS. More photons are in the car of course but these two are on my person always. I even have my LSH-P in my pocket right now, it's great for cooking on the grill after dark, gotta go check the chicken....

With no disrespect intended to the starter of this thread, I've gotta say that in any emergency where I'm trapped in the dark for 20+ hours, given a choice between 14.1 ounces of flashlights and batteries or a 0.1 ounce Photon II and 14 ounces of clean drinking water, I probably will want the water more.

[ QUOTE ]
paulr said:
With no disrespect intended to the starter of this thread, I've gotta say that in any emergency where I'm trapped in the dark for 20+ hours, given a choice between 14.1 ounces of flashlights and batteries or a 0.1 ounce Photon II and 14 ounces of clean drinking water, I probably will want the water more.

[/ QUOTE ]

Quit true, however it's those lights that may allow you to find that water. I'm not sure how many people realize how many folks died in the 911-tragedy, simply because they couldn't see their way out.

paulr No sorry it is the KL1 head and TW3 body from
tactical warehouse.

Dan