Anyone else have a situationally dependent EDC setup?

When I first joined CPF, one of my earlier posts was a droning complaint about a relatively inexpensive 1 X AA flashlight dying during use at work. At the time, that flashlight was all I could afford.

However, needing a flashlight for work, I couldn't be without a replacement. And, learning my lesson, saved up and bought a couple of D10s. I put the "Two is one; one is none." philosophy to practical everyday use.

Having limited but negative experience, and not wanting to wear out (or have fail) my only EDC carry D10, I eventually got a D11.2 for daily (vs. work) EDC. This allowed me to save my second D10 as a backup. I now felt better / more secure, but without much flashlight joy.

Then I was fortunate enough to be gifted a fancy Ti Tritted D11.2. At first I saved it as a "safe queen" and never used it. Then when a dress occasion occurred, while literally on my way out the door, I doubled back and changed out my "daily carry" D11.2 for its fancy safe queen sister. Though I used the fancy D11.2 that night, no one noticed how cool it was.

When I got home late that night, and only for myself, I decided I would have three EDC carries. I eventually obtained three core: flashlight, folding knife, and watch setups - daily, fancy, and work.

I am now fortunate enough to be able to spend more on my EDC gear and have four core EDC carry setups. I now am finally lucky enough to have: daily, dress, minimal, and work EDCs - along with backups / secondaries for most items.

So, do you have an EDC setup for several expected scenarios, or just one? Care to share your story and / or pictures?

This is a great thread OP.



My edc setup has always been the same in the aspect of which scenario I were to go into:

Daily, gentlemen and work, only three and have always been three.

Regardless of which one I was walking out the door with , each one consisted of atleast three things :

A knife, a light, and a watch .

First getting into "edc gear" or really paying attention to what I used on a daily basis and deciding that some essential items needed to be addressed, started with some case knives , streamlights and gshocks .

Gentlemen use was the same except the watch were fossils.

Now that I have been into this so called "hobby" of maximizing my daily use items , it's been more higher end stuff and having a collection big enough to being able to pin point one to each particular task.

Watches:

My daily and work edc has been a gshock if some sort for the last ten years

Gentlemen edc or occasional wear watch is still a g shock but a metal band (for a nicer look) [emoji1]

Gshocks have never ever failed me and I along with ton others have put these things to the test. Undeniably reliable.


Knives:

Daily and work edc, for quite awhile has been a benchmade griptlian , even when I first got away from case or traditional folders it's been benchmade . Good customer service and super reliable and easy to find at just about any sporting goods store . Spyderco has been in and out as well as they are just as nice and offer a great selection , but I find the the Benchmade's have thicker blades which are better for me at work . If I carried a Spyderco is was days off and stuff.

Gentlemen knives were some pretty cool CRKTs like a few Ken Onion renditions or a kershaw leek and up until recently swapped in a trade was a benchmade valet 475 .


Lights:

When first starting , micro streams , stylus pros and protacs stayed in my pocket regardless of the occasion, size mostly dictated which I chose.

When things got serious, Malkoff 1xaa has been my mechanic work light for some time along with a stylus pro in my breast pocket although I've been looking into grabbing a preon p2.

For daily and occasional wear were still Malkoff's or surefires , with size again dictating which I chose for when or where .

Ted,

Your system seems complicated. My rule is always go with your best as there is no sense in buying things to store in safes and drawers never to be used.

The only thing I would do is if my job was some kind of an extremely difficult type of work that would destroy gear, then I would engage a "work" set up. My work does not put any stress or strain on my equipment and gear so that is why I always go with my best no matter.

If I were you I would eliminate the "minimal" from your list, as it seems to complicate things. Without knowing your occupation it is hard to go any further.

Good Luck,

All the best,

RL

RedLED said:

(REDACTED)

Ted,

Your system seems complicated. My rule is always go with your best as there is no sense in buying things to store in safes and drawers never to be used.

If I were you I would eliminate the "minimal" from your list, as it seems to complicate things.

Good Luck,

All the best,

RL

Click to expand...

I thought I had found my best setups. That's why I decided to share. However, you've certainly given me a few things to reconsider and a few more about which to ponder.

Thanks,

—
Ted

Yes. Work, night: X45vn and Glock 29. Day: Lumintop FW4a vn quad W2 and Emissar D4V2 vn quad W2.1 and G29.
Night not work: Nightwatch NSX53 vn triple XHP 50.2. And G29.
Church: Kimber Micro Nine and D4V2.
Lights are loaded with unprotected 18650 and guns are loaded with Underwood or Buffalo Bore.

In the past, I have also had a I'm-going-to-a-foreign-country-and-if-I-get-mugged-this-won't-hurt-too-much-carry-set.

No knives on the plane, and the vagaries of international law means no knives for me.

My "mugger's watch" would probably be my ugly Vostok Komandirskie "Dolfin" model.
It is a manual wind, but unless you are acquainted with Vostoks, you might not be able to figure out how to wind it.

I'm only going to travel with lights that will not leave me depressed if they are lost/taken. My last two trips to South America I took a discontinued Jetbeam Jet-I Pro in my pocket. It's a good pocket light, but I had a spare at home. I also took a Fenix L2D. Again, not a bad light at all, but I have a spare. Both of those lights use the most commonly available cell size worldwide, the AA.

Novice, out of the country, I carry a gold bullion coin, just in case.

Some of my projects are in Oakland, Richmond, and SF. If I'm going to a less than desirable part of town I strap on a seiko, carry an Ontario rat 2, a md4, and a sturdy pen. The md4 is my first line of defense, the pen is next, the knife is an absolute last resort. Being in CA the guilty party is very subjective, a homeless guy could attack me, and I could end up locked up if I'm not careful. If you learn how to use a pen for self defense they also have the advantage of being able to be taken where other self defense items aren't allowed.


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Jrgold,

So true, you, even in a casual contact with LE never, ever say your knife is for self defense, NEVER! If you do they will start to look at some way of trying to bust you just because of the knife. My old friend of forty years who spent thirty years on the Riverside Co. Sheriff' Dept told me that.

The Police are not our friends.

Stay safe,

Best,

RL

ADD: "Avoid the authority's at all costs." - Old Chinese proverb

LedTed said:

I thought I had found my best setups. That's why I decided to share. However, you've certainly given me a few things to reconsider and a few more about which to ponder.

Thanks,

—
Ted

Click to expand...

Teddy,

Please keep us informed on what you decide.

Thanks,

RL

My EDC is effectively a single setup on person the vast majority of the time.

Leatherman Free T4, wallet, keys, usually a G-Shock for a watch (though will wear a more conventional stainless steel sports watch if I have certain types of business meetings), Blackjack Knives Tac Pen, and three lights on me (Olight S Mini Baton Ti, Folomov Pen L1 and a LED Lenser P3 on my keychain).

The only thing that usually changes depending on circumstance are the multi-tool, lights and watch.

If walking into a courthouse or anywhere where there is security checks, the Free T4 stays at home and I'll only take one light (usually the P3).

In my daily work backpack however, I usually carry at least two more lights (Acebeam T36 and Nitecore MH27UV are the usual suspects though in the past have carried Surefire 6PX/G2X Tacticals), my trusty 20k mah USB power-bank and my other backup Swiss Army knife.

If at night, usual light setup then changes to Acebeam T36 (the single click activation at the back works wonders in stressful situations plus the bezel is a highly effective deterrent) and the P3 on my keychain.


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RedLED said:

Jrgold,

So true, you, even in a casual contact with LE never, ever say your knife is for self defense, NEVER! If you do they will start to look at some way of trying to bust you just because of the knife. My old friend of forty years who spent thirty years on the Riverside Co. Sheriff' Dept told me that.

The Police are not our friends.

Stay safe,

Best,

RL

ADD: "Avoid the authority's at all costs." - Old Chinese proverb

Click to expand...

I agree, I have respect for LE but i know any conversation they initiate with me isn't about being my friend. I also really don't consider a knife to be a self defense option at all. The last thing I want is to get in a knife fight with someone. The only time I would consider using a knife as a weapon is if there was a terrorist threat, or I knew it was a life or death situation. My knife is a tool used to open plastic masking or containment at work, or opening new flashlight packaging


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Jrgold,

Yes, opening new flashlight boxes!

I am with you, knives are a last ditch. I would be much more afraid of someone with a knife than a gun. The state does not see it that way, and unfortunately wants to see guy's like us in trouble for keeping something utilized as a tool, which to me it is, as I have used it thousands upon thousands of times to open boxes, and many, many other things, but never once as a weapon.

In the 1950's the Switchblade scared the Hell out of the politicians, and they became illegal. Now, I would not give you a nickel for an automatic knife, as our one handed openers are much better, and faster but they scare them almost as much.

The Second Amendment protects knives, as well as, firearms.

All the best,

RL

Somewhat OT, they will not care for this...

RedLED said:

The Police are not our friends.

Click to expand...

It wasn't in the job description when I joined!

It went something like 'to protect life, property and enforce the laws', definitely nothing about being everyone's friend! :thumbsup:

Dave D said:

It wasn't in the job description when I joined!

It went something like 'to protect life, property and enforce the laws', definitely nothing about being everyone's friend! :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

DD,

I want to make clear that I am not against Police, in fact I was a Firefighter for a while when I was younger. What I meant to state is that most LE are good, (and it was my dear friend a Sheriff himself who told me this), to be mindful of what you say as they could lead to problems.

RedLED said:

DD,

I want to make clear that I am not against Police, in fact I was a Firefighter for a while when I was younger. What I meant to state is that most LE are good, (and it was my dear friend a Sheriff himself who told me this), to be mindful of what you say as they could lead to problems.

Click to expand...

I used carry two X65 at night when I walk seven brisk hilly miles daily, but I can't anymore, because I need to keep one hand free each and every time I step outside my building, due to the hostility of the surface of the earth brought to me by at large dogs.

Twice, in 10,000 pedestrian miles, I told the police that I shot the ambush charging German Shepherds because they were ambush charge attacking me, with one tenth of a second to spare to avoid mauling injury. The police reports were extremely biased in favor of the at large dog offender and extremely biased against me. The shock of getting arrested at age 57 for the first time in my life was cause for me to correctly know that the police are maliciously against the obvious requirement to defend self against immediate mauling. The second time I was arrested, I was acquitted at criminal trial (where I represented my highly emotional self), and Judge Glen Savona concretely called out the police Sargent for his report that omitted the factual basis of what occurred.

Rich,

That is awful. The judges can see through things.

Would be good to get this thread back on track, everyone ...

I have day stuff and night stuff. Work stuff and play stuff. If I'm going someplace like a wedding I have dressy-bessy stuff for that.

A daytime flashlight would be super bright while being super portable. Occasional use to compete with sunshine. And speaking of sunshine, a solar charged watch gets the nod. For work a saphire crystal and metal band work best. Knife is portable and sharp. Pen must be reliable and durable. Each item has self defense potential without looking like it.

Night time, more run time is needed so my light is a bit larger. Watch has to be able to light up, knife can be larger since it's dark so I can usually cover it with a vest or jacket. Same pen and pencil set as day use.

For play pretty much same as worked but based on what that play is. My extreme days are behind me but accidents do happen. Self defense plays a role too. But again in a stealthy way. Instead of carrying stuff causing me to think I'm John Wayne, I carry stuff that only works in my 3' circle.

Dressy bessy is similar but my gear is more shiney. Still stealthy yet super cool looking when deployed.

I think of edc gear like tools. And being a collector since I was a lad my tool box has a big variety.

Good thread idea. Glad you're able to expand LT.

archimedes said:

Would be good to get this thread back on track, everyone ...

Click to expand...

Sorry about that, Arch.