Is EDC truly EVERY DAY?

We all talk a good game on social media. We all talk about how prepared we are every minute of every day – but how accurate is that? Those “EDC Pocket Dump” photos are all so carefully laid out and posed. They remind me of the field gear displays we’d have to lay out on our bunks before leaving on an exercise….Once the platoon sergeant came through, we’d put half that crap back into our lockers and pack light.

How often do we really do that in our daily lives? We talk about our Get Home Bags or Bug Out Bags, EDC pistol and knife, truck/trunk guns, but do we really carry them? Sire, you’re going to put into the comments that you do every day, but this is the internet where we all pretend to be perfect. I skip stuff lots of days.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

1 Corinthians 16:13

The first step in being watchful and standing firm is to always be ready.

I had a rude awakening to this last year when I came across a serious injury accident. While I had all the gear I needed, I had neglected organization and hadn’t counted on having to send someone else to my car to find my buried med kit while I maintained direct pressure on a bleed. I also live somewhere where humans aren’t the only threat of physical attack and you might find yourself in a gunfight with a hungry bear or mountain lion. These things have made me up my game.

The Norse also had a verse about this in the Havamal:

Let a man never stir on his road a step without his weapons of war; for unsure is the knowing when need shall arise of a spear on the way without.

Havamal Stanza 38

Bad things never happen when we expect them to. Nobody ever said, “I planned for someone to attack the mall while I was there today”. It’s easy for us to say, “I’m just running to the gas station, I don’t need all that stuff”, despite us knowing statistically that the gas station is probably the MOST LIKELY place we’ll need it.

I get it, some of us live in states, counties, or federal districts, or even countries that forbid the carrying of firearms or knives. I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice, but John Mosby of the Mountain Guerrilla blog put it best in his book “Guerrilla Gunfighter: Clandestine Carry Pistol”. He pointed out that sometimes, like the moment we are in, the risk to your life is worth the legal risk. If done right, the only time someone will know you carried is after you’ve saved a bunch of lives. Make good decisions: Would you rather be dead or alive? Which would your family prefer? You have a responsibility to defend your family. But guns and knives aren’t the only tools you should carry.

Carrying a first aid kit is perfectly legal in every state and country, so why don’t you carry one? I have small kits in every bag that I carry, a larger vehicle kit, and a small “bleed kit” that I carry in a pocket on my body. The bleed kit is just a tourniquet and a pressure bandage, but it may be enough to start treatment.

What’s in your first aid kit is just as important. I know, the current cool-guy trend is to only focus on major trauma like gunshot wounds and knife wounds, but you are FAR more likely to trip and fall, so carry SAM splints and ACE bandages to wrap sprains and strains. Boo-Boo kits can keep small cuts from becoming infected. Carrying glucose gel can literally save someone’s life – but know how and when to use.

Not carrying stuff you don’t know how to use is important as well. I know a bunch of guys carry around needles to reduce tension pneumothroax because they watched Three Kings once and then saw a Navy SEAL carrying one on TV, but they couldn’t tell you what the indications are for needing to reduce tension pneumothorax, let alone be able to find the proper spot to insert the needle. Please don’t carry tools or medications that you don’t know how to use or dispense. Get trained if you want to carry cool guy stuff. By the way, I don’t want you to stick me with that nasty needle you’ve been carrying on the outside of your plate carrier – put it inside the kit. Everyone will know you’re a guy without signaling with a needle beside your knife that you have mounted at an angle that is impossible to draw during a fight.

Do you carry a seatbelt cutter? Downrange every soldier, sailor, Marine, and airman (and contractor) carried one on their plate carrier when it could be reached with either hand. You don’t want to be stuck in a rolled over vehicle in Colorado or New Jersey any more than you would have in Iraq or Afghanistan. I carry one on my bag that it is always within arms reach of me.

Do you carry a pen and a notebook? You should. If an incident should happen, write down the details immediately. If your car is stuck in a blizzard and you have to start walking, write a note describing when you left and your planned route, so that rescuers know where to look and who to contact. It should be rite in the rain/waterproof, by the way. I also carry waterproof medical patient cards for recording complaints, physical condition when found, and vitals. When medics arrive, I can just hand over the card. Always try to get those back after ward, by the way, they can be great legal defense against false claims or to show that you attempted to aid the young scholar who got shot trying to rob you.

The other thing I always carry is a radio (yes, I’m aware you all collectively rolled your eyes). I carry my everyday radio that I use to stay in touch with the camp and my like-minded friends, but I also keep a second radio in the backpack inside a Faraday Dry Bag just in case of an EMP or atmospheric anamoly. These radios need to be programmed with your group’s emergency comms plan and EVERYONE in your group needs to be at least carrying one (it doesn’t even have to be on) at all times. As a reminder, DMR radios like the DM-32UV, allow you to send text messages radio to radio (yes, sad hams, it’s legal on GMRS) so that you can be in touch without using voice radio. Text messages go farther than an analog voice signal does.

I also carry a compass with me everywhere I go, along with paper maps of the area I will be in. NO, it’s not a burden. I literally just carry a sheet map of the local area in the front of my BattleBoard with a compass in the top of my backpack. If I have to walk home, it’s probably shorter to go cross-country, but I want to be able to see that first on my countour map. A map will also show me where I can find water. It may seem simple, but here in the mountain west, it’s important. That 40 mile commute you do to work in your car in less than an hour becomes a 2-3 day walk on foot (longer in the winter) and you’ll need to refill on water.

Food is the other EDC essential. Carry a couple of Clif bars, energy bars, bag of jerky, whatever, so that you aren’t starting with zero. Someone recently sent me a 12 pack of hot & spicy SPAM singles, so I’m good to go! Seriously, SPAM singles are a good survival food because its protein, fat, and salt all in one handheld meal. Whatever you choose, carry something. Remember that if you are carrying dehydrated foods, you will need a small stove and a vessel for heating water, as well as extra water. I carry 4 2-quart canteens in my car as a backup. Sure they’re heavy at first, but as you drink them, they get lighter.

Carry some preparedness basics every day, without fail. Lt Murphy likes to show when you are least prepared, but you can defeat by making your “least prepared” state pretty darned prepared anyway.

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