Julie’s Gadget Diary – My evolving EDC

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edc

I thought it might be interesting and useful for me to capture a visual and text list of my EDC (Every Day Carry) gear on a monthly basis. Seeing my gear might give you ideas for your own EDC and I’m hoping you might make suggestions for things I should look at that might replace items I’m already carrying. I’ll be breaking down the list into gear bag and keychain. Let’s start with my gear bag.

Note: Images can be clicked to view a larger size.

02/27/13 Gear Bag

edc-bag-0212013

  • Timbuk2 Custom Laptop Messenger Bag – I reviewed a similar one back in 2010. I carried it every day till I accidentally ripped off one of the hanging straps while going through a turnstile at work. I wrote about the tragedy, Timbuk2 saw it and offerred to let me create a new custom bag. I chose waxed canvas and Blue. I love it
  • iPad mini in a Blue Prowis case that I’m currently reviewing
  • Generic sunglasses clips stored in a clamshell case
  • Cummins ID badge
  • Waterfield Designs Zippered Wallet with two good luck charms that are always zipped inside. One is  a little metal peace sign charm that I found in the parking lot after my first chemo treatment in March 2011. It felt like the universe was telling me that “everything is going to be ok”. The other is a little plastic cross that someone sent me during that same time frame. I’ve been carrying this same exact wallet since December of 2005.
  • Leather Field Notes / Moleskine Cahier cover that I made myself
  • Checkbook and stack of colored index cards clipped with a binder clip – I write checks so rarely these days that I need to just stick it in a drawer
  • Samsung Galaxy Note 2 which I’m currently reviewing
  • Small Waterfield CableGuy pouch – holds some of the items seen here
  • Samsung Galaxy S3 (Verizon) in an Orange elago G5 Breathe case
  • iPod Classic 160GB – I rarely listen to this
  • Bose MIE2i Mobile Headset – Comfy and sound great
  • Gerber Crucial Pocket Tool Multi-Plier – I like this one because it’s small and doesn’t have a lot of tools that I will never use
  • HAND Stylus, GoSmart Stylus, Uniball Jetstream, generic Bic pen, cheap Papermate clicky mechanical pencil, Fischer Space Pen and a handmade protective sleeve which Janet made – My current favorite pen is the Uniball. It writes great and I won’t overly sad if I lose it because it doesn’t cost much to replace
  • Camera charm that flashes and makes shutter sound when you press the shutter button – gift from one of my best friends
  • 2 USB flash drives
  • Little USB microSD card reader
  • ATP Pro Max card reader – can’t remember the last time I needed to use it
  • Waterfield Designs iPod Gear Pouch – Holds a lot of the small items shown here
  • Dragonthorn Leatherworks Pocket Carry System – Holds an Altoid Smalls tin of Ibuprofen, Carmex lip balm and fingernail clippers
  • Small bottle and 3 tubes of eye drops
  • Some cheap Sony earbuds and stock Apple earbuds – Not sure why I’m carrying 3 sets of earbuds…
  • 2 short USB cables that have both mini and micro connectors at the end of each cable – Can’t remember where I bought them
  • Larger micro USB cable and a USB AC adapter
  • Vaja SD card wallet
  • Not pictured – Ziploc baggie of Stevia packets, kleenexes and an empty Walmart style plastic shopping bag just because…

02/27/13 Keychain

edc-keychain-0212013

Nothing too elegant here… at least not yet. I have some high hopes for my keychain EDC. But for now, I am just using 2 generic split rings. One holds my key fob and car key. It’s attached via a TEC Python clip to another split ring which holds:

  • House key and some other key I don’t know what it opens
  • PNY USB flash drive which I plan to put to add emergency contact info
  • Photon X-Light Micro – I love this little LED flashlight because it’s always exactly where I need it. It’s tiny and easy to use with one hand unlike likes that require you to twist the head. Click once to turn on and once to turn off. Even has some special modes like SOS

The other two items I’ve included in this image really should be up in the Gear Bag list, but they were in a pocket that I forgot to check.

We’ll see if things change next month…

41 thoughts on “Julie’s Gadget Diary – My evolving EDC”




  1. Gadgeteer Comment Policy - Please read before commenting
  2. BTW…let’s excluded keys, security badges, and such.

    A multi-tool consisting of a light, USB drive, and a blade will be consider one item, but a flashlight hooked to a USB drive and a knife on a split ring will be 3 items.

    We are interested because we are considering an article on an idea we are calling “ED3”.

    1. @RainyDayInterns I’m very anxious to try the new Keyport Slide 2.0 that is currently seeking funding on Kickstarter. It’s an update of one we’ve already featured:
      http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/keyport/keyport-slide-20-the-keychain-reinvented?ref=live
      http://the-gadgeteer.com/2010/10/14/keyport-review/

      It will reduce my keychain carry down to 2 items.

      If I could only pick 3 things, it would be my Samsung Galaxy S3, Waterfield wallet (with my good luck charms) and that Keyport Slide 2.0 with all a USB blade and flashlight. I’d also “cheat” and add some paper and a mini pen to my wallet. It’s large enough to hold those additional items. I used to even zip my iPhone 4S inside it.

  3. Just ordered a Keyport Slide. I swear, I order more gadget related gear because of your website. That’s a good thing no? Off to order the Waterfield wallet.

    1. @E Did you order the new one or the original?

      @Mike I’ve had it on my keychain for so long I just forget what it’s for 😉 I have an idea though, but have been too lazy to check it. I have a lot of simplifying to do.

  4. Would you have enough space on your ipad mini to put the songs you have in your ipod on it, or possibly use the cloud to listen to them? I have a similar problem since i have gone android in that i have about 100 or so songs still on itunes. They were purchased long before the new license was a part of it. I really hate how we do not have some kind of universal song/movie thing that makes managing those things easier.

    1. @Jackie Yes, the whole team should do an EDC post. 🙂

      @Lynn I have over 80GB of music but honestly, I haven’t use the iPod in a very long time. I mainly use Slacker on my SGS3. Writing this post is causing me to evaluate what I do and do not need and make changes as I go along 🙂

  5. Yes I carry the blue and just ordered a spare …. AND a complete set of matching gear bags! This is sinful and a guilty pleasure to boot.

  6. My EDC varies based on what I am doing! Normally it is required for me to have my phone and a set of headphones in my purse.. but if its a full day trip, its more, and overnight? Have mercy..

    1. @Paul not sure you can find them anymore. It was sent to me years and years ago by Jon Sidney over at http://edcforums.com I’m not using mine. I can drop it in the mail to you if you’d like it. It’s one of the things that I’m dropping from my current EDC after buying the Photon.

  7. Because of you, I have just purchased a Timbuk2 small Classic Messenger Bag in grey (which I will get from Amazon on Monday). I carry my ipad (with a Logitech keyboard cover), sunglasses, reading glasses, checkbook (which I also now seldom use), business cards, receipts, a fountain pen and the new Parker Dimension5 pen along with a Bamboo stylus/ball pen combo and a folder with 8×11 papers (most of my files sit on my ipad and since they are on full-size pages, I do not use a 7-8″ tablet). My phone and keys are in my pocket along with a minimalist wallet (4 credit cards, driver license, Medicare card and building entry card). All my reward cards sit in an iphone app called Keyring which I highly recommend (I avoid wallet cards like Lemon Wallet which would make my phone an annoyance to lose). When I go on vacation to Europe next week I will take a small 10mp camera and my Sony video camera. That;s it.

    1. @Philippe Have you ever had a Timbuk2 bag before? I hope you’ll love it as much as I do. I bought a small classic messenger in green a couple years ago. I use it on the weekends if I’m going somewhere with a lot of walking – like a festival, shopping, and don’t want to keep all my stuff in my jacket pockets.

  8. Hey Jules,
    Hope the upper body workouts are coming along well…that’s some weight you’re lugging around there 🙂
    M

  9. Well, I am a gadgeteer too, but…sorry to say that I miss the days when we were young and all we were carrying was a cheap noisy radio. Viz. this and suddenly all the stuff we are now carrying seems so unnecessary…

  10. Looks like I am a little late to this, awesome setup, Julie! Missing an item from the bag though… Do you carry a laptop to work and back? I recall you said you have a Thinkpad a while ago in a gadget diary but don’t see it. Great EDC, as you already know I carry a Timbuk2 and love it. Fits between the front and back seats of a car just right.

    P.S How is the Note? Phablet factor working for you?

    1. @Jake I don’t carry my Lenovo Cummins laptop to and from work. I have a 2nd Lenvovo I keep at home for the times I have pager duty.
      The Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is not as huge as I thought it would be. I could easily use this size of device.

  11. @Julie Wow I never knew that! They must like you then. 🙂 Would you consider using one instead of the GSIII also?

    1. @Jake Yes I would consider using the SGN2 instead of the SGS3. But I’m waiting to hear the details on the SGS4 in a couple weeks. That’s the one I’ll probably switch to.

  12. The Dual mini/mico USB cables, are great, I kept 4-5 of them in my tech bag. I’m always using them for external drives, usb devices, phones, tablets, cameras etc. My first round I got at (don’t ask me how they ended up there) Tuesday Morning. I paid probably 70 cents each. They get lost (and had entire laptop kit stolen) so I got some more on amazon. The last round I got at walgreens. Every wallgreens in Fresno stocks them. The only problem is they are $5 each. I wish Monoprice.com would stock the. HINT HINT MONOPRICE are you reading this!!?!?

  13. It is set to be a very strong phone, but rumors always have to be taken with a pinch of salt… Mainly the Octa core Exynos CPU… They need to slow down at some point.

  14. I got the Timbuk2 classic as scheduled, on Monday, and I have been using it for the past 2 days. It is well designed (better than the Tom Bihn bags whose flap I do not like). I got the cement and grey and it is just about the size I need (I have to squeeze my 8×11 folder just a little). It will now be my bag of choice, thanks for the recommendation.

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