Gadgeteer team – gear we’re using in 2022 (David Sheneman)

ARTICLE – We were asked to do a quick article about our everyday carry or what’s in our bag or “the gear we’re using.” I decided to do a “what’s in my pocket (or on my belt)” article, so here goes.

I tend to keep a lot of stuff in my pockets but all of it has utility and I find myself reaching for most of these items several times throughout the week if not daily. Here’s a breakdown of what I carry, why I carry it, and links to some of them.

1. Face mask. Who doesn’t constantly have one of these with them these days? I long for the days where we can be in public without fear of COVID or something else, but I have a feeling we’re going to be carrying masks with us for a long time. I don’t like disposable masks so I keep a cloth one with me and wash it periodically.
2. Samsung Galaxy Buds+. These are by far my favorite Bluetooth earbuds. I’ve researched hundreds of pairs of true wireless earbuds, reviewed about half a dozen here, and had many different mono or stereo Bluetooth headsets over the years, and these are the ones that I keep coming back to. There are better sounding earbuds out there but I don’t typically listen to music with these. I listen to several hours of podcasts a day and usually only have one earbud in my ear at any given time. While I’m taking a walk, which is how I typically finish my exercise rings at the end of the day, I’ll use both earbuds and watch a TV show on my iPad Pro in one of the many streaming services out there. These are also great for mowing the lawn or vacuuming the house where I want both ears plugged but I don’t have to crank up the volume to max just to hear because they fit so well in my ear and block out a lot of the outside noise. They don’t have active noise canceling but they passively block out the noise because they fit so well in my ear.
3. Wallet. This is a bifold wallet that I’ve been using for probably 8-10 years. My son bought it for me as a Christmas present because my old one was getting so worn out. This one has lasted quite a long time for me. I carry this in my back right pocket, usually with a plastic comb that I’ve also been using forever.
4. Wuben C3 flashlight. I reviewed this one about a month ago and it’s been my main everyday carry flashlight since. I had been using a Fenix PD32 for the last five years, and I still use the holster that came with it to carry the Wuben. The Wuben is a little bit shorter than the Fenix, goes up to 1,200 lumens vs. the PD32’s 900 lumens, and it’s internally rechargeable, unlike the PD32 where I have to remove the battery and use the Fenix charger. All around this has been a great upgrade for me. I want to get something in the 2,000+ lumen range some day, but for now I’m happy with this light.
5. Gerber Gear TRUSS multitool. I’ve carried a couple of different Leatherman models for almost thirty years now. Last Christmas I asked my wife to get this for me so I could try something different and I like it so far. I like that the tools are accessible without having to open the pliers. I still find myself opening the pliers first quite often but I’m sure that habit will die out eventually. I don’t use all the tools every day but I lose track of how many times throughout the week I need a knife, a set of pliers, a screwdriver, or even wire cutters. I keep forgetting it has a small pair of scissors as well; I need to go find some uses for that this week.
6. Fingernail clippers. I just like to have a pair of these with me. Cutting a hangnail, trimming a nail that got caught on something, and filing down a sharp point I didn’t notice before, it’s just nice to have these with me when I need them. I’ve recently realized Victorinox makes some, so I might need to try them out when it’s time for a replacement.
7. Various adapters. I work in audio so at any given time I might need to use my iPhone, iPad Pro, or Google Pixel 6 to play music for an event. For this purpose, I carry an official Apple headphone dongle (although I just purchased an off-brand adapter because I realized this one is starting to go bad), a USB-C headphone dongle, and a StarTech USB-C Audio & Charge Adapter, which I reviewed. I also carry a 3.5mm to 1/4″ headphone adapter because a lot of the professional equipment I work with uses the larger headphone jack. Lastly, I carry around a generic USB-A to USB-C adapter. This one came with something I purchased and I just decided it would be convenient to keep with me.
8. Nitecore Tip SE flashlight. Yeah, I know, I already have a flashlight on my belt. My philosophy is you can’t have enough flashlights. This one is compact, bright, and I can clip it to the brim of my hat as a makeshift headlamp. It also has built-in safety protection that helps it turn off after 30 seconds if it accidentally gets activated in my pocket, which happens from time to time. I like that this is also USB-C rechargeable so I don’t have to swap out batteries and it’s one less thing that charges with the old Micro-USB connector like the previous one I had.
9. Nite Ize S-Biner. I’ve used a carabiner to carry my keys from a belt loop for longer than I can remember. I’ve had to replace them a few times over the years because the springs went bad so they won’t stay shut or open easily anymore. I got this S-Biner a couple of years ago and I love it. The springs work great and I pretty much never have a problem grabbing my keys or putting them away. My son uses the version that has the locks but I don’t want the hassle of having to unlock it every time I need to grab my keys so this model works for me. I don’t remember exactly which size I got but it was about the same size as the carabiner I had before, which is the perfect size for my use. Oh also, notice flashlight #3. This is a cheap giveaway LED flashlight but as I said, you can never have enough.
10. Carmex lip balm. I like the stick style lip balm and I usually have either Chapstick or Carmex with me. I’ve actually started carrying Carmex more because the Chapstick style that I like seems to be melting and re-forming itself into a weird shape while in my pocket. The Carmex so far hasn’t done that for me. Growing up in Alaska and now living in the midwest for almost 20 years I’m always needing to moisturize my lips during the harsh, dry winters. Now if there was only something like this for my dry hands…
11. Sharpie and Zebra Sarasa X20 0.7mm gel pen. I don’t do a lot of writing by hand but when I need to take a quick note, draw a simple diagram, or label a cable with some masking tape, I always like to have these around. The Sharpie is a Twin Tip, because I don’t like the larger end if I need to write small, so having both sizes is perfect. The Zebra Sarasa pen is something we just always have around work and I always make sure I have one in my pocket. I’ve never been big into pens, but I do like the way this one writes and the way it clips to my back pocket.
12. USB flash drives. Sometimes I wish I could tell my 20 year old self that one day I’d be carrying 176 GB of storage around in my pocket. I remember when I first read about 9 GB hard drives that cost $2,000+ to do video editing work and had to be AV rated so they didn’t shut down periodically to prevent overheating. I don’t have a USB-C version of one of these yet but I’ll probably add one soon. Most of the things I use these with are still USB-A but I always have that USB-C adapter when I need one. 

Not in the photo: iPhone 13 Pro Max and 44mm Apple Watch Series 4. I always like to get the bigger screen versions of my phone and watch. I’ve been wearing this Apple Watch for a little over three years now. Every year I consider upgrading but either I don’t want to spend the money or the new features aren’t compelling enough to warrant it. I had the original Apple Watch, which I purchased after they were available refurbished, and wore that one until I got this one. This was such a leap forward in terms of size, battery life and processing speed. The newer generations, while nice, haven’t been such a leap forward as this one was. I do have a milestone birthday coming up in a few months so I may ask my wife to upgrade me to the Series 7. I do wish I had that always on screen.

My iPhone 13 Pro Max does so much for me. Shooting photos and videos, listening to podcasts and music, checking email, browsing the web, controlling AV apps for work and home, playing games, video calls with my daughter who’s a teacher in the Middle East, and so much more. Oh, I almost forgot to add that it makes phone calls as well. Because I do so much with my phone I like to have the biggest screen available (I know there are bigger Android phones but I’ve settled on iPhone so this is the biggest one I can get).

I also carry a Google Pixel 6 a couple of days a week. This is definitely not a daily driver phone for me, but I like to dip my toe in the Android world and this is an affordable way for me to do it. It’s almost free through my carrier so it was a no-brainer. In this case, I didn’t get the biggest screen size I could, but since it’s a secondary device for me it’s not as much of an issue.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and the rest of this series on The Gadgeteer. I’d be interested in finding out what you carry around every day. Maybe I can find something I’m missing or a better version of what I already have.