EDC Bag Dump - July '14

As promised, my current EDC bag dump.

The bag is a Camelbak Urban Assault, going on 4 years old. Still lookin' good, no rips tears or busted zippers. Excellent bag, with a dedicated laptop pocket and lots of useful internal pockets. The gear pictured goes into admin pockets, leaving the main compartment wide open for whatever I might need.

The bag's contents are a mix of daily-use items, snivel gear and lightweight contingency kit. Doesn't weigh much, provides some good capability and keeps oft used items at hand.

Contents after the jump:

EDC Bag Contest: AJ's Tara - really the last one!

I figured I would throw my hat in before the month ends just by the skin of my teeth hopefully. This is my current EDC bag I carry it pretty much every where I go. I am on active duty status with the National Guard as an instructor. This bag goes to work with me 6 days a week and in the car or with me almost every where else I go. It also goes over seas with me when I travel for work with slight "flight safe" changes. 

The Bag is a Hill People Gear Tarahumara Pack

It has a tarainsert with a Medium general purpose pouch, which contains:

A religious book

About $150 in cash

An SD and micro SD holder with multiple SD cards containing encrypted personal documents and other randomness

Two ITS field notes. Notebooks

A tourniquet 

An ITS tactical urban E&E kit

 

EDC Bag Dump Contest: Godfather Js - 2nd to last entry (really)

Looks like I jumped the shark thinking we were done. Two entries came in at the very last minute. Here's one of 'em, from GodfatherJs.

I have been carrying this bag for a few years and is an upgrade from a messenger bag I used to carry. The bag so far meets my needs for work/light camping/hunting/bushcraft/etc. While I have little room for expansion (aside room for a few loose items in the main pouch - two water bottles or so and the dump pouch on the strap of the bag for collecting fire tender, wild edibles or magazines/brass when at the range).

My background aside from running the 7P's Blog is in Emergency Response and Oil and Gas Field so most of my items are tailored to one of those three functions. First and foremost this is not a bug-out-bag or a get home bag it is merely an EDC bag with all the tools I need to get through any issue in my day. While I wouldn't have a major issue getting through a week or so in the woods with this kit (I have a couple times) it was not set up for this purpose.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: From SM - Last One

My EDC bag of the last couple of years is a Maxpedition Sitka. It goes with me to the office every day.

I have changed up some of the contents in the past but I have settled for now on this to meet likely needs. My commute is about 12 miles so I don’t have to plan for a 3 day ‘get home’ situation.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: D's Bag Dump

I'm Danielle, a newbie to prepping, and I'm submitting another cubicle friendly EDC bag. I'm a process engineer: most days I'm chained to my desk so my bag is generally within two feet of me, and the contents are mostly for convenience.   

 

EDC Bag Dump Contest: Dub's Bag Dump

I am a psychiatric social worker and travel the Greater Columbus (Ohio) area visiting people in their homes and in community. I often alternate between my car and motorcycle, depending on weather and job needs. So, I need a bag I can wear comfortably when I ride. Most standard backpacks are to chunky and not comfortable for riding, while a laptop bag offers a more streamlined design with usually more storage pockets inside. Also, my bag looks like all the others out there.

My EDC is based on the possibility of something terrible happening and all I have is this bag, either out in the community or stuck in my office. I could be on the side of town farthest away from my home and I would need items to assist me in returning home to meet my wife and then further assess what to do next. I am figuring on a possible 20-mile trip home on foot through varied urban and/or rural terrain as the worst scenario.

New family member, overnight bags and EDC eval

The Wolf family grew by one more earlier this week. For those counting, that's three boys, rounding out the fireteam. He came out a big, strong boy - everything went smoothly, everyone is doing well.

A trip to the hospital can always be a little bit interesting by way of logistics. With a baby, you get advanced warning--but that's obviously not always the case.
CommanderZero noted earlier this week the practicality of having a simple overnight bag ready to go at a moment's notice.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: Lone Ranger's EDC/GHB

This is my layout for my EDC bag/ get home bag.

I use it mainly as an everyday carry for whatever I might need while I am at work I work an an office of an industry complex and come across a wide varity of situations everyday. I also do carry this on a daily basis even if i do leave it in my car.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: JH's Messenger Bag

The EDC Bag contest is running through the entire month of June - if you want in on a chance to get a grab bag of prizes from the TEOTWAWKI bunker, plus some feedback from me and the tribe, check out the entry details.

 So..... As far as classifying myself I am probably closer to a cubicle jockey than anything else. 

My EDC is as follows:

The bag is Gemline messenger bag with tape applied to "mask" my employer (sorry I couldn't refuse the obvious pun).

This is what it contains 99% of the time unless I am flying for work.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: JS

I have been silent member of the prepping/survival community too long and I decided this was a great opportunity to start out. I can share a few ideas and get some sound advice from experts in the field.

Anyways, I’ll include a bit of background so the EDC bag can fit in context.  I am a runner, lightweight backpacker, former chemistry now medical student living in the suburbs of a moderately sized city. The idea behind my pack is it has my daily needs, some light survival items and is kept light enough that in the event of any real problem I could just run the 7 miles home (since I take public transportation).

I decided to go with a more vertical approach for a picture just to change things up; I really don’t organize things this way. Essentially everything but food, iPad, hat/gloves, and water fit neatly within the front pocket leaving the main pocket open for the bigger things. And nothing but the water bottle outside.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: Ryan at TSLRF

This is the bag I carry basically everywhere. It is a merger of my everyday carry bag, survivalist 'get home bag and military assault pack. It has plenty of room for the usual civilian EDC lunch, laptop, paperback book, etc all for when I go someplace. Admittedly the ratio of stuff in there to spare room is pretty high but the stuff in there already covers many of the anticipated needs I would be putting stuff in there to fill the bag with anyway.

This system presumes I am carrying my normal EDC stuff and have servicable clothing/ footwear. I keep some clothes and footwear in the vehicle in case I get caught in swim trunks and flip flops.

My system is carried in a Tactical Tailor backpack. It is about a decade old so names and models have changed but I think they still make a similar bag. This thing has been used and abused and just keeps kicking. There is something to be said for buying nice once. I attached a water bottle holder, want to say Maxpedition but I cannot recall. (Alex note: Yep, it's a Maxped holder or knock off - I have the same one kicking around).

The whole system is shown on my HPG Serape.

Generally from left to right, grouped by rough system:

Food: I set this system up with the home made MRE day of food (oatmeal, ramen, tuna, granola bars, peanut butter) in the ziplock bag but ended up puttiing a bunch more stuff in there, plus an MRE plus a small baggie of granola bars and snacks that sits in the front pouch for easy snacking access. Without doing calorie math this is probably enough food to replace energy/ calorie loss in a high output environment for roughly 2.5 days. There is also a 5 hour energy shot in there. Also pictured are a plastic spork and a metal spoon.

Deep Thoughts: EDC Bags

Thanks to all those who have entered the contest this time around. The contest continues through the end of June, so if you haven't entered, there's still plenty of time. For details on how/what to enter, click here.

I wanted to take a few kilobytes to discuss every day carry bags at a conceptual level. We're getting entries that are all over the map in terms of size and type of gear, and that will continue throughout the contest.

At its most basic, an every day carry bag is just a fancy name for the bag you carry with you on a daily basis. Most people bring some variety of bag with them to work/school/their daily routine - a backpack, briefcase, messenger bag or whatever. It's the bag you use to carry for mundane crap like a work computer, lunch--either of which I don't think anyone has posted, BTW--and the like.

That's an every day carry bag, whether it has anything interesting in it or not.

Your needs and preferences will be different from the next person's, which means a different bag and different stuff in it. A cubicle jockey will have different needs from someone in the military or law enforcement or someone who works construction.

In my line of thinking, if you have to carry a bag, you might as well put some useful comfort, convenience and contingency gear in there, right?

EDC Bag Dump Contest: Navajo Joe in Japan

Greetings from Okinawa Japan, I'm an active duty Marine and a America Red Cross CPR/First Aid and Wilderness Survival Instructor.  At times my EDC can become my field pack or overnight pack... Field/Duty sneaks up on you at times.

This whole pack with water weighs in at roughly 15 lbs, and I know this is pretty heavy for an EDC but bare in mind I never know what kind of day I will walk into at work. Also it's not like I'm taking the train or bus to work.  This pack goes from my house to the car to my office and back.  I know I can get out of dodge with it and make the 21.2 miles back to my house wearing this pack in a day, if needed. This is one reason I have this type of bag and also the items I carry.  I hate not having that one thing with me when needed but know I can't carry it all, so I have learned to pick my battles, but always remembering if you pack light you freeze at night. 

 

EDC Bag Dump: CanPrep

First of all, 3 important clarifications:

1. I live in Canada. Which is great on the most part, but one of the few negative implications is that we are not allowed to carry any weapons for self defense purposes. Period. Were it not the case, my EDC list would have included a concealed-carried handgun with 3 16-round mags, plus pepper spray and a kubotan or a telescoping baton. Ridiculously, the former can only be legally carried to an approved range and back, and all the latter are considered prohibited weapons under the current legislation here. Alas...

2. I know there are no defined boundaries for what constitutes an EDC kit, and I am thoroughly pushing the envelope here ;-) What I am going to present below is an EDC / GHB / day pack hybrid. This kit is always with me - be it at work, or when I go places, or on a short hike through a forest. Essentially, always. And I don't like the idea of having to think, "Ah, today I am going there to do that, so I have to take this and that..." It's safer to just have it all there, all the time.

My commute from the suburbs to work is 30-odd km each way. If some serious S hits the proverbial F when I'm Downtown, I may find myself walking all the way back, overnight. As remote as this possibility is, I prefer not to be caught with my pants down.

On the other hand, you'll find some pretty mundane stuff in my kit, which I use most often - and isn't that the true definition of the EDC?
That being said, this is not the only kit at my disposal. There's a car kit for when I travel on wheels, geared specifically for that (with extra water, food, blankets, 12V lighter to USB adapter, and car-related stuff). And, of course, there's a BOB, which supplements the EDC/GHB content with items like a water filter, a hatchet, a wire saw, etc.

3. Although technically this is not a part of the EDC *bag* per se, I think it's important to mention that I usually wear cargo pants with lots of pockets and a sturdy belt, and I rarely leave the home in anything other than hiking shoes (or hunting snow boots in winter). I consider those a very important part of the EDC concept.

Now, after the inadvertently lengthy intro, let's finally get to the bag and its content.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: EDC from Argentina

The EDC Bag contest is running through the entire month of June - if you want in on a chance to get a grab bag of prizes from the TEOTWAWKI bunker, plus some feedback from me and the tribe, check out the entry details.

This is my actual backpack I carry everywhere, and the content you could see is just the basic stuff, the main pocket/area is suitable for computer, books, notepads, iPad, the stuff I need according to the job in question.

I am a teacher, in solar industry, for installers, and also work as an installer for a private company. Most of my work is in the city, or near city area, so no survival material are needed, and when i go further inside the country, I carry all my tools on their bags, and suitable materials for the job.

Here in Argentina you can't carry a weapon, and we are not used to have weapons (fire weapons) on our houses, despite what you have heard on the news. Is really weird to know someone that has one. Said that, I own a small crossbow, modified by me, a good slingshot, machete, large knife, axe, and lots of tools for my job.

The Hoss gets in on EDC bag dumping

I'm pretty sure this is entirely coincidental, but fun to see THE Hoss run through his daily gear.

Also - love that he's got a patch panel mounted to the back of his laptop, with the pocket and hard drive added. Tricky!

EDC Bag Dump Contest: Bike Commuter

Being close to home and a bike commuter helps keep things simple. If it were winter time I'd have a slightly larger bag with room for a hat, gloves, and a chemical hand warmer or two. But, seeing how it's summer, I can keep things simple. If I need to bring a bunch of stuff with me I use panniers or strap it to the top of the front rack.

My bag's a small Tom Bihn Cafe Bag. It has a waist strap on it that holds it against your back while you ride. Nothing's worse than having a bag decide to slide around to your front while you're riding. Tom Bihn's stuff works really well for me.

EDC Bag Dump Contest: GWHYSOW's briefcase

A country bumpkin, who has found himself stuck in the city with a different set of needs. As a working professional - in which place I actually enjoy rocking a suit - I have had to make some alteration to fit the lifestyle. For me, it has been all about size and weight constraints, multi-use of tools, and access to other necessities. Even though this is my base, there are many alternations depending on something 'special', or the items that I am carrying on my person (to be listed). This refinement has taken a number of years, but I've found this set up to be the best as accomplishing the most, with the fewest tools. Everyone is different, and I've loved seeing all the great kit!

EMERSON SUPER CQC 7B: The knife will often be on me, but sometimes I'll sling it in the bag. Suits are terrible for weight-drape, so I clip it on the inside of my waistband (IWB), just beside my belt buckle. Even with its size, driving or meetings pay me no mind. Even if it did, this is my core.

4SEVEN PREON 2: As mentioned before, size and weight are huge contenders for me. The Preon II offers some of the best output for the pen-like size, and the availability of AAA is a plus. Long day, or end of the world, my need to battery access takes president over a few extra lumens. Just don't be fooled by that statement - she still puts out.

Every Day Carry Bag Dump Contest: M.C.'s Jacket of Holding

I had a laptop bag that I carried around for several years, and wore it out. I found I ended up leaving the ratty old bag at the office unless I needed to bring the laptop home. It's more of an extended GHB and repair items at this point.

I found that I DO carry my rain jacket everywhere I go. So, my defacto 'bag' is a bunch of pockets crammed full of stuff. The jacket augments my on-person EDC pocket carry. http://www.teotwawki-blog.com/2012/04/pocket-survival-kit-entry-11.html specifically, which has been tweaked over time of course.

For the winters in the past, I switch to my Columbia Ski Jacket. This winter I tried a 'packable' down jacket for a liner with the rain coat as the liner. Worked well for Chicago. Works well in the woods.

The coat needs to go into town & into the woods. I've done a couple of over-nighters in the woods with just the coat and a water bottle. I may end up in Chicago at short notice. I have 2 toddlers, so there is a bit of consideration for them.

Every Day Carry Bag Dump Contest: B.T.'s Backpack

So, I guess we’ll start with the backpack itself. I purchased it at the beginning of a deployment because the backpack I’d been issued was WAY too big to carry around the base (it wound up becoming my primary BOB when I returned home). This black SOC “Three-Day-Pass” bag was the perfect size, and i’ve carried it for almost three years now without failure.

The bag blends in well while i’m in uniform or while in civvies, and the reflective belt (usually mandatory while overseas, for reasons I’ve never fully understood) can be removed when necessary. It holds a TON of stuff, and it’s got lots of those small pouches that you can use to organize the little things in the 2nd/3rd pockets. Obviously the contents of the bag change with my circumstances. The current list of contents is below: