EDC

Everyday carry

Updated: 8 Sep 2025

I don't really have an Every Day Carry. I especially don't have one like the one in the image (thanks chatGPT "make me an EDC picture").

There's a couple of things that I've usually got with me, a watch, my phone, a penknife & a torch. But I've got a few torches, a couple of watches and which one I take depends on where I'm going & what I'm doing, so rather than the usual EDC this is mine. I've broken it into sections, it's easier for me to write it all down that way.

Phone

I've currently got a Google Pixel 9 pro XL. I've had a couple of other Pixels before it and even a Nexus way back when. Phones are just black plastic rectangles, so here's a picture of back of the phone.

I have a couple of cases for it depending on what I'm doing. For normal day-to-day use I keep it in a wallet style case, it keeps the screen covered, good for distraction avoidance and keeps the screen tidy without a screen protector. If I'm going somewhere that I need to have the satnav on I'll take it out of the wallet case and stick it in my Quadlock case.

My car is old and doesn't have Android Auto, the interior is stock and the headunit doesnt do anything fancy, it even struggles with bluetooth! The Quadlock case firmly attaches to a windscreen mounted holder. It holds the phone securely in the bottom right of the windscreen, it's out of the way, but visible when you need to check the map.

I don't use the card holders in the case to store cards, I keep cards in my wallet. Right now there's a Engligh to Polish cheat sheet, and a fuel reciept. Between the phone and back case are two plasters and an emergency £20.

Watch

On my wrist right now is a Fenix smart watch. I wear this most days, it does all kinds of whizzy stuff with my phone and has built in mapping & GPS! The original black strap broke, so I swapped it for this orange one. The battery lasts a week or so, depending on how much you use the GPS, it takes the best part of two hours to charge to full. The face is from the app.

If I'm going somewhere smart I've got a couple of dumb analogue watches, you've seen watches though, so here's something a bit interesting. It's a Chinesium watch from AliExpress.

The watch fits my wrist well, keeps good time (for an automatic watch), It's got a Seiko movement and has a face which I enjoy looking at. It glows in the dark like a champion and the glow lasts for ages (it's probably some horrible chemical that's slowly turning my arm into cheese, but it's worth it!). The strap is half decent too very smooth, no roughness or stiffness in the links. It was only about £40, delivered, from China! Bargain! I can't fault it. Since getting this one I've picked up another Berny and a Pagani one, also from AliExpress, also cheap and also half decent.

Wallet

I've got a slim wallet that holds everything wallet related I carry. The wallet is black leather on the outside and orange leather on the inside. The orange paint is starting to pick away round the edges, it's looking worn in. It's a single fold opener with three card slots. There's a couple of bank cards and my driving licence in the card slots. There's also a money clip for notes. In the slide opening on the outside there's a couple of plaseters and antiseptic wipes and a torch that clips into the fold.

As you can see I've had the wallet for a while and it's moulded itself to the contents well. I've tried a couple of smaller card holders and I've never really got on with them. This one is a decent balance of being able to keep wallet things together and size. Even in a jacket pocket a chonker wallet is annoying.

Pocketknife

It's rare that I don't have a pocketknife on me. They're so handy in so many situations, I'd be lost without one. I've got a few different knives some are pocket friendly others less so. I live in the UK and we have a set of laws about what you can and can't carry as a pocketknife.

In the UK it's an offence to have any bladed or sharply pointed article in a public place without “good reason,”. There's a narrow exception for a folding pocketknife with a cutting edge 76mm or less that does not lock. If it locks open, it counts as a bladed article and you're in trouble. Knives are not allowed in public government buildings, schools, hospitals, places like that. Other than that you're fine to carry one. People in the UK are often knife nervous so an awareness of where you are and descretion are always advised before you use one in public.

Lot's of knives lock, which lands you in trouble if you're out in public with it. This limits choice in the world of pocket friendly pocketknives. So when you find a UK legal one you like you're best to snap it up. I've usually got this SG folder, or a swiss amry in my pocket. Swiss armys have got other tools which is nice, this one is slim, light and looks cool.

My SG folder is fine, non locking and 66mm blade length. Most Victorinox swiss army knives are UK friendly. If it's a standard size you're probably golden (I'm not a lawyer!). Lots of my other knives lock when open, which in the eyes of the law immediately turns it from a pocketknife into a bladed article so they need a good reason to be out in public. You're best to leave them at home if you're in public.