I've dropped the blizzard stuff, living in TX. If I live back in the NE again, I will have to tool up for that. Crap to get out of the snow and survive.
I've dropped the blizzard stuff, living in TX. If I live back in the NE again, I will have to tool up for that. Crap to get out of the snow and survive.
What I'm actually able to tolerate in real life on an extended basis:
- Mid size pistol, currently a PX4CC, if in normal clothing. This occasionally gets downsized to a Kahr P9 or J-frame for suit carry, NPEs, yard work, etc.
- Small folding knife (Gerber Air Ranger is thin, lightweight, and easily replaceable)
- Small flashlight (Pelican 1920 2xAAA is slim, inexpensive, and perfectly adequate for civilian EDC purposes, IMHO. I[m currently experimenting with a Surefire Stiletto, but the Pelican is easier to carry)
- OC spray is an ASP Defender on my key chain, based on a tip from Greg Ellifritz. This gives me the option of stuffing the Defender into my waistband and letting the keys hang on my belt line instead of in a pocket. Not the best spray, but by far the least bulky solution I'm aware of.
- A spare mag, usually in a Kytex or JM carrier, gets clipped on when I leave the house. Usually a SOFTT-W TQ (flat folded with gloves) goes in a pocket, but sometimes that gets left behind.
- Cell phone, wallet, watch, and pen.
I may go back to wearing a Clinch Pick full time once I get the new sheath from JM.
In cooler weather, I add a small med kit, flashlight, and better OC dispenser (Sabre Red) in my jacket pockets.
If I'm out with my kids and it's not jacket weather, I try to wear cargo pants/shorts to carry additional medical stuff on my person.
What hasn't been discussed as of yet is how one deals with a medical trauma when one isn't carrying all of the medical gear.
I've attended as a student and assisted in several trauma medicine classes taught by an Army SSTG and SOCOM medic with multiple tours in places that if he told us where he'd have to kill us.
His unit was gracious enough to let him use their medical training dummies and gear during our classes. Students who take the class also receive a med kit that he puts together with the essentials.
With all of that said, at one point during the class all of the students are removed from the room so they can't see what's going on and a "scene" is created.
They are then brought into the room one at a time empty handed and must assess and react using what is available. And what is available doesn't look anything like medical gear. An example would be the "dummy" would have a severe leg injury bleeding badly and all that was available was a stick if wood, a glass, an old tee shirt. The student had to "stop" the bleeding. Oh, and it had to be done within three minutes. We had plastic tarps on the floor so there was (fake)blood. Flowing. Even knowing it was fake didn't alleviate the induced stress.
Different scenes were set up on the same idea. In the end we learned to deal with the situation with what we had available.
We all wear some kind of shirt, belt, and carry some kind of knife and the injured party is probably wearing a shirt (clothing) and belt. With those items we can stop a lot bleed situations. Not all but most.
The important part is getting some training beyond basic first aid. Carrying a kit and not knowing how to use it is only marginally helpful.
I have "trauma" kit in my truck and carry IFAKs under the seats of my motorcycles and Dark Angel kit in my range bag.
I purchased extra items to practice with so I could use them on myself and others.
Daily carry is:
S&W MP9
Extra mag
Emerson CQC-14
Powertac E-5
Swiss Army officers pocket knife
The usual wallet, keys, handkerchief
Wilderness instructor belt.
Last edited by baddean; 04-29-2019 at 11:29 AM.
Dean,
“The duty of a patriot is to protect his country from its government.” - Thomas Paine
"The problem is not the availability of guns, it is the availability of morons."- Antonio Meloni
My for-real EDC is a lot of stuff. I keep it on my belt (or equivalent) or in my pockets. Where not prohibited by law or metal detectors, I carry:
On the belt (Mastermind Tactics 1.5”) -
Sig SP2022 9mm in a JM Custom Kydex Wing Claw 2.5 with soft loops worn AIWB. May wear it in a SmartCarry if the situation requires.
Spare 15 round magazine in a JM Custom Kydex AIWB mag carrier (though I don’t always carry the spare mag)
Right front pocket:
Car key
House key
Sabre Red pepper spray keychain unit
ResQMe car window breaker/seatbelt cutter
Leathernan micro multi-tool
Nite-I’ve keychain bottle opener thing
Eyeglass cloth
Sharpie marker
Left front pocket:
Flashlight: Coast HX5 with a lithium-ion AA-size battery - 300ish lumens
Slimline wallet
Swiss Army Knife
Left back pocket:
iPhone 6s in an Otterbox case (May swap places with wallet depending on the pants)
Right back pocket:
SWAT-T tourniquet/pressure bandage
Z-folded Quickclot Combat gauze
Exam gloves
This is what I carry. I need pants with four pockets and belt loops to do so, but I’ve carried it all with gym shorts and a Smartcarry also. I can carry this with shorts, jeans that aren’t crazy tight in the thighs, suits, or business casual.
I’d like to get a smaller gun for occasions where I’m using the SmartCarry or wearing a lightweight shirt. I’d also like to find a way to carry a proper tourniquet and chest seals, so I may get an ankle trauma kit.
I should also throw some superhero band aids in my wallet for when my kids scrape somethjng.
My edc stuff. Aiwb s&w M&P 2.0 compact in a mastermind tactic holster (wish he still made holsters) 1 reload in a snake eater tactical mag pouch. Right front pocket buck 110 pro lt and swat t if not wearing cargo pants/shorts. Back right pocket wallet and leatherman sidekick. Back left pocket streamlight microstream usb the coyote one cell phone. Left front pocket keys. Keep meaning to retry the phlster flex again just haven’t bought new pouches for it
Instagram: sometimesishootCs
@CLaw, wear a sock high enough to keep the ankle rig off your skin. Problem solved.
For me, if I'm wearing jeans without extra pockets (like the slit-pockets on thighs for phones), I put my cell phones in my back pockets and take them out when driving. I place my knife and light in my back pockets, pushed all the way to the side so that I'm not sitting on them. My LE credential wallet goes into my left front pocket, and my personal wallet into my front right pocket. The belt carries my belt badge, gun, Don't Shoot Me sash, and a reload or two depending on whether I'm on or off duty.
Ankle first aid kit on the right ankle.
If I'm on duty in a protective mission in street clothes/agent casual, I add my low-profile body armor and my radio sits in a pouch built into the armor system under my left armpit. Nothing else changes.
In cooler weather, when off-duty I like to wear a sports jacket with my shirt tucked in. The only change is that my cell phones go into the pockets of my jacket.....the same applies to wearing a suit, the exception my radio gets worn on my belt at that point, and if I'm in a suit then my tourniquet gets worn on my suspenders and an IFAK the thickness/length of an M4 mag is worn behind my gun on the belt.
Basically, I try to keep everything as consistent as possible. Some things have to change, but you shouldn't have much trouble given you're carrying exponentially less.
"Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll."- Last words of Todd Beamer
FWIW the cell phone pocket on the Wranglers was one of the main selling points for me.
"You win 100% of the fights you avoid. If you're not there when it happens, you don't lose." - William Aprill
"I've owned a guitar for 31 years and that sure hasn't made me a musician, let alone an expert. It's made me a guy who owns a guitar."- BBI