Deliberate or not, everyone has a routine they have before they leave the house. One aspect of this routine is grabbing all of the gear and accessories they will carry with them for the day.
Lately I’ve been enthralled by a niche in the internet called Everyday Carry. These blogs and videos are created by a wide range of contributors, ranging from students, military personnel, white-collar workers, to manual laborers. If you’re a Lifehacker reader, this should sound familiar, as the “What’s in your bag?” series is essentially this.
Browsing these photos, you’ll detect strong undertones of load-out porn. If you enjoy the sequences in action movies where the Army Rangers/Navy Seals/Keanu Reeves gear-up before going out to kick ass — you’re probably a latent fan of Everyday Carry.
I thought I’d share what I have on me on a regular basis.
My wife (then girlfriend) got me this puzzle-heart necklace back in 2007 during her trip to Taiwan. She has a matching one that is the other half of the heart inside of a complementing puzzle piece.
It’s made out of plastic and is coated with some sort of metallic paint; definitely a cheap item, but probably one of the few things I own that I have sentimental value for. I think I’ve worn it almost every day for the last eight years.
Other than my wedding ring, it’s the only piece of jewelry I own.
I bought my wedding ring off of Amazon a few months before I got married in 2012. My only purchase criteria was that it be cheap and look manly. I wasn’t sure what my ring size was, so the first one I ordered was a little bit big. I didn’t return it because I expect to get fatter when I get older.
It’s made out of tungsten carbide, which means it’s very heavy and feels solid. When I first started wearing it, I had a little trouble typing (I’m a software engineer who types on the keyboard all day). Now, when I type without my ring, my ring-finger types noticeably harder and faster than my other fingers.
I got myself this watch as a getting-a-job gift when I graduated in 2009 (it was during the recession, so getting a job was a big deal at the time). It came with the worst strap ever made. I replaced the strap a few years ago with this velcro sport strap. It’s extremely comfortable, but really ugly.
People say that watches are obsolete with the advent of the smartphone, but I think it’s making a comeback.
My ex-boss got everyone on the team this engraved knife a few years back. It’s the perfect size for a carry knife — very slim and light, but the blade is long enough to be useful for stuff beyond opening packages.
You’d be surprised how often you find use for a knife. The human body has natural tools to perform many tasks, but cutting is not one of them.
You’re supposed to clip knives to the inside of your pocket, but I like having at least one pocket empty, so I clip this to my belt instead.
I hate carrying keys in my pocket. I don’t wear tight pants, but this clump of metal forms an unruly, uncomfortable bulge on my thigh. My keys are always either clipped to one of my belt loops, or to my backpack.
I’ve organized my house keys in something called a KeySmart, which essentially makes my keys open up like a swiss army knife. Organizing them this way makes them make less noise when I walk around with the carabiner dangling on my belt loop. I have the house keys on its own ring so that I can easily take them off my carabiner for when I go jogging.
I also carry a mini-flashlight with me. I tell myself that it’ll be useful when there is a blackout and I need some basic light to get me to my car or to a bigger flashlight. So far, it’s mainly been used to check to see if my cat is hiding under my car in the garage.
My carabiner also comes built-in with a crappy blade that I use to break down cardboard boxes when I take out the recycling.
My wife got me this Sriracha mighty wallet a few months back. It doesn’t have many pockets, but I like it that way. I only carry a credit card, a debit card, my work badge, my driver’s license, and usually no cash. I love having a slim wallet that I barely notice in my pocket.
The Sriracha design is certainly a conversation piece. Whenever I take it out, it usually opens up acquaintances and strangers to start small talk. Granted, I don’t like small talk — or talking to people in general, but it seems like something that should be chalked up as a positive.
My phone is an iPhone 5c that I got for free from Verizon. Despite working in technology, I really don’t care about what kind of phone I have, as long as it’s got Google Maps lets me play my podcasts.
If you’ve gotten this far, then it means you’ve read close to a thousand words about the minutiae of the things I carry. I’m afraid to break it to you, but you may yourself be an Everyday Carry enthusiast. Thanks for reading.
