Every Day Carry Recommendations

EDC

In the prepper universe, much ink has been spilled and countless hours of you tube videos posted on EDC items. Some people carry more than a dozen things on them. People get WAY into multi-tools for example - however in general the more tools they have the bigger and more expensive they get. To a large extent what you carry depends on what your needs are going to be but in general I try to keep it simple:

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Small pocket knife
Mini-multi tool
Mini flashlight
Mini- bic lighter

Here's an excellent, reliable mini- pocket knife with a locking blade for $10. See my blog post on knives for other EDC options.
This key chain size multi tool , the Gerber Shard, is nice and small, cheap, and handy - the bottle opener and three screw drivers ( 2 flat head 1 phillips) all work well (pry bar not so much) - $8.
This is a bright, reliable, small, and cheap flashlight with three brightness settings up to 150 lumens (see blog entry on flashlights) and uses a single AAA battery. About $15
A mini bic lighter takes no space and weighs nothing and is a (mostly) reliable way to start fire. $1.50

You can link all these together (except the lighter) on one key ring and takes up minimal space in your pocket. That's it - that's what I carry - even if you live in an urban environment you'll find these four things come in handy on a daily basis. AND you can pass through (most) airport security no problem with these items. If I had to add one item it would be a slightly larger or larger pocket knife (when I’m not in NYC of course ;-) or I would swap out the gerber shard with this excellent mini-multi-tool that’s less than $20.