Changing what EDC means
For funnieses here is one of my weekend “pure fun” carries (I’ll explain what this means below):
The tool is a Victorinox Compact with Prometheus Design Werx scales, a 47 Mini Turbo Mk. III in Ti, and a Pilot Vanishing Point in matte black. My license is in my phone case.
When we say or write “EDC” we generally mean a set of objects we carry in addition to what everyone carries. A wallet, and keys, are usually assumed but not the focus of a person’s EDC. There is only so much you can do with a bundle of jangling bits of brass, a few cards of plastic, and something to hold them. And while we spend time, money, and thought on improving how those things are carried, ultimately, we recognize them as the necessary evils they are.
But times are changing.
I recently purchased a new car and it uses my phone as the key. This is paired with my phone and by garage door opener, thus acting as my house key. I can also buy things with my phone. This leaves me with very few of the “necessary evil” items in my EDC. If I really wanted to I could go down to just this:
The aforementioned phone;
A wallet with my driver’s license, bar ID, and federal bar ID; and
A Keysmart key organizer with my office key and the key to the bathroom at work.
I don’t carry this small a set of things, I still have some credit cards. But this is a really slim carry. On the weekend, as you can see above, it is even less. It also helps me think about what EDC will look like in the future. The days of keys and wallets are numbered. As I wrote once before—your phone is going to eat your keys and wallet. Once the government gets around to issuing digital IDs, its going to be hard to justify carrying any of the classic necessary evils.
So what will your EDC look like then? A phone, a pen, a tool, and a light. If you are a watch guy, toss in a watch. That’s not much. But you can get a lot done with just that if you are careful and know how to use your kit. More importantly, its just the fun stuff. Free from the requirements of keys and cards, the stuff we can’t do a whole lot about, my EDC has become more flexible, less a jangly mess, and frankly, more fun. We are edging towards pure fun EDC, like the one above.
This change allows you to focus on the stuff that we want to carry. While I haven’t gone crazy, I have carried my PM2 Ultra more. When you are unburdened by the weight and poking mess that are keys, there is room for other stuff in your pocket. The final piece to fall was, of course, my car’s key fob. This thing annoyed me more than it is worth discussing. They are these comparatively huge thick monstrosities in your pocket. It might sound like mania, but it is true—the last four cars I have had were decided in no small part by the design of the key fob. If the car had both a thick key AND a key fob it was off the list.
The switch occurred at the same time that I decided I wanted a car that did not require gas. After three months I can say without hesitation, it was the right change. I was spending around $75 a week in gas, now I am spending around $6-10 a week in electricity, largely because while I have done a lot of driving, I have yet to use a Supercharger. It takes a shift in thinking, but when you realize that your fueling station is at the only place you have to go everyday, the convenience of getting rid of gas is kind of amazing.
And so, let the era of purely fun EDC has begun.
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