In this post, I’m going to dump my EDC Bag and show you what I carry in my pack every day. This is a “Gray Man” (or woman) approach to an EDC pack.
Update: I have a newer post and video – My EDC Bag – A Look Inside – 2020
What Is An EDC Bag?
An EDC Bag is an everyday carry bag or pack. It’s the gear I carry everywhere I go that won’t fit on my person. For example, my EDC handgun is a Glock 26 right now. You won’t see that Glock in my EDC Bag because I’m carrying that concealed on me in my holster.
Everyday carry is things I want access to, no matter where I go. To feel as prepared as I can, that requires more room than just my pockets. Some of the everyday carry is survival gear. A lot of it is just things that help me get through a typical day in Brian’s world.
EDC Bag -vs- Get-Home Bag
My EDC bag goes with me everywhere – every day. Some of the “survival gear” is there to get me home in an emergency. In that sense, my EDC Bag could be considered a get home bag. With on major exception – distance.
This pack is a local “Get-Home” bag, up to about 20 miles away from home. I generally don’t travel more than 12 miles away from home. Anything further than 20 miles away and I take a larger 72-hour pack, which is my official get-home bag. That pack is much more extensive an focuses more on survival and less on everyday life and comfort.
The Pack I Use For My EDC Bag
Our daily requirements change often so our EDC has to be updated every now and then. For example, last year I wrote a post and recorded a video on my EDC Bag back then. That bag was a small range bag.
Then I went on a Maxpedition gear craze and upgraded my EDC Bag to a Maxpedition Mongo Versipack.
I don’t even want to think about the money I put into this bag. Every kind of pouch and accessory you can imagine.
I almost put it in last week’s post, Survival Gear I Didn’t Need And Shouldn’t Have Bought but I did, and still do, use the bag. It was just more than I needed to spend. Today the Maxpedition Mongo sling pack in my range bag.
I loved the Maxpedition set-up I had but I needed to retire it, as an EDC bag, anyway. More on that in a second.
Today I’m using an eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack. Everything you see in the featured photo fits in this bag but it is stuffed full. I’ll probably upgrade it next year for a larger pack but I do love this bag.
EDC Packs – Tactical -vs- Gray Man
I love tactical. Seriously, tactical gear is beautiful. It’s durable if you buy professional gear.
But I was asked, over and over and over, “How many guns do you have in that bag” or “What are you, militia“? It was starting to get ridiculous.
And truthfully, the Maxpedition set-up was less room than the old range bag and I knew it would be tough hiking it home in a SHTF situation with a sling bag.
I felt a traditional backpack would be easier to carry a long distance, even though I generally carry my new eBags pack like it was a sling bag, using just one strap thrown over my shoulder.
So with a blue eBags pack, I get more room, a more comfortable carry, and it is “gray-man” so no one gives it a second look. We live in a very judgmental world.
Related Post: Looking Too Tactical – Is It Really That Dangerous?
What Gear Do We Need In An EDC Bag?
We all have different things we need day to day and, like I mentioned, that changes often.
Gear will be determined by your situation, circumstance, and objective. For example, I live in a semi-rural area outside a small town in south-east Michigan. I work about 12 miles from home and I drive a truck locally. The objective for my EDC bag is to get through my day without the lack of essentials I may need as well as have the survival gear to make it home should the SHTF. On foot, if necessary.
I’m on the road all day long, in environments ranging from gravel roads to mid-sized city streets.
I have an increased risk of encountering severe auto accidents so I carry a trauma first aid kit.
I live in a location where winters can become severe so I carry cold weather gear and clothing.
I should be able to make it home in under 10 hours on foot but that is subject to weather, ground conditions, and the local situation. I have to take into consideration that I could end up spending a few hours hunkering down somewhere in route. For this reason, I carry minimal shelter and survival gear.
But That’s Me, What EDC Do You Need?
Perhaps you live in the city. Or work from home and rarely leave the house. Maybe you travel the country or world on business. You might have special medical needs. Someone living high in the mountains will require different gear than someone living in the desert or the plains. Some areas are very restrictive on which types of weapons are permitted.
As you can see, it’s all subjective. Think about your environment, what needs you have, how far you might need to travel and under what conditions. Then supply yourself with the appropriate gear and the knowledge to use it. Then you might include things you generally use day to day, for your job as an example.
Determine how long you might be gone in the worst situation and base your EDC from that. Include any medications, shelter, food, water, protection, and other survival gear that is relevant to your particular needs.
What’s Inside My EDC Bag?
For your enjoyment and because I care, I put on my sexy suit and recorded a video of my EDC bag and gear dump for you. 🙂
I wasn’t sure if I was going to take the time to list the items in the bag here but I was already getting requests for it a week before this post went live – thanks to social media. So here we go.
Again, the bag is an eBags Professional Slim Laptop Backpack.
In the order of the video we have:
Outside of the pack:
☑ Klean Kanteen Wide Mouth Single Wall Stainless Steel Water Bottle
☑ Hand sanitizer wrapped in paracord
☑ Coghlan’sfour-function whistle
☑ Resqme Keychain Car Escape Tool
☑ ResQue1st Keychain CPR mask
☑ Maxcraft 6-Feet Mini Clip-On Tape Measure
☑ Nite Ize S-Biner
☑ Luggage travel lock
☑ Inside hard-shell compartment:
☑ Bushnell BackTrack GPS and digital compass
☑ Army ranger beads (pace counter)
☑ An inexpensive Energizer headlamp w/ spare batteries
☑ Jemma 20,000 mAh power bank charger with 2 USB Ports (1 w/fast charge)
☑ Android charging cable and home/auto adaptors
Inside front admin compartment:
☑ Cheap Snap-on multi-tool
☑ The best EDC batteries – Energizer Ultimate lithium AA batteries
☑ JINHEZO AA / AAA 4 cell battery storage case
☑ Rockets reusable corded earplugs w/ plastic case
☑ Vaseline Lip Therapy, Lip Balm Tin Original 0.6 oz
☑ Ibrophin, gum, toothpicks, Bear Grylls survival pocket guide, hair tie, a tiny screwdriver, spare auto fuse
☑ Pain and/or prescription meds
☑ Princeton Tec Pilot LED accessory light (10 Lumens, Red)
☑ Nite Ize clip-on marker light with wave pattern (Red, 10 -Inch)
☑ 3M N95 dust mask
☑ 3-Ply disposable medical earloop face masks
☑ Light My Fire titanium fork and spoon
☑ Hand sanitizer, Dude Wipes, Wet Ones,
☑ Aquatab Water Purification Tablets – By Tac-Bar Tactical Food Rations (See my Camping Overnight With Tac-Bar video)
☑ Loose rope and Pro-Knot outdoor knot tying cards (Here’s the Knot Tying Android App I mentioned in the video)
☑ Kleenex facial tissue
☑ Fisher space pen
☑ 2nd Fisher Space Pen
☑ BIC Stic Xtra Life Ball Pen
☑ Toilet paper, Mylar survival bivvy, wet wipes
☑ Disposable sanitary gloves (Nitrile exam gloves would be better)
Inside first main compartment:
☑ Complete first aid kit (Fell out of the bag and I didn’t show it in the video)
☑ Food pouch – American Natural Superfood, Atkins meal bars, Paleo protein bar, Muscle Milk protein bar
☑ CLC multi-purpose zippered pouch
☑ Bluesim Power Bank Slim 10,000 mAh external battery bank w/ Dual USB Charger (1 w/fast charge) (Purchased April 14, 2016, and still works like a champ)
☑ Kindle Fire HDX 7″, HDX Display, Wi-Fi, 64 GB (Here’s the newer version)
☑ JPC Tactical Flashlight 1,000 Lumens
☑ TRS Fang Fixed-Blade Sportsman Knife
☑ Nebo 6493 Big Larry Patriotic 400 lumen Flashlight
Inside second main compartment:
☑ Swat Tourniquet – (Black) Recon Medical Gen 3 Mil-Spec
☑ Spare gloves, Kirkland merino wool socks,
☑ Balaclava (Not baklava LOL),
☑ Tactical shemagh
☑ OUTAD waterproof backpack rain cover
☑ Local map, Hand warmers, Husky 42-gallon contractor trash bags
☑ Top middle zipper compartment (Shallow quick access pocket):
☑ Maxpedition Spartan wallet (I poked a hole in the wallet to accommodate the EDC paracord keychain)
☑ EDC key pouch
☑ Spare eyeglasses
☑ CUBE tracker (There are better trackers – don’t buy this one)
☑ Nite Ize SpotLit LED
☑ Spare Glock 26 mag (Loaded with hollow-point 9mm)
☑ USB device encrypted w/ personal documents
☑ Small hanks of paracord and light cordage
☑ One oz. silver rounds
Inside the emergency kit (Survival Pack)
☑ Cable organizer electronics accessories travel bag
☑ Cyalume green glow sticks (Chem lights)
☑ Acquapura portable water filter
☑ UltraFire LED high beam tactical flashlight
☑ TITAN MIL-SPEC 550 paracord
☑ MTech spring assist folding knife w/seatbelt cutter and glass breaker
☑ Light My Fire Swedish FireSteel
☑ Magnesium bar fire starter (With P-38 can opener attached)
☑ Bic lighter
☑ Pac-Kit iodine swabs
☑ Dynarex Ammonia Inhalants
☑ Aquatab Water Purification Tablets
☑ Energizer Ultimate lithium AA batteries
☑ Spare meds
☑ Tarred bank line
☑ Titan stormproof matches
☑ Unscented tealight candle
☑ Bandana
☑ Small Mylar emergency blanket
☑ Black Gorilla tape
☑ UST Deluxe Map Compass
☑ Spot mirror
Instagram post.
Well, That’s All Folks
I’m tired. I’m going to get some milk and cookies.
This article first appeared on Next Step Survival.
Stay focused with a clear plan and objective.
Brian Hawkins, out.
My typical daily travel distance puts me about 75 miles from home in the Southwest desert. I wouldn’t (and don’t) carry fully half of the items that you’ve listed for a 12 mile hike. Why on earth do you need a 6′ tape measure, travel locks or Ranger beads to name only a few?
You have made the point in a previous article that you’ve wasted a lot of money on items that you don’t need. My suggestion is that you go through your “EDC” bag and cull out some more useless stuff. Seriously.
Thanks for reading Ben, like I said in the video, some people will think it’s too much and some too little. I’ve spent the last couple of years perfecting my EDC and I’m pretty happy with it right now.
You might have missed where I said I use the measuring tape for work.
I keep the lock on the zipper where my wallet goes. It won’t keep someone from taking the entire bag but it might keep someone from reaching in and grabbing my wallet. There are those rare times when I’m running late for work and set it on the picnic table while I get my assignments.
The ranger beads weigh almost nothing and I made them myself as a project. I don’t need them to get home but it is something I practice with when hiking. Just like the knot tying, it’s just something to do.
As far as my post on buying the wrong gear, I didn’t post that to insinuate I was broke because of it. We’re doing fairly well here. I shared that information to help others in case they were facing a similar situation.
Sharing something like our EDC is just that, sharing. What works for you doesn’t mean it will work for me. We’re all different with our own wants and needs. That pack is absolutely no bother to carry. It goes from my house the cab of my pickup. From there to the truck I drive for work. So I’m good with it for now until I find something else to add to it. 😉
Tone it hard to convey in print so I don’t want to come across sounding arrogant or dismissive. I do appreciate you reading and taking the time to leave a comment. Even criticism is welcome and please feel free add your input anytime.