Every day carry, what's in your pocket?

Not necessarily a Survival thing but what's in your pocket every day. What do you carry in your car for "just in case"

EDC - Every Day Carry?

Nothing in my pocket ...

for the truck:

We have a bolt cutter.

One year, for Christmas I bought our daughter one of those multiuse tools which had a tool to cut the seat belt, flashlight, etc.

I used to carry a water bowl for the dog.  The dog we have now doesn't know how to ride in the truck and stay by herself so she doesn't get to go.

Sharp knife
Leatherman multitool
Bic mini lighter
Tiny AAA flashlight
Tiny but piercing whistle

Clothing and footwear is important. I typically dress in a manner that would protect me from the elements on a 5 mile walk. I suspect that would get me out of most tricky situations.

EDC? Just a lil' pocket knife.

If I am going into the woods for work I carry a camelback with an ammo pouch that holds stuff like a space blanket, a bic lighter, a couple granola bars, some motrin, a flashlight, TP and and an ace bandage. Just enough to hold out for a night with a broken leg until somebody comes and finds me.

Edited to add: Good call with the whistle, Douglas.

In my car: I usually have enough stuff that I could make a rough camp, or help others.

- spare warm clothing and blankets
- tools, flashlight, headlamp, candles
- shovel, hatchet, saw, sheath knife, diamond sharpener
- leather work gloves
- tarp and rope
- booster cables and tow rope
- cell phone charger
- old cell phone and charger (in wife's car, can call 911)
- closed cell pad to kneel/sit on
- something to boil and carry water in

This is mostly stuff I commonly use I'm off the yard, but would also be very handy if I was stranded.

In my pocket I carry :
A leatherman skeletool
A mini bic
A small pouch that has :
a 3x5 all weather note pad (sketch a lot, ideas sometimes spring up)
a koh-i-nor 5.5mm lead pencil
a small fountain pen
a streamlight nano
a ferro rod
a mask, now a days (no need to beat up an employee over rules they have to follow)
a cell phone

In my pocket .... maybe a cheap ($10) pocket knife.

In my car.....matches, knife, flares, flashlight, shovel, space blanket, blanket, gloves, hat, plastic tarp, rope, water.    I used to drive a great deal and had some very close calls in the middle of nowhere .

Here's a thread from last year on "what's in your pockets while you work on your property." There's a lot of crossover, so it may be of interest.

https://permies.com/t/145770/Gear-Check-Empty-Pockets

This is me in the yard. I don't travel light. It saves me a lot of walking.

besides many of the other things mentioned earlier, i almost always have a pair of earplugs in my back pocket. mostly because i seem to be prone to forgetting them when going to do loud work.

Whoo-boy, I have so much stuff crammed into my tiny purse/bag:

carving knife

tiny Bible

giant bandage (aka pad)

two 4-color pens (so I have red, green, blue, black, purple, lime, magenta, cyan ink always on hand)

notepad

two double-pointed knitting needles, size 7. To use for knitting and hair sticks.

house keys

tiny hand crank flashlight

emergency blanket

plastic baggie for bringing home plants or insects

pack of tissues

tiny pair of scissors

can-opener

guitar pick (for my husband's use)

cash and change

list of contact information in my wallet

dice

deck of cards

candle & matches

pack of charcoal

sewing kit with buttons

calculator

whistle

prayer oil--don't use as cooking oil in case of emergency. The pancakes will taste AWFUL

my grandfather's old bandanna

cloth masks for myself and both kids

tiny screwdriver set

utility knife

four bamboo sporks

Fresnel magnifying glass

mirror

2 inch folding saw

fingernail clippers

tiny measuring tape

tiny container of coconut oil

tiny bottle of Dr Bronners soap

lip balm

hand sanitizer

flint stone

benadryl and Advil pills. Benadryl is super handy for treating bee stings

first aid kit

four sets of earplugs

I used to have a tiny water filter, but it broke after years of hanging out in the bag. I should get another one

These all fit inside this bag:



Whenever we drive somewhere, I bring along a backpack. We call it our "Snack Bag." It goes with us when we  go hiking and also into the homeschool co-op. It has:

kids school supplies (colored pencils and markers, #2 pencil, left-handed and right-handed scissors, glue sticks, pencil sharpener)

baby wipes for easy clean-up

an old (clean!) cloth diaper to act as a towel. Because, "Don't panic and bring a towel"

extra shoes, socks, pants, underwear and shirts for both my kids

water bottle

bag of snacks (lara bars, fruit leather, meat sticks, etc). This comes in handy a LOT

emergency blankets

hand-warmers

Bible

map of the local area

compass/whistle/match-holder

natural deodorant

magnesium, calcium, potassium powders in case of leg-cramps

I'll feel better about things once I've put a water filter in that bag. My last incarnation of this bag had a handcrank weather radio, too. I need to figure out where that got misplaced to...

---

If I go for a walk around the property or down our private road, I bring pruning shears, gloves, and a water bottle. The blackberries are always trying to take over our road, and my kids are always thirsty on walks.

Some more related threads on this topic:

Do you have an emergency car bag/bob/ghb?

Kid's emergency bag? Kid's "everyday carry" bag?

Holy Shit Bag (Hos bag)

Nicole Alderman wrote:Whoo-boy, I have so much stuff crammed into my tiny purse/bag ...

That's awesome!

Is your water bottle stainless steel? A person could boil water in one if necessary.

I don't carry this in my pocket but do keep one in my daypack. I have a kindle dedicated to carrying reference books, it can charge my phone, tablet. I probably have enoigh storage on my phone to carry a considerable library but use the kindle. In the car I carry one of the small NoCo jump boxes.

Wallet with cash/cards and usually a few bandages
Swiss army knife, with the usual personal care and fix-it tool options
locking folding knife
house keys on a carabiner, truck key alone/loose
a belt (not in the pocket, but on me)
smart phone

occasionally/randomly: parts to things that need repair/replacing as a reminder or to match at the store...
a handkerchief
a flashlight
pruning shears
tape measure
screwdriver bits
utility knife

In the truck? what's NOT in the truck?! a back seat fit for passengers, that's what!
hammers, mallet, axe, hatchet, machete, saws, pliers, pry bars, come-along, slings, tow straps, camp shovel, ropes, straps, bungees, bolt cutters, pipe wrench, vise grips, booster cables, snow brush (it wasn't me!! I didn't take my snow brush out of the car! go blame the weatherman!!!) fire extinguisher, bottle jack, wd-40, oil, engine oil, load flag, flashlights, fuses, a magnet, small first-aid kit, maps, ketchup, water/stainless water bottles, spare clothes, windbreaker, hat, gloves, towels, tarp, some rotating selection of cordless power tools, hand tool kit: wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, files... a kit of fasteners... and a whole lot of other things...maybe?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Nicole Alderman wrote:Whoo-boy, I have so much stuff crammed into my tiny purse/bag ...

That's awesome!

Is your water bottle stainless steel? A person could boil water in one if necessary.

It is, but it's a "thermal" waterbottle, and so has a layer of air between two layers of steal. Would water still boil in it?

Wow . . . My life is so dull after reading through the previous posts. I carry:
- phone
- bike lock keys if required

Nicole Alderman wrote:

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Nicole Alderman wrote:Whoo-boy, I have so much stuff crammed into my tiny purse/bag ...

That's awesome!

Is your water bottle stainless steel? A person could boil water in one if necessary.

It is, but it's a "thermal" waterbottle, and so has a layer of air between two layers of steal. Would water still boil in it?

Probably not the thermal bottle. You might damage it, or possible yourself by trying to boil water in it. It would keep your boiled water hot...
A single-layer bottle would work fine. Or a metal/enameled mug.

Edward Norton wrote:Wow . . . My life is so dull after reading through the previous posts. I carry:
- phone
- bike lock keys if required

No, I'm just champing at the bit for mine to get exciting!!

I almost always have a pocket knife. Around the yard, my tool apron pockets have leather gloves, secateurs, and whatever other tools may need for the project at hand. My purse has some, but not nearly all, of what Nicole carries; I think I need to up my game there.

However, I’m also a type 1 diabetic, so I have my phone (has the software that runs my pancreas, plus emergency contact), and some form of sugar for minor hypoglycemic episodes. If I’m leaving the house/yard, I also carry emergency meds for a more serious hypoglycemic episode, insulin, a replacement insulin pump (self-contained and sticks to my skin), and a ketone meter and test strips.

Nicole Alderman wrote:

an old (clean!) cloth diaper to act as a towel. Because, "Don't panic and bring a towel"

You clearly are a Doobiefrood!
In my car I keep leather gloves, water, snacks, paper napkins, paper bags, and now pandemic at least 1 mask.
Before the pandemic I was the coordinator for the community garden at my son's school so had a short shovel and pruners in my trunk too.

Every day I have these items in my pockets: Keys, Pocket knife (I keep it very sharp), ultrasonic dog whistle (Luna, my APBT chief-of-security, is trained to respond to it in various ways), Bic lighter, cell phone, and a 9mm derringer pistol (Hey, my state has constitutional carry). Some days I have pruning shears in my back pocket.

EDC in my pockets are knife (swiss army tiny thing with scissors, file, tweezers--for nail repair mostly) a different locking blade knife, flashlight, bic, lip balm, car and house keys, hanky.  

Purse is moreso with a better flashlight, fork, spoon, cloth napkin, bigger knife, sewing kit, wallet, nausea meds, anti-histamine, ibuprofen, mints, band aids, phone, tiny spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol, spare glasses, spare contacts, contact case, keys to lots of weird places (camp, parent's house, safe, etc.,) floss, medlist, address book, passport, copy of birth certificate, stamps, mask (at least one, usually a few), menstrual pad (1 cloth, one disposable).

The car is perhaps a display of my pack rat nature...extreme med kit (can do small surgery kind of med kit), snow shovel, tarps, axe, tool box, small bug out bag, water, water filter, masks, gloves, snow hats, mittens, scarves, winter jacket, hoodie, socks, shoes, tire inflation device, reflectix sections (2 of them, approx 4x6 foot), space blankets, wool blanket, fleece blanket, snacks, chocolate, mints, lots of cloth tote bags.  I'm sure there are more things, I just can't unpack it all in my head this morning!  

keys, wallet, phone, pocketknife, pocket flashlight

38 special, pocket knife & Thayers lip balm. A girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. 😊

I have always thought of EDC as concentric circles with me in the center.  What is the lightest stuff you can carry every day and feel safe and prepared. Then, what can I add to my vehicle.
My EDC, on person, is a knife, a lighter, a pen (a zebra f-701), a couple pages from a rite in the rain note book, 100.00 cash (small bills) a multitool, a pistol and extra mag, ID with carry permit and my phone and an analog watch.  I then expand that to my vehicle with a GHB.  Get Home Bag.. and first aid kit. The GHB changes with the season but always has food and water, clothes, fire, ammo et.

Im embarrassed to admit how little useful items i carry vs # of lipsticks 🤦🏼‍♀️ (Tbf- they also double as lipbalm)

Working every day on the farm I have one of various models of pocketknives, as it is boring to carry the same one all the time!  They need to be auto-opening or one hand opening, as the other hand is generally holding back a mad calf or some such thing.  It is used for everything, but 90% of the time I use it to cut balers twine, which in itself is used all of the time.  A Leatherman multi-tool (Rebar) on my belt does almost everything else I need.  My trusty Felco #6 pruners are often on my belt  when orcharding/horticulture is on the schedule for the day.  My pickup is full of everything else, but I agree with an earlier post that a pair of bolt cutters are critical, as they do cutting jobs nothing else can do well.

In my purse/everyday items:
Wallet
Keys with tiny box cutter keychain
Cutlery
Tide pen
Measuring tape
Hot sauce packets
Dog poop bags
Lighter
Lip gloss
Perfume

As I write this, I’m realizing I need to repack my purse with more useful stuff. 🤣

It depends where I am going.   Everywhere is phone, wallet, car keys and recently added reading glasses.

To my full time job I clip on an utility knife with spare blades, good snug work gloves and knee pads but I carry in a large reusable bag filled with two stand sized totes.  One for any kind of medical emergency that won't require professional help and one with a wide variety of snacks that could fill my lunch needs for several days.  If I shop after getting off work I pull the smaller totes out.  It finally has me consistently remembering a reusable bag that isn't already half full.  

I have resisted so far the temptation to buy tactical hair clips.  Just knowing they exist amuses me greatly.

A good sharp pocket knife.

I give my sons a new pocket knife for Christmas every other year.

When I travel by air I feel naked without a pocket knife.  Always pack one in the suitcase or buy one where ever I end up at.

On myself: Swiss Army Knife, cash, drivers license, VA ID card, debt card.

Some people would say their phone, but I leave mine in the truck.

I carry a butane lighter in my pocket along with some lip balm. I always carry some cash on me, preferably $60-100 but usually a bit less. On my belt I always have my Leatherman Wave and a MagLite flashlight, both of which I use multiple times a day most days.

This is just to get me through the workday and the morning/evening chores. If there is a chance of getting stranded somewhere, I do try to supplement with essentially a get-home bag containing dry socks, something for shelter, a water straw, etc., including a bunch of winter gear from late fall through late spring.

Hello everyone and wow!
What a variety of responses and some things to learn in here once I have a chance to look into some of these things.

For me, it is:
- leatherman
- lighter
- pen

If I'm out hiking/foraging:
- food and water
- ropes
- First aid

Sometimes a tarp, but depends a lot and don't go out as much now family is young. Look forward to building their leg strength and going out more

It depends. Where do I go and on which of my two bicycles? For all cases I have a small waist bag with in it: 1 foldable nylon shopping bag, pen, phone, passport, several cards (memberships, discount in stores and my bank card), at least one of my reading glasses and some keys (front and back door, allotment garden gate, my son's front door.)
So there's no 'survival' with this bag ... But this is only when I do not go outside of town.

When I go a little further, on my 'large distance bicycle', I have a handle-bar-bag. In there is: a pocket knife, a tick remover, flat tyre repair kit, chain lube, some energy bars, a bottle of water and all I need for making small watercolour sketches.

I see in some answers it's also about going on a hike, day-trip or even overnighter. In such a case I carry a lot more!
Here's a photo to show my bicycle luggage on a trip (one night or several weeks, always need to take everything with me)

I rarely have pockets but in my purse I carry a multi-tool. It’s heavy but handy. In my car I have gardening shears cause I never know when there might be a cutting I need somewhere.

(1) For me, and keys aside, which never leave my pocket, except during use, I always have an LED, single triple A flashlight, and a quality pocket knife (good steel) in my pockets.

The flashlight takes up far less space than my keys and the batteries last a good while. It gets used almost as much as my keys.

(2) On my belt, I carry a Leatherman off and on. When on the farm, it has saved me diving across or around a hundred acre field more times than I could count.  In the forest or desert, its uses are endless, including as a backup knife.  For a road trip, it's just in the car, in case of whatever.

I carry my phone in a belt pouch, but only when I'm on the road. Unlike the days before I retired, I don't need it with me wherever I go.

(3) In the car and trucks, I have a metal gallon can with candles, space blankets and a couple quality ponchos, and some paracord.  I have a couple packing blankets and a few ratcheting straps (never know what loads will appear out of nowhere). I have a couple reflective window covers that could be worth their weight summer or winter.

The little bit of heat the candles provide could, for example, make THE difference on a closed mountain pass, when there is no opportunity to backtrack off it (once the tail pipe is covered in snow, it's time to kill the engine).

I try to carry a gallon of antifreeze water mix (the mix so it's won't freeze) for those radiator events, be they mine or someone else's.

Interesting lists.

I must say first of all, I hate clothing without pockets, but just the same, I find back pockets annoying & relatively useless.

My pockets stay empty as much a possible. I hate carrying things in my pocket unless I have to & if I have to, it's a driver's license and probably nothing or little else.

Anything else can be carried otherwise, and even then, I keep it minimal. I just don't like carrying things. I like freedom.

I went from a medium purse to smaller to wallet size to big diaper bag to backpack to a small carry to empty pockets again. After going through many babies over many years, I really have an aversion to carrying stuff.

My kids & husband on the other hand each have good quality multitools (however, not in a pocket), and possibly a few other things if they feel they need or want it.

I've had a few friends that picked eggs and put those in their pockets. Some rediscovered them later as a wet & sticky mess. Lol That's just not a great place to put eggs.

I am in awe about the things that some of you (like Nicole) carry around!
My stuff resembles more what Inge carries, but a bit more toned down even:

Wallet with ID and several other important cards and cash, cell phone, lip balm, ibuprofen, glucose tablet, water bottle, magnesium, pen, mint, dental floss (most of the times), mask, fold-up tote, train timetable, tissues and depending on weather an expandable umbrella.
Obviously car keys only if I go by car, otherwise - if I go by bike - maybe another tote for foraging and a small handspade if I spot an interesting plant, some non-toxic anti-moscito/tick spray, a sun hat, my slr camera.

No more survival tools necessary as in densely populated Germany you are always within sight (or shouting) distance with other humans!

When we go by car we probably take more water and snacks, napkins and hand sanitizer. And I rely on my husband to take the leatherman he got when he worked in the US.

Nicole Alderman wrote:Whoo-boy, I have so much stuff crammed into my tiny purse/bag:

carving knife

tiny Bible

giant bandage (aka pad)

two 4-color pens (so I have red, green, blue, black, purple, lime, magenta, cyan ink always on hand)

notepad

two double-pointed knitting needles, size 7. To use for knitting and hair sticks.

house keys

tiny hand crank flashlight

emergency blanket

plastic baggie for bringing home plants or insects

pack of tissues

tiny pair of scissors

can-opener

guitar pick (for my husband's use)

cash and change

list of contact information in my wallet

dice

deck of cards

candle & matches

pack of charcoal

sewing kit with buttons

calculator

whistle

prayer oil--don't use as cooking oil in case of emergency. The pancakes will taste AWFUL

my grandfather's old bandanna

cloth masks for myself and both kids

tiny screwdriver set

utility knife

four bamboo sporks

Fresnel magnifying glass

mirror

2 inch folding saw

fingernail clippers

tiny measuring tape

tiny container of coconut oil

tiny bottle of Dr Bronners soap

lip balm

hand sanitizer

flint stone

benadryl and Advil pills. Benadryl is super handy for treating bee stings

first aid kit

four sets of earplugs

I used to have a tiny water filter, but it broke after years of hanging out in the bag. I should get another one

These all fit inside this bag:

maxpedition versipack. I've had it for 12 years with constant use. It's in perfect shape

Wow!  I think, ladies and gentlemen, that we are in the presence of a master.  That is a seriously impressive EDC haul in such a compact and practical bag.