EDC Contest Entry #3 Mike in Wisconsin

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring the third entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal. Looking both at broad tools (pistol, folding knife, light, multi tool, etc all) and specifically digging into the this vs that of a Wambanger 29 vs a Doohickey A3.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #3

This is what I carry every day.  I live in Wisconsin so I can wear a jacket pretty much all year which helps with most of the carry hassles. Some of the smaller stuff gets transferred to my go bag when the weather gets warm.

Top row left to right:  Custom Springfield Armory EMP .40, extra EMP magazine, High Noon Holster Slide Guard holster.

The EMP is a great carry weapon for those of us that prefer the 1911.  The EMP put almost all my favorite features in a nice sized pistol for carry without being to small for my large hands.  The EMP is great right out of the box and I never had a problem with it but just for insurance I sent it back to Springfield for their defensive package, basically just an internal deburr and polish for reliability.  I always carry an extra magazine and most of the time that is simply in a pocket.  For summer carry I have a custom leather holster that I didn't show that holds my flashlight and 1 magazine.  I generally wear my EMP with the leather holster shown OWB at 4 o'clock.  High Noon Holsters make good products and I also use their belts which are nice enough to wear with dress pants and still give you a nice platform for carry.  I really like kydex for the smooth draw and re-holster but leather is just so much more comfortable for carry.  Especially with the extra leather on the slide guard to keep it from rubbing.  Since the Slide Guard holster is molded to the EMP I think it is the best of both worlds.  Also I'm not to worried about  putting the gun away if I have to pull it when I'm not on the range.

Middle row left to right:  Chapstick, matches, gum, data stick, lighter, SureFire E2D LED Defender, Kershaw Blur Black, front pocket wallet with cash and cards etc, Gerber Crucial Tool used as a keychain.

The first of these items are generic and kept in my jacket.  I wear a Columbia during the winter which has lots of pockets to hold all of this stuff.  In the other months I wear a light jacket with an inside chest pocket. In the summer I keep the chapstick, matches, gum and data stick in my go bag.  I keep scans and copies of important documents on the data stick.  Be sure to use a password on the folder you keep these on to keep everyday thieves from getting access to your documents.  Won't stop a hacker but if someone random steals it out of your pocket then no worries. I carry matches and a lighter just for redundancy.  I like the SureFire flashlight because it has two settings of 5 and 200 lumens.  That isn't the best for clearing rooms but for a regular carry flashlight it works great in a lot of environments.  It runs on 123A Lithium batteries but they last a long time and I keep a good supply in my go bag and nightstand.  Plus the body is mil-spec aluminum and the bezel on both sides is crowned making the flashlight a pretty effective hand to hand tool.  I carry the Kershaw Blur in the pocket of whatever pants I'm wearing and it is a standard pocket knife.  The open assist on this knife is really nice and makes it super quick to open.  When I pulled it out to help my mother-in-law open a box at Christmas my wife's aunt thought it was a switchblade.  I always carry my wallet in my front right pocket.  It has my ID, cards, carry permit and insurance cards as well as cash.  I try to keep at least $100 in the wallet at all times.  One of my favorite carry items is my Gerber Crucial Tool.  Not only is it nice to have the redundancy of another lockable blade but it has a couple screwdrivers, pliers, and a bottle opener carabiner which I use to hold my keys on several different rings.  That way it's easier to take the car key off for a trip to the mechanic and I can never forget to have at least a knife on me. 

Bottom row left to right:  Beanie, Gloves

A winter hat and gloves are item I always carry but they change pretty often.  I just keep a glove in each pocket and a  hat on top of whichever side my keys aren't in.  In warmer months I carry Mechanix gloves but I don't worry about what kind of glove I use very much as long as I have them. I think glove are important not just to protect from frostbite but they make everything a little more comfortable when doing rough work.  I even practice my handgun and shotgun skills with gloves from time to time. I also like gloves that I can use with my smartphone and I have found several brands that work well.  I used the phone to take the picture so it is not shown but I use a smartphone with a monthly plan so big brother knows exactly where I am.  I always keep my phone in my front left pants pocket.

The glasses are Magster Stealth Matte Black With Impactx Photochromic Clear Lenses from Rudy Project.  Rudy Project is an Italian company that mostly makes equipment for cycling.  These glasses are rated as protective glasses per ANSI/ISEA Z87.1, they are also wicked expensive but worth it.  I use them for quadruple duty: I have to wear protective glasses at work, they are the glasses I use at the range indoor and outdoor, and I use them as sunglasses when I'm outside.  The photochromic lenses don't darken very well in the car but they are perfectly clear indoors or in low light and they get dark enough to uses in the Nevada desert at noon, well as long as you don't look right at the sun, and they change without any work from me or having to carry extra lenses.  They also stay on your face without moving when you're running or jumping around which could be important.  I really love these glasses but I did wait for the half off Christmas sale to buy myself a backup pair.

The watch I wear is a Movado 'Sub Sea Series 800' Chronograph. It is a nice dive watch that my wife and I found on vacation.  It is waterproof to 200 meters, has a stopwatch function, and the face is what they call Sapphire crystal which just doesn't seem to scratch.  It was of course very pricey but it is the only watch I own and I wear it with everything from PT sweats to suits and it works.  The stainless steel has gotten scratched wearing it at work every day but it has been immersed in oil and grit as well as being banged against steel and carbide and it's still ticking with precision.

That's everything.

Keep safe.

Mike W.

 Everybody give this entry a round of applause. Check out EDC Contest entry #1 by Jacob and EDC Contest entry #2 by Max also. As always comments and input are welcome.