The 5 W’s of Every Day Carry #5 - What
Finally, after the “Why”, “Who”, “When”, and “Where” of Every Day Carry, we have arrived at the place most people start: WHAT should you carry as part of your EDC?
The “What” of EDC is just as important as the other four W’s of EDC. However, the “What” is meaningless without proper considerations of the “Why”, “Who”, “When”, and “Where”. There are many, many, MANY products that are marketed to people who enjoy the IDEA of having EDC tools, but who have not considered the important concepts and reasoning behind the tools they carry. Think about all of the “50-in-1 keychain/credit card multi-tool” style products that you see pop up in the “stocking stuffer” aisle at the store when the Christmas season comes around. They are marketed to people who enjoy the IDEA of being ready to face unexpected challenges, but who lack the groundwork of information and knowledge to be truly prepared. The idea that carrying a single credit card sized bit of steel with saw serrations and a bottle opener is going to be an effective and appropriate tool for everyone, everywhere is the height of absurdity.
As with each of the preceding W’s of EDC, the “What” of EDC is completely dependent on your personal context and the challenges you are likely to face. As with the “Where” of EDC there are a few general questions that we can ask ourselves to help us determine if a tool is worthy of being included in our EDC.
The three primary questions of WHAT to carry as part of your EDC are:
What is the LIKELIHOOD that you will need the capabilities that THAT tool provides?
Likelihood of use falls on a spectrum ranging from “I may never use this” to “I use this tool every day”
What are the CONSEQUENCES you face if you do not have the capabilities THAT tool provides when you need it?
Consequences fall on a spectrum ranging from “Inconvenience” to “Life Threatening”
What is the DIFFICULTY of carrying THAT tool with you as part of your EDC?
Difficulty of carrying a tool falls on a spectrum ranging from “Extremely heavy/bulky/difficult to carry” to “Very small/convenient to carry”
These are followed by two secondary questions:
What is the VERSATILITY of THAT tool?
Versatility of a tool falls on a spectrum ranging from “Extremely specialized, only one use case” to “Large range of uses”
What is the URGENCY of THAT tool when you need to use it?
Urgency of use falls on a spectrum ranging from “No time constraint” to “Immediate use required”
Each of these five categories gives us information into the effort it takes to carry a given tool as part of our EDC as well as the value it provides.
It is important to keep in mind that every tool MUST be accompanied by the skill and training required to effectively use it. Your 50-in-1 credit card super-duper multi-tool is only as valuable as the person using it (which is, as discussed in the “Second W of EDC”, you!)
So, for a given challenge in your context, identify a tool that would help you overcome that challenge. Then, ask yourself each of the five questions in relation to that tool. From this, you will have answers for each question that are somewhere between the extremes of the spectrum of answers for each question.
If a tool is one you would use every day, is used to mitigate life threatening consequences, is very convenient to carry, has a multitude of uses, and is needed immediately when the situation arises, it would be HIGH VALUE tool, and an obvious choice for a part of your EDC. On the other hand, if a tool is almost never used, is only used to address an inconvenience you face, is very difficult to carry, has a single specialized use, and has no time constraint on when you can use it, it is a LOW VALUE TOOL, and you can leave it at home in your garage.
Now, realistically, most tools will have some categories that make it a good choice for an EDC tool and some categories that make it a poor choice. These questions are only a starting point for you to begin considering potential EDC tools. At the end of the day, only YOU know your context and only YOU can decide what you should or should not carry as part of your EDC.
So, how do you determine WHAT to carry as part of your EDC?
The be all, end all answer that holds true for every context is: It depends.
Look at the CONSTRAINTS of your personal context, the CHALLENGES you may face, and the VALUE of the tool. The value of an EDC is much more than just the number of times you will use it in a given day.
The value of an EDC is the security and confidence that comes from knowing you possess the tools and skills to have the capability to overcome the challenges and their consequences, whether mild or severe, that you may face in your daily life.
Get up, gear up, get after it™
~ Eric