Every Day Carry (EDC)

     More times than not I get asked what I carry on me from day to day that gets me by. Not just in a tactical sense. But in a practical way.
     I have two EDC's pretty much during the course of my week. When I am working my day job as a Law Enforcement Officer, and when I'm out and about in jeans and a shirt with the kids. Both fill about the same niche but just a little different.
     At work I have a duty belt and at least 14+ pockets I can carry things in. I could list my pens and all but lets just get to the nitty gritty of it.

Author's work EDC

1. Springfield Lightweight Operator 1911 with Surefire X300 in a Safariland 6280 holster. (200gr  Gold Dot) Two spare magazines on the belt. My first pistol shot was a WWII Army 1911 owned by Charles Pedrotti back in the early 90's. I have owned and carried several other types of pistols but, my heart belongs to the 100+ year old design of the 1911.

2. Asp 26" Stainless Baton

3. Two sets of Peerless hinged handcuffs. I keep several pair of 'Flexies' in the car as well.

4. Two main flashlights (seeing a pattern here?) One is a Streamlight HP and the other is an old school Surefire Z2 that I used in Afghanistan. On my person I actually have at least five sources of some kind of light. (Lighter counts)

5. TASER X26 (its at the office)

6. Wallet, lighter, keys (spare cuff key, Streamlight micro, and spare medication,) and Contact wet drops. Car exhaust while working school zone dries out my contacts horribly. As far as keys I actually carry two for my patrol car and four handcuff keys in different spots on my body. (Yes I am paranoid.) People go, "Tim you don't smoke." And they are correct. However there have been times a little fire goes a long way to making the day a little easier. I'm all the time burning loose threads on my uniform with it.

7. Zero Tolerance folding knife, Houdini Rescue tool, and a little everyday cutting knife. I keep the large folder "working sharp" don't use it for opening envelopes, boxes, or containers. That is what the little knife is for. The rescue tool is for wrecks with injuries that someone needs help getting out of.

8. Two multi-tools (One Gerber on the belt and a Swiss Walmart special I keep in my pocket.) There is barely a day that goes by that I don't use either of them for something at the office or in the car.

9. Work and personal cell phones.

     If you notice a theme here is that at work I have almost two of everything on me (some three and four). On a long 12 hour shift away from home odds are something will not go right and you can't go back to the house and go get your spare. A lot of these are job only related. But people can take a lesson in redundancy.

Author's "off duty" EDC

Off duty is a little bit on the lighter side of things. I don't wear a duty belt so I have to prioritize what I can carry on me in my pockets.

1. Redrup Custom Shop Glock 19 (124 gr +P Gold Dot) in a Haley Strategic INCOG holster. Spare magazine (not pictured) carried in an old school Fobus single carrier. 

2. Same Wallet, keys, multi tool, wet drops, lighter, and knives as I have in my pockets at work. Yet again I end up using even my lighter a bunch to either get rid of loose threads, burn the ends of rope or paracord, light a candle when the power is out, etc, and etc. Never know. You might be stranded on a rough patch of road on a cold night and need a fire. I don't know about you but I'm horrible at rubbing two sticks together for that purpose. I carry a camp fire starter in my Bug Out Bag.

3. Badge with identification in the event I have to take action while I'm off. Remember, friendly fire isn't.

4. Personal and work cell phones. How many times have you had your phone go dead or out of signal and the person right next to you has four bars? FML right? Well even a good prepaid phone along with one in your regular service area is a good thing to keep around. Even a battery powered emergency charger would be a good idea to keep around when a car or wall charger is not available.

     I'm sure folks can take away or add what I am showing. I have a few items in both setups that I will not reveal to the public for security reasons. I'm working on getting a Surefire Backup to add to off duty when the funds become available. Just not at the moment. Some people will ask why I don't carry cuffs on me? I just don't have a good place to put them. I keep flexi-cuffs in the door of my truck and you can tie someone up with almost anything sturdy enough.

     Your individual EDC will depend on what you do in your daily lives. I have an oath to defend the constitution of the United States and the State of Tennessee that I must keep 24-7. Whereas a civilian can drop a few items on this list. Now what I carry today may change in time depending on what is going on in my life. I can think of five or six variations I have done already. This list is also seasonal. Holsters change depending on my dress for the day. Hard for me to carry in an appendix holster when I'm wearing a suit for a funeral or formal function. And while I'm out at the gym I carry something a little smaller for a firearm and only what I can fit in my fanny pack.
  
     You can't plan and prepare for EVERY situation you run across. I guarantee there is not enough room in your Dockers or Levi jeans to get the job done. Don't ever get stagnant and only do one thing. You may regret it.

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     Tim Davis, Jr. is a full time law Enforcement Professional, martial arts, and a part time firearms instructor. He has firearms experience spanning over 15 years ranging from several schools in advanced tactical response to time spent in Afghanistan working with their law enforcement program. Tim is the co-owner of Appropriate Action in Englewood TN.