Urban EDC Kit
The kit with the mask removed to reveal the goods. An empty box sits to the side so you can see it closed.
For the holidays, I put together a very small urban-based survival kit with EDC (Every Day Carry) in mind. Intended for a nerd or tech person, it can easily be thrown into a bag, purse, or even a pocket. I waited until now before putting this blog post out because when I put it together it was a going to be a Christmas gift and I wanted to maintain the surprise. I use the term “survival” somewhat loosely here, as it is definitely for those first world survival problems like a paper cut, a headache, or an urgent toothpick need. A decent chunk of the kit is based off of a video I watched on YouTube, but as I received rave reviews from the gift recipients, it’s clear it could be useful to others. I thought I’d share the list of components and my impressions.
You can put together your own version, adapt it to your needs, and who knows? It could be a birthday gift you’re needing for that special urbanite gadget nerd/hacker in your life. Or simply a gift for yourself.
The Kit
If packed properly, you can fit one or two more items in this tin, but this is the current load. Below is a list of the contents, all 162 grams (5.7 oz) of it. The breakdown:
The gear. Yes it all fit in the tin.
1 - Food-Grade Tin w/Topo Etching - Yes you can use an Altoids tin if you like, but now you know this exists, why would you? The same size, but ever so classy.
2 - Leatherman Micra - This was the one from the video I referenced above that really caught my eye and inspired the kit as a gift idea.
3 - Titanium Toothpick - I’ve seen other kits with a stack of regular wooden toothpicks, but this is both easy to clean, and you only need one. There are other uses as well.
4 - KeySmart Nano Pen - This is a great pen, the cap is magnetic for when you cap the pen, but it does not work on the end. This is probably because KeySmart figured you would have the cap attached to one of their KeySmart holders for keys (and it works great for that). Still, an awesome pen.
5 - Alcohol swab - I had a ton of these, made sense to include one.
6 - Lever Gear USB Cable Kit - This is something I’ve had in my laptop bag for ages, it really comes in handy. great for those times when you need an adapter to connect something up via USB. It also includes a SIM eject tool as well.
7 - SanDisk Extreme 64gb microSDXC w/adapter - It’s nice to have a way to store and pull data on and off a phone, and be able to transfer it to your computer. If your phone and laptop supports plugging in these devices, I highly recommend them.
8 - Imodium AD - If you’re away from the house and you’re having a shitty day….
9 - MagicFiber Microfiber Cleaning Cloth - I typically have more than one of these with me, but it seems you can always use an emergency one.
10 - Kingston 128GB Duo USB Flash Drive - Between this and the microSD, any connectivity issues involving data transfer should be covered. This handy little USB drive has plenty of space, but it also has a USB C and a USB A connector. The holiday gift version of this kit didn’t have this and had a (surprisingly bright) Streamlight 73001 Nano Flashlight instead, but since I already carry a flashlight I opted for the extra pluggable data storage device.
11 -Disposable mask - There’s a pandemic going on. If you’re out and about and all of the sudden you need to enter an establishment that requires masks, this can come in handy. I typically have a better mask, usually a N100 or P100, which filter out even more than the traditional N95 masks, but again just in case you are out and about and need one.
12 - (4) Motrin IB 200mg - I’m no doctor, but I noticed that when the doctor prescribes Ibuprofen in strong amounts due to a lot of pain, the amount is 800mg. I am not saying you should make a habit out of taking them at that level, but just in case I included 4 of these instead of just 1 or 2.
13 - (3) Curad bandage - Having a few bandages handy is always a good idea for those little cuts and scrapes.
Packing It In
Something I noticed that the gift recipients did was immediately tear into the kit, looking at everything, and then had a bit of trouble repacking. My packing method involves putting them into the tin in this order - MagicFiber cloth, bandages, pills, alcohol swab, Leatherman, toothpick, USB drive, pen, Lever Gear, microSD, and mask on top. Works for me!
Final Thoughts
Many of these items can work together - using the Level Gear cable adapter with the USB drive or the Lever Gear’s SIM eject tool with the SIM. And like I said you could remove things from the list you don’t want or need, and double up on other items or add new ones. For me this is something I have added to my usual EDC. Don’t forget - this can make an excellent gift as well!
