When browsing the site, you’ve probably noticed a fair amount of EDC pouches. For many readers, a pouch organizer is just as essential as the gear kept inside it thanks to its convenience as a grab-and-go kit. And while many of the pouches you see are designed for general EDC, you can also customize these handy pouches for a wide range of tasks beyond just your daily essentials. To give you some ideas on what to pack in your favorite gear pouch, we’ve put together five examples of specialized kits for everyday situations.
General EDC
Organizing your everyday gear into a pouch turns pockets full of loose items into an easy-to-grab kit. These five essentials are everything you need to get through any normal day. It’ll also make a great backup kit for your car or bag. For a general EDC pouch, we like something small like the Maxpedition Micro EDC pouch.
- Knife: A small knife like CRKT’s Pilar is great to keep in a pouch due to its small size, versatile blade, and sturdy construction.
- Multi-tool: In addition to a knife, a well-rounded multitool can accomplish a wide variety of tasks. Consider something small and versatile like a Victorinox Pioneer Alox or a Leatherman Juice CS4.
- Flashlight: 4Sevens’ Preon P1 is an updated version of their classic AAA light. It’s small and lightweight, yet it’s still powerful enough for daily tasks while using a common battery.
- Pen: Fisher’s Clutch pen uses their popular write-anywhere refill, but houses it in a much more durable body. This aluminum pen is hard anodized with a black coating for extra resistance to wear.
- Notebook: Rite in the Rain’s notebooks are a great companion to the Fisher Space Pen. The paper is treated with a coating that makes it waterproof, ideal for writing in any condition.
First Aid / Emergency
First Aid Kits may not be on everyone’s list of daily carried essentials, but keeping one close by is always a good idea. By using a pouch to store one in your house, car, or bag, you can ensure that it’s always accessible and fully stocked. Making your own first aid kit also cuts down on bulk (compared to the pre-assembled ones in big plastic containers) and allows you to customize the kit to fit your specific needs.
- Re-package a Kit: Bulky plastic containers aside, you can repackage much (if not all) of a ready to go first aid kit. If you don’t want to customize your kit, these usually include a good baseline of bandaids, wound care, and essential painkillers.
- Flashlight: If you find yourself in an emergency situation at night, visibility can greatly help the outcome. Whether you need to change the tire on the side of the road, or apply a bandage to a wound, you’re going to need to see what you’re doing.
- Solar Blanket: These blankets are lightweight, and barely take up any room. If you’re stuck on the rise of the road, or stranded somewhere without heat, a solar blanket can keep you much warmer than just your clothing alone. This one is large enough to cover your entire body.
- Road Flare: If you intend on keeping this kit in your car, a road flare is never a bad thing to have on hand. The only thing is, a flare itself can be dangerous. Sub out the traditional ones for these bright glow sticks that provide 12 hours of light.
Outdoor Survival
Whether it’s a day hike or a multi-day camping trip, you’re going to want to bring some emergency essentials. For this kit, you should include some gear that’s tailored to the outdoors. Since this gear is more robust, tossing them in a simple pouch like the Topo Designs Accessory Pouch will work well.
- Fire Starter: Keep a backup way to start a fire inside the pouch. If you lose your primary method, it’s essential to have another. This ferro rod has a few more functions for additional utility.
- Reflective Signal Mirror: Signal mirrors are a great, electricity (and fire)-free method of signaling for help. If your phone and flashlight go dead while out in the woods, a signal mirror is a great way to get yourself noticed.
- Kindling: Keep a small container of kindling in case you find yourself in wet conditions unable to start a fire. The Thyrm cell vault is a waterproof, MOLLE-compatible vessel that’s perfect for keeping small items dry.
- Protein/Food Bars: Even if you’re not stuck in the woods, it’s always a great idea to keep some extra food near by. Make sure it’s something with a long shelf life that’s high in protein and gives you a good boost of carbs. Bonus points if the packages are completely sealed, the last thing you want is hungry wildlife on your tail.
- Paracord: Keeping a length of paracord has a ton of EDC uses. You can snag some in a variety of colors to match the rest of your gear, or a bright color to stand out in the foliage.
Tech
Plenty of us carry essential tech that comes in handy on a daily basis. Whether you work out of a mobile office, have a long commute, or just like keeping your gadgets charged, a pouch full of tech gear can meet your needs. Since you’ll probably need to carry lots of cables, a pouch with ample elastic straps on the inside (like the Vanquest EDCM ) will help keep your gear neat and tidy.
- Long Charging Cable – Keeping a long cable in a pouch allows you to charge your device while leaving the pouch in your bag. These braided cables are 10 feet long and have aluminum connectors for increased durability.
- Backup Battery – What’s a long cable without a backup battery? A slim battery like the Mophie Powerstation Mini packs in 3,000mAh of extra power in a slim form factor.
- Headphones – A solid, noise-isolating set of earbuds are ideal for drowning out the rest of the world (or just enjoying your music in peace and quiet). This set from Shure is great for commuting because of their small size and excellent sound quality.
- Flash Drive – Keep your essential files close by with this USB 3.0 drive from Kingston. The drive features durable metal construction and a slim form factor.
- Velcro Cable Ties – The key to carrying tech gear is keeping everything organized. The last thing you want is messy cables popping out of the pouch every time you need to grab something. Keep them in check with these convenient cable ties and avoid a tangled mess of cables.
Travel / Dopp Kit
Making a pouch setup for travel can come in handy on a variety of levels. Keeping your toiletries in a sealed pouch is great, especially if you have messy items like toothpaste and shaving cream and can open up and ruin your clothes. The DSPTCH Dopp Kit features some traditional dopp kit design, with construction and materials (like ballistic nylon) that the EDC community appreciates. It even has a removable valet tray to store your EDC goods while at a hotel.
- Shave Kit: Remember to bring your shave setup! Whether you need to look good for clients, or just hate a stubbly face, you don’t want to be stuck with the cheap razors from a hotel (or overpriced ones in the lobby shop).
- Travel Toothbrush: Again, you don’t want to be stuck with the lack-luster freebies found at your hotel. Pick up a decent folding travel toothbrush to save on space inside your kit.
- Swiss Army Knife w/ Nail Clipper: Instead of bringing a full-on multitool, this tiny SAK is ideal for everything you’d need while traveling. There’s a nail clipper, small scissor, file, and small blade.
- TSA Friendly Multitool: Bringing a TSA-friendly multitool (like the BigiDesign TPT) is great when you can’t bring an entire tool set on your trip. There’s a wrench set, package opener, bit driver, and hex tool.
Do you use a pouch in your EDC? If so, we’d love to hear what essentials you keep inside.
