Everyday Carry

Trending Gear: February 2018

Authored by:
Mikey Bautista
Trending Gear: February 2018

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Every day, readers like you proudly share photos of their everyday carry on the site.

Not only is looking through their pockets this way super interesting, but it's also a great way to find really cool gear you never even knew existed (yet somehow, suddenly need…).

When you hover over an item you like and click on it in these photos, you're also letting other EDCers know you find that gear interesting. Each click gets recorded to create a data-driven ranking of the most popular gear, which you can find in our Gear section of the site found in the top menu bar.

Gear with the most views and clicks climbs its way to the top of this feed and lets the EDC community know what's trending right this second.

This time around, it looks like you've got compact multi-tools and fixed blade hunting knives on your radar. Let's take a look at the full breakdown…


10. Leatherman Wingman

Does this multi-tool even need an introduction? Since its debut in 2011, Leatherman's iconic multi-tool has become the EDCer's best friend the world over. The Wingman packs 14 essentials to solve all your everyday problems. Front and center are Leatherman's signature spring-action pliers, bolstered by two stainless steel handles on each side. A 420HC (high-carbon) stainless steel serrated blade tucks into one side, with a pair of scissors on the other. You also get a hefty complement of drivers and utility tools like a package/bottle opener and wire cutters. All 14 tools fold into a compact package under 10 inches and weighing 7 ounces.

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9. Bark River BA131MGC Highlander

Folding knives are definitely a popular choice for EDC, but sometimes, you have to leave the hard work to some stalwart slicers. The Highlander is ready to get any job done with its 4”, A2 workhorse steel blade, with a versatile drop point shape that lets it equally perform for both cutting and piercing tasks. Micarta handles keep it lightweight and give it a great molded grip, while a lanyard hole and sheath keep it close at hand when you're ready to get to work.

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8. Trayvax Element

If you want a rugged wallet that both carries minimally and ages elegantly, then look no further than last month's 8th most viewed item, the popular Trayvax Element. It comes with top-grain, oil-tanned leather for its main enclosure, and secures onto a stainless steel skeleton plate with mil-spec 550 paracord. This frame also comes in a with a Cerakote finish that improves durability and RFID protection. The Element is sized for EDC at 4.5”x2.8”x0.5”, and designed to carry 3-10 cards and 1-5 folded bills either in your pocket or off a lanyard. And the best part: Trayvax's generous warranty that ensures the lifetime of all their products.

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7. Bradford Guardian3

Sometimes keeping things simple is the best way to make an efficient tool. Last month's 7th most viewed item is a beast of a knife hidden in a fixed blade that trims away excess to be a robust everyday knife. Using exceptional N690 steel in a 3.5” leaf-shaped blade, the Guardian3 takes on all tasks with ergonomic G10 handles, designed, shaped, and textured for an ideal grip. These features let the knife punch way above its weight class for heavy-duty cutting tasks, while still staying compact enough to EDC via its sheath or lanyard hole.

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6. Olight i3E EOS

Sometimes, the latest and greatest flashlights seem like overkill, and what you really want is a light that’s small, bright, and easy to use. In that case, the Olight i3E might be more up your alley. Olight took their EDC crowd favorite i3S model, shaved off about .38” in length, simplified the user interface to a single mode, and slashed the price in half with the i3E ("E" meaning economic). Its Philips Luxeon TX LED pushes 90 lumens through a TIR lens for a bright, smooth beam. It’s still powered by a single AAA battery, waterproof to IPX8 standard, and constructed from hard anodized aluminum. It makes a great candidate for a simpler EDC and an attractive option for a budget-friendly backup too. Plenty of you agree, putting the i3E at 6th place for last month's popular gear

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5. Gerber Crucial

The Gerber Crucial takes the usual multi-tool shape and gives it an ergonomic twist, resulting in a tool that's much easier on the hands during use. Last month's 5th most viewed item comes with 10 tools in a compact (and colorful) package that's an excellent addition to any EDC, including essentials like a needle-nose plier, combo knife, and an assortment of drivers. Thanks to its built-in carabiner, you can easily clip it to a belt loop or attach it to a bag to ensure you're always ready for any task.

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4. Hitch & Timber Card Caddy

The EDC Card Caddy from Hitch and Tinder consolidates your gear into a single package that's both secure and pocket-friendly. There’s just enough room in its four-pocket design for your essentials without adding too much bulk. It holds 1-5 cards, twice-folded cash, a small pocket knife (like a Victorinox Cadet or Buck 55), and your favorite pocket pen. Each caddy is made by hand in the USA with leather from one of the last remaining tanneries in the country. Hitch and Timber's caddies have made their mark in many EDCs on the site, and have been popular enough in the last month to push the Card Caddy to number 4.

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3. Seiko SNDA57P1 Chronograph

While most recognize Seiko for their popular divers, a lot of their designs still have ways of standing out. For the 3rd most popular item from the past month, Seiko's SNDA57P1 chronograph takes center stage. It features a beefy 43mm stainless steel case that holds its quartz movement, with a large dial able to show off features like 3 subdials, a date window, and contrast-colored hands set against military-style lumed indices and numerals. Completing the military theme is a nylon strap and rugged performance thanks to its 100 meters of water resistance.

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2. Teenage Engineering PO-16 Factory Pocket Operator

Last month's 2nd most popular item is definitely one of the rarest items to grace these charts. While it looks like a calculator that got stripped of its shell, the Teenage Engineering PO-16 is a fully-featured synthesizer that lets you create your own songs with its bag of beats, sounds, and sequencers. It lets you create and experiment with patterns and synths while on the move, and thanks to its size and recording capabilities it's ready to drop a beat when inspiration strikes.

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1. CRKT Liong Mah #5 Design Knife

Designed to be a practical everyday knife that's also friendly to most knife laws, the CRKT Liong Mah comes as a 3” non-locking slipjoint blade in either a plain or combo edge (respectively designated as design #5 and #6). Its hollow grind accentuates its double-edged design, while jimping, finger choils, and its lightweight, contoured G10 scale provide a strong and comfortable grip. Other EDC-friendly features include an elongated nail nick for easier deployment and a pocket clip with lanyard attachment for multiple ways to carry and retrieve the knife. Thanks to its compact yet utilitarian design language and viability as an EDC option for people even in places with strict knife laws, this CRKT slipjoint secured the top spot on last month's rankings.

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For more trending gear, be sure to check out the round-ups from our archives.

Mikey Bautista

Director of Everyday Carry Operations


About the Author
Mikey Bautista is an everyday carry (EDC) expert who has been working with the EverydayCarry.com team for nearly a decade, starting with an interest in EDC as a hobby and ending up as a writer for the site in 2014. Through the years, he’s led the site in editorial content and writing about products across every category, from knives to bags to flashlights and everything in between, as well as discovering, bringing exposure, and building bridges with many brands in the industry. Today, he is the site's Director of Everyday Carry Operations, leading the editorial team and managing day-to-day operations.

He has lived through many personal and professional lives, spending nearly a decade in the workforce management industry, a minor career in gaming, and has lent a hand with entrepreneurial efforts back home in the Philippines. He has also been an active participant and helped build a number of significant social communities online, both for EDC and his other hobbies.

Mikey has been at the cusp of gaming, technology, and the internet since the ‘90s and continues to lend his experience, expertise, and authority to all his pursuits. When not online, in a game, or watching movies, you'll find him in the gym, speedrunning his next hobby, or talking at length about EDC with anyone willing to listen.

Discussion (6 total)

Shawn Li ·
Pocket operator FTW
Dennis Velikanov ·
The Wingman is such a great tool!
TheEverydayTechr ·
The Gerber Crucial is such a great multi-tool! Definitely a sleeper!
NUNQUAM NON PARATUS ·
I still prefer the sleekness of the Rofis ER3A over the Olight i3E EOS. Very similar product though. Not sure why I don't see more of the Rofis lights in people's pockets.
Kevin J Meyer ·
I might have to look into the Trayvax/Hitch & Timber gear, not a big fan of the Crucial nor the Liong Mah blade though.
Aaron Pierce ·
I have several Hitch and Timber products. Most are leather sleeves/pouches for the Buck 110 folding knife, but I also have an organizer from them that holds a pen, a small knife, a notebook and has a couple of credit card spots. Well made product. The leather is beautiful.