With 10% of the world’s population being left-handed, it’s an unfortunate truth that EDC gear that accommodates them is in short supply — and that’s not all right with us. In the sixth installment of Carry Smarter, we give you southpaws a hand with our lefty-friendly and ambidextrous recommendations so you don’t get left out.
Pushing a pen against a page instead of pulling it as designed often leads to inconsistent writing action, with smearing and skipping being key drawbacks when writing left-handed. The Zebra Surari ballpoint not only writes exceptionally smooth but also dries particularly fast due to its unique emulsion ink. Furthermore, its light weight and clicky activation make it a great carry choice.
Smudging while writing towards the right and binding getting in the way while writing from the left are the consistent gripes of the left-handed writer. The Doane Paper Flap Jotter deftly addresses both needs by not only having excellent absorption and bleed prevention with its 70# paper stock, but its wire-o-bound flap cover also gets out of your way while allowing the Flap Jotter to lie completely flat for optimal writing position.
For southpaws who wear their watch on their right wrist, the 3 o’clock crown on most watches can be inaccessible or visually off-balance. Orient’s M-Force Beast “destro” dive watch provides lefties with some suitable wrist presence and a more natural 9 o’clock crown position. An in-house automatic movement, lume markers, and power reserve functionality lurk within this 47mm beast of a timepiece.
In a market dominated by tactical knives, it’s rare to see a newer knife designed with everyday utility in mind. The Spyderco Chaparral deviates from the tactical trend, providing a small but highly usable and staggeringly thin blade, great ergonomics, and sleek handles in a lightweight package. Fortunately for lefties, this incredible value of an EDC knife features ambidextrous thumb holes for deployment, a central back lock, and a reversible clip for left-hand carry.
The Benchmade 556 “Mini Griptilian” is a highly-recommended EDC knife because of the tremendous value you get with its quality and features for its price. What makes it even more appropriate for lefties is the fact that the 556 is completely ambidextrous, from its dual-sided thumbstud deployment and center AXIS lock to its reversible clip position. Coming in a variety of blade profiles as well as scale colors, the Mini Griptilian is an inexpensive yet fantastic EDC addition for any hand orientation.
The Chris Reeves Small Sebenza barely needs any introduction being one of the most desired and well-built custom knives on the market. It’s already a rare and special knife in its original right-handed configuration, but the fact that Chris Reeves Knives went out of their way to create an actual left-oriented framelock is truly something remarkable. If there’s one “grail” EDC knife for lefties to try and get their paws on, this is it.
Nearly every multitool on the market, especially those featuring one-handed opening blades, are designed with the right hand in mind. The CRKT Zilla aims to even the score with pliers that unlock from either side of the tool, as well as an assisted-opening center blade that makes ambidextrous deployment convenient. Throw in a wire stripper/cutter, bottle opener, and screw bits within ergonomic scales, and the Zilla holds its own as the right tool for the job.
