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 new and improved 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 past month, you all seemed to be most interested in cool pens and knives. And give yourselves a pat on the back, because you’ve got great taste. Everything on the list is very well deserved—let’s take a look.
The Best EDC Gear from January 2017
10. Victorinox Pioneer Swiss Army Knife
Used by over 110 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Earl’s Everyday Carry (NB: this is a vintage Pioneer from 1998!)
It’s rare to find a knife that you can use as both a classy gent’s folder as well as an everyday workhorse. That’s what makes the aluminum-handled Swiss Army Knives so popular. The Victorinox Pioneer in particular has an excellent tool set to cover plenty of bases: a large blade, a pair of screwdrivers and can/bottle openers, and an awl for punching holes into stuff. Then, its aluminum oxide (or “alox”) handles slim it down so it rides nicely in the pocket while giving it added durability, grip, and visual appeal. It’s one of the many alox Swiss Army Knives that EDCers love to use and collect.
9. KeyBar Key Organizer
Used by over 150 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Will’s Favorite EDC Gear
You’ve probably seen your fair share of key organizers by now, but few of them have that customizability and high-end fit and finish that the KeyBar does. It’s not too different from a Swiss pocket knife in terms of design, as you can actually kit it out with micro-tools alongside your keys. Imagine that: a decluttered keychain that rides strong yet silent in the pocket (or clipped to one!), and even grants you easy access to optional tools like USB drives, mini-combs, and more.
8. Karas Kustoms Bolt
Used by over 35 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Chris Burkard’s Outdoors Photography EDC
Got fidgety fingers? Is the Pilot G2 one of the best pens you’ve handled so far? If so, this all-metal machined bolt action pen is right up your alley. EDCers love the Bolt Pen from Karas Kustoms for its sturdiness, compatibility with G2 refills, minimal design, and satisfying (read: mildly addictive) bolt action mechanism.
7. CRKT Squid
Used by over 70 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Shane’s Lightweight Everyday Carry
Some of you might disagree, but for most EDC purposes, bigger doesn’t always mean better. The CRKT Squid is a great example of that. It’s highly functional despite its meager 2.14” long blade. It’s all thanks to its beefier design language that fills out the blade and handle geometry for better ergonomics. Perhaps the biggest draw of this blade for many EDCers is its surprisingly small price tag, usually coming in at under twenty bucks.
6. Caran d’Ache 849 Ballpoint Pen
As seen in: John’s Form and Function EDC
Form and function. That’s the beauty of this icon of Swiss industrial design. It’s not just good looking, with its proportionally balanced hexagonal barrel and angular pocket clip, but it’s more functional than your run-of-the-mill office pen too. It’s got a clicky top (meaning no cap to lose), metal construction for heft and durability, and its hexagonal barrel also keeps it from rolling off your desk.
5. Mininch Tool Pen
Used by 25 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Felix’s Hard Working EDC
If you thought there wasn’t much room to innovate on something as mundane as a screwdriver, think again. Mininch has always taken a novel approach to a problem you might not have even thought of: how do you carry a bunch of screwdrivers (or at least, a bit kit) without all the bulk? The Tool Pen works by stacking bits on top of each other, then houses all of them in the handle of the driver itself. The result is a sleek, minimal multi-tool that looks more at home in a pen cup than a toolbox.
4. Fisher Bullet Space Pen
Used by over 1,000 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Ben’s Office Everyday Carry
So this pen didn’t manage to take the top rank this month, but it’s sitting pretty as the #1 most popular EDC item on the entire site. At this point, you owe it to yourself to try one out if you haven’t already. It’s super portable thanks to its short body, light weight, rugged construction, and smooth edges that slide in and out of the pocket. And if one of your pet peeves is reaching for a pen, only for it to not write until you’re practically carving scribbles out of the page, you’ll appreciate the pressurized, write-anywhere ink cartridge int his pen. Once you get yours, check out some clever ways to carry it here.
3. Boker Plus Urban Trapper Titanium
As seen in: Felix’s Black and Silver Basics
No doubt, this knife’s a looker. It’s a Brad Zinker design, complete with an emphasis on slimness, elegant long lines, and a tastefully skeletonized titanium handle. Besides shaving grams off of the titanium handle’s already light weight, it lets the polished VG-10 blade shine against the contrasting stonewashed handle. Looks aside, the Urban Trapper also provides quick deployment thanks to its flipper mechanism, secures in place with a titanium framelock, and offers a great blade-to-handle ratio for balanced handling.
2. Chris Reeve Small Sebenza
Used by 145 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Edison’s Updated Engineering Carry
As much as we love getting our hands on shiny, new gear every now and then, there might come a time in your EDC journey that you finally acquire a knife that puts an end to your search for the next best thing. Some call it a grail knife, and for many EDCers (especially those who have been at this for years), the Sebenza is the end-game knife. It’s beautifully utilitarian, with impeccable fit and finish. It doesn’t have the fanciest technology that other knives these days might, but it deserves the respect it gets.
1. Field Notes Pitch Black Edition
Used by over 285 Everyday Carry members
As seen in: Kane’s 2017 Lineup
Pocket notebooks being popular (especially Field Notes designs) isn’t anything new. You can pick up any old notebook, shove it in your pocket, feel prepared, and call it a day. But the reason people reach for Field Notes and come back to it every time they fill theirs up (or a new cover design drops) is because it’s thoughtfully sized, made with quality in the USA, longer lasting, and available in tons of different combinations of cover designs and page layouts to collect. The Pitch Black edition is classic for blending in with a murdered out, tactical carry.
If you’re curious to see how these trends change over time, check out our monthly roundups from the archive for even more excellent gear.
See anything in this list that made you stop scrolling and think, “I need one… right now”? Leave a comment and let me know your favorite gear from this round-up.
