EDC Summer 2015 Part 3 – Travel/Other

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And now it’s time for the final part of my EDC. This tier might be straying from the “EDC” mentality, and instead of everyday carry, it might be more everyday use, like EDU, but that’s already taken. I use my computer, notebooks, fountain pens, and many other things every day, and they can integrate into my EDC when I need to carry them, for travel or work purposes. I feel that while they are outside of the normal EDC realm, I should still include them. The various items will be shown here mostly without comment, but the uses of each section will be talked about. Let’s take a look at what I have here.

OTHER/TRAVEL

Emergency Satchel (Unknown source Map Bag) (This satchel is close by but not right next to me in most places. It’s more like an emergency car bag. It isn’t a survival kit. It’s meant to get me through one emergency situation and one only, not many days and not after the apocalypse. But if my regular EDC stuff is lost or isn’t handy, I strive to keep this one near as a backup.)

  • Emergency/”Survival” Pouch (Maxpediton Barnacle Pouch)
    • Outside
    • Front
      • 1ft of Dental Floss
      • Bear Grylls priorities of survival guide (For a bit of fun)
      • 3 Toothpicks
    • Inside
      • Altoids Tin
        • Cotton Ball
        • Fire Steel + Striker
        • 10ft Cord
        • 8 Waterproof matches and striker
        • Small vial
        • AAA Battery
        • Electrical tape
        • Flattened Produce Bag
      • 3″ Glowstick
      • Lighter (Bic Mini)
      • Whistle (Cheap, flat. Gerber from survival kit.)
      • Flashlight (Maglite Solitaire)
      • Knife (Gerber Mini Paraframe, partially serrated.)
      • Multitool (Leatherman Micra)
  • Mini First Aid Kit (Bear Grylls Water resistant Bag/ziplock {With a red cross added})
    • Forceps
    • Gloves
    • Tissue
    • Johnson and Johnson first aid guide
    • Waterproof Ziploc
      • Paper medical tape
      • Electrolyte Tablets
      • Single Use Neosporin
      • Motrin
      • Hand Cleansing Wipes
      • Butterfly Closures
      • Small Gauze Dressing
      • Medium Non Stick Pad
      • Band Aids
  • Emergency Firearm (Walther P22 with second magazine)
  • Pen (Paper:Mate Write Bros)
  • Pencil (Half of a Sanford Eagle)
  • Pencil Sharpener (Unnamed Cheap)

Fountain Pens (I love fountain pens and use them every day. I believe they are the perfect writing experience, but not the most practical, since my regular EDC doesn’t include them. But when I have a bit more luxury room I always try to fit one or a few in.)

Notebooks (I always need to jot things down, and replacement books for my standard pocket notebook are common. I also try to come up with a cartoon idea and a drawing every day, making my notebooks very important to me.)

Toiletries bag (Not in extreme detail) (This bag I have arranged so that I use it every day, and when I need to go on a trip I can simply zip it up and have all of the things I normally use around my sink right there with me.)

  • Toothbrush
  • Toothpaste
  • Tissues
  • Nail Clippers
  • Scissors
  • Comb
  • Floss
  • Trimmer
  • Deodorant
  • Mouthwash
  • Shampoo
  • Medicines
  • Petroleum Jelly
  • Bulb Syringe
  • Stain Remover

Computer Bag (I don’t use this bag every day, but the items in it are in almost constant use, and if I need to go somewhere you can be certain I’ll pick it up.)

And that’s it for my summer 2015 EDC. I’ve slimmed the main parts down some and added a few more. I think that EDC is ever-evolving for most people, and for me it’s no different. Sometimes it changes day to day, and I want to try and get what is best for me specifically. I hope I’ve given you a few ideas, or showed you some things you may have forgotten about. And even if I didn’t, I hope you enjoyed reading it. I’m almost positive I’ll be doing it again in another 6 months.

Table Topics Chit Chat 54 #107-108

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QUESTIONS

  1. What scared you the most when you were young?
  2. If you could spend one year in any country which would you choose?

ANSWERS By: Austin Smith

  1. That weird red haired monster from the Bugs Bunny cartoons.
  2. The one I’m in, I like the US.

 

Review – Casio Label-it KL-60

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What? How can I review a label maker? It makes labels. If it doesn’t, it’s not a good one, right? Pretty much. And with that being said, let’s take a quick look at the Casio Label-It KL-60 label maker.

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The device itself is a relatively small, but certainly not pocket-sized, boxy shape. But it’s that rounded off type of boxy that makes it hard to store in many places. The keyboard is scrunched in the center of the device with a lot of room around it that I think would have been better used by a larger keyboard. The screen also has conspicuously little space. It’s one of the tiny, split-pixel LCD screens that aren’t very good but will generally last forever. It only displays about 4 characters at a time but it gets the job done. The very prominent cutter button is easy to find and depress, as well.

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Batteries and tapes go in the back. The batteries last for a while, but not too long, and the tapes are fairly easy to install, though I would recommend using the instructions. The keyboard is hard to use because of its size, but everything is clearly labeled. And the UI, while confusing on first use, gets easier to understand when one understands the limits of the hardware. The character selection is nice and the screen is easy to read. Printing and peeling the labels takes longer than I would like it to, but I think that’s just larger printers giving me unrealistic expectations. The device comes with a black-on-clear tape, which sticks to a lot of things but not nearly as many things as the black-on-white tape, for some reason, and that’s the style I would recommend. The letters are blocky but readable and small enough that at average reading distance they don’t look unattractive.

Is it a good labeler? Yes. It works. It has a few quirks but it gets the job done and if one wants an easy way to label many (not slick) items I’d recommend one over a printer. It has the same limitation most other labelmakers do, with maybe a bit more restrictions in the font category, but it’s much quicker and more fun to use. If you have a lot of things to label I’d look into this or a similar model to get it done. They’re less gimmicky than they look.

Table Topics Chit Chat 53 #105-106

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QUESTIONS

  1. If you could spend the day with any celebrity, who would you choose and why?
  2. Which classic car would you love to own?

ANSWERS By: Austin Smith

  1. I wouldn’t, I don’t care about celebrities (I’m answering a question like a boring person again)
  2. A thunderbird would be nice.

Review – Staedtler AllXwrite

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I’ve looked at a few all-graphite pencils in the past, but they were only sold in art supply stores and were thicker than the average pencil. The Staedlter AllXwrite is a #2 all-graphite pencil that is much more widely available. How does it hold up?

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The body of the pencil is unsurprisingly plain. It’s a standard hexagonal pencil design, all grey with silver lettering. The information printed on it is enough to get by. At the end of the pencil there is a standard metal eraser holder, and a fairly standard white eraser that works well.

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The graphite is quite hard, but still writes with the same pressure as a normal pencil. There is a coating on the outside to prevent major marks, but it is still possible to mark with it. Sharpening is easy, but wasteful, and if one adjusts their writing or drawing in such a way as to re-sharpen the pencil as they write with it, it requires none and will last for a very long time, far outstripping the eraser. Other than that, it’s a standard HB, suitable for taking tests or notes, and making lists and art.

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I like this pencil a lot. They’ll last forever and write well. I’ve flattened the ends of one of mine to make it easier to shade large areas. This, coupled with a few others at varying degrees of flatness leads to a ton of artistic options. While these pencils are a bit more fragile than wooden ones, I think that with normal use they will hold up just fine for someone interested in getting a long-lasting or quirky writing implement.