Every day we all carry a small assortment of items that come with us on our daily commutes. These tools that we use are known to some as every day carry items or EDC and its a community that has seen a ton of growth in recent years. If you’re not familiar head over to Reddit and search r/EDC or go to YouTube where you’ll find people from all over the world posting videos about some of the items that they carry.
So…
In this week’s post, I thought I would share some of the things that I carry with me and why I carry them with me in my day to day life. I put a decent amount of thought into the items I use and I even developed a system for new things that enter my carry.
There are three main components to this system and it doesn’t just apply to EDC items. It applies to every other material item I add to my home.
First.
“How will this tool improve my life?”. Will the item that I’m carrying add any additional value to my life? I am a firm believer in having a use for everything I own and I won’t hold on to something just for the sake of possessing that item. I don’t know by what definition I would be considered a minimalist but I certainly do practice intentional living. Basically whatever item I buy needs to be providing a real function, otherwise, it’s pointless to have.
Second.
“Does this thing match my style?”. In other words… Is this item aesthetically pleasing or does it bring a sense of joy and excitement to a boring day? If I’m able to pick up one of my items and feel the same type of excitement as a kid in a candy store, it meets my criteria. I’m sure you’ve heard of look good, feel good.
Lastly, I find the quality to be a major priority. Once again this is in all aspects of my life but in terms of EDC it’s definitely important. You don’t want to have crappy tools in your toolbox, you want something reliable that gets the job done time and time again. A phone with poor battery life or a pocket knife that doesn’t cut well is causing problems not solving them.
With that said… Let’s get into my everyday carry items list. I would classify my everyday carry as tech EDC or technology-focused. It’s been pretty consistent and it has stayed the same for the past few months. To keep this brief I’ll share my essentials and towards the end of this article, I’ll link all the products mentioned. Some of the links are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, my page will receive some kickback if you click through and male a purchase
Samsung Galaxy S9
The most indispensable tool in my everyday carry checklist is without a doubt my smartphone! And as you already know the smartphone I carry is the Samsung Galaxy S9! I got this phone on its initial release day and as I’m typing this it’s nearing its 2 year anniversary. Normally I would be eager to get a brand new phone after having one for 2 years but things are somewhat different this time around. As much as I love new technology I’ve realized that I don’t absolutely have to upgrade to the latest and greatest.
Of course, there is the expectation that over time it will get slower or battery life may decrease but that is normal. For the duration that I’ve had the phone, it has been a consistent performer and it hasn’t skipped a beat. The model that I have is the Midnight Black 64 GB variant. I personally prefer to keep a case on my phone to protect from drops and I like to cycle between my Spigen Liquid Crystal and Otterbox Symmetry case. Since the S9 has an external storage option, I also like to take advantage of it by using a 32 GB micro sd card.
The S9 has been a reliable daily driver and the cornerstone of my minimalist EDC list. It has a beautiful sleek design that is complimented well by its curvy display. Speaking of its display it’s large enough to view different types of content comfortably and it’s incredibly sharp. The phone has surprised me with its ability to remain quick, produce really good photos, and keep a charge.
My experience with this phone has been comfortable and with the option to customize it with a variety of launchers and icons packs it never feels stale (If you would be interested in a post on what apps I use for my phone be sure to let me know!).
For now, my Galaxy S9 continues to check all the boxes and it is just enough to get me by.
Armani Exchange Leather Cardholder
Moving on to my wallet we have the Armani Exchange Leather Cardholder. This is a wallet I bought back in May of this year and it’s been fun owning it so far. Considering that this is a wallet there isn’t a whole lot to say about it. Some of the features that I enjoy however include the quality of the material, the minimalist approach that forces you to carry less, and the professional/classy look and feel. I’m at an age where I’m transitioning into adulthood and this is a wallet that acts as a reminder of that.
My one complaint is that the metal accent on the wallet bulges out and can be somewhat distracting. Not to mention that there’s always the possibility of it falling or being ripped off since it sits on the surface of the wallet. Although I do love this wallet I am still in the market for something similar to this just not as flashy. The next wallet I end up purchasing will most likely be another leather cardholder of some kind.
Keys
As irrelevant and obvious as keys might seem they are a KEY (Please forgive me I had to) part of my EDC list. I always have my apartment key linked to my car key fob. I think keychains are cool but I prefer to keep my keys light and minimal. Talking about keys is pretty boring so I’ll make this quick. I’m a college student so I live in a tiny apartment and I love German cars so I am a proud owner of a Volkswagen Jetta. There’s not much else to say about keys because they only have one real purpose.
Kindle
Around July of this year, I started using a kindle for reading all my books. I never fully planned to use one and I guess you can say it happened by chance. As of now, I don’t plan on looking back and this eReader has changed the way I read and interact with books dramatically. I have Ali Abdaal (YouTuber and Doctor) to thank for gifting mine to me. Go check out his YouTube channel and let him know Mekhi sent you.
If you don’t already have a kindle and you are someone who reads constantly I recommend investing in one as soon as possible. The Amazon Kindle is able to hold thousands of books and the battery life is simply amazing. Some of my favorite features is being able to highlight or take notes and have all of that information sync to my Amazon account.
I have yet to find a better reading solution yet! It fits comfortably in most sized bags or slings, its plastic so it’s fairly durable and it excels at being extremely practical. If having access to thousands of books from one device isn’t a compelling enough reason to buy one of these then I don’t know what is.
Field Notes
In the everyday carry Reddit community (r/EDC) Fieldnotes is a notebook that dominates the forum. After seeing hundreds of other submissions on this subreddit curiosity got the better of me and I decided to give it a shot. At the time I was using a spiral notebook as my daily planner and it was too bulky and awkward to carry around without a bag. My goal with switching to the Fieldnotes was to find create a more feasible solution.
With 3 months of use under my belt, I can confidently say I really like Fieldnotes. It’s a cellphone size pocket notebook that you can bring with you anywhere. It’s made from durable materials, it’s relatively affordable (3 pack for under $13), super compact, and it has tasteful branding.
It’s a notebook that makes you want to write in it and when paired with a smooth pen you find yourself doing just that. No, I don’t think this is the end all be all or the holy grail of notebooks but it gets the job done and it does so in style. My only fault with fieldnotes is that there are only 48 pages per book but that makes sense because of its size.
Samsung Galaxy Buds
To be completely honest I actually just got my hands on these today so I can’t say too much about them at the moment. I always keep a pair of earbuds with me whether it’s for listening to podcasts or playing music. I originally planned to wait for the release of Google’s Pixel Buds but with an unspecified release date and black Friday sales on most tech, you can clearly see how that turned out.
And with that ladies and gentlemen is my minimalist pocket dump. These might not be everyday items you need but they fit my use perfectly and help me throughout the day.
As previously mentioned I’ll link all the products I mentioned in this post below! If you enjoyed this quick look at my EDC tweet at me @greenemekhi on twitter! Also, let me know what you’re carrying. I’ll catch you next week!
Samsung Galaxy S9
Armani Exchange CardHolder
Kindle
Fieldnotes
Samsung Galaxy Buds
The post My Urban EDC List appeared first on Mekhi Greene.
No comments:
Post a Comment