If you’re anything like me then you’re often on the lookout for new or interesting pieces of EDC gear. I have a lot of different EDC needs as a police officer, and competitive shooter. This means that I’ve included some interesting EDC options on this list. In many cases, I’ve used some of this equipment for almost a decade, which is why I’m recommending it to you. Keep reading for more.
Readers of this website know that I write a lot of gear articles, about EDC pistols, concealed carry bags, and much more. In this article I’ve limited it to the most useful items that I find myself constantly in need of. Some of these items I use on a daily basis where as others have a more niche purpose, like a medical kit, or a soft entry kit.
I’ve tried to stay away from more mundane items like a water bottle, bottle opener, or key organizers. If you’re looking for your next tactical pen you’ll have to find a different article.
Most of the everyday carry items I’m recommending on this list, I carry and use professionally as a police officer, for many different purposes. As such, the items can be a little more expensive. My general rule of thumb is that if you’re betting your life on the gear, then you need to purchase the best EDC gear you can afford.
It’s also worth mentioning that most of these items can be purchased directly from Amazon, which is great because you can get them quickly, with free shipping in most cases. I’m also an affiliate of Amazon, which means that if you purchase from them after clicking on the external links, they send us a small referral fee at no extra cost to you. We appreciate your support.
Now that we have the preliminaries out of the way, let’s review the full list of the 7 best pieces of EDC gear. You’ll find the full list below.
7 Best Pieces of EDC Gear List
- Zero Tolerance ZT 0350 Knife
- Arkfeld Pro Flat EDC Flashlight
- Works Tool Kit from Fix It Sticks
- Pocket Medical Kit from Tac Med Solutions
- Sparrows Ranger Lock Pick set
- Blackhawk Stache N.A.C.H.O Belly Band
- Anker Magnetic Phone Charger
Some of these items come in only one variety, but many of them have different options. You can choose your specific size, or color, for many of these EDC essentials. I recommend following the links to the product page, to see those specifics. Now, let’s get to our first piece of EDC gear, my favorite pocket knife.
1. Zero Tolerance ZT 0350 Knife
The Zero Tolerance ZT 0350 Knife (Amazon Affiliate Link), has been my EDC pocketknife for over 8 years. In fact, I wrote an article about this knife way back when this website was new. This knife has several features that make it an awesome EDC blade, and one of the highest quality pocket knives I own.
First, the shape of the handle is perfect for most cutting tasks. The handle scales are made of G-10, with a grippy texture. The blade is coated in a black a Tungsten DLC finish, which is almost impossible to scratch.
The ZT 0350 is spring assisted, which means you can use the thumb stud or the tooth on the blade to flip the blade open, into its locked position. I can also tell you that in the near decade that I’ve used this knife, the liner lock has remained bomb proof. It’s just as solid as the day I bought it.
The other big safety feature for this knife is the tooth of the blade. It keeps your hand from sliding over the knife blade when putting a lot of stabbing pressure on the knife. If you’ve ever used a knife before you know that can be a real issue. Cutting your hand with your own knife will also cost you major cool points.
As of this writing you can purchase this knife from Amazon for a regular price of less than $160. Now, let’s move on to one of my favorite every day carry items, that I use the most.
2. Arkfeld PRO EDC Flashlight / Laser
The Arkfeld Pro Flat EDC Flashlight (Amazon Affiliate Link) is the most useful EDC light I’ve ever carried. I’ve written about other Olight products before, and as such, they were kind enough to send this to me for testing, free of charge.
Just like most things I don’t have to pay for, I don’t take particularly good care of them. This light is no different. In fact, it’s proven to be quite durable and has a whole lot of useful features.
The Arkfeld Pro is a 1300 lumen light with a green laser pointer, and UV light, all rolled into one tiny package. The light is less than 5 inches long, and features a great pocket clip that doubles as a hat clip. This allows you to use it hands free, like a headlamp if you’re wearing a hat.
The white light has a few brightness settings, from dim to very bright, as well as a strobe function. The white light is very broad, with a limited throw. While the light is handy, I actually use the green laser the most. It’s very useful for tactical operations, allowing you to point out people and areas, from quite a distance.
I’ve found the laser to be daylight bright to about 20 yards. At night you can see the laser for many hundreds of yards. I will also mention that I’ve used the UV light a few times to look for blood or other chemical residues. This light is the right choice if your specific needs include operating in low light.
As of this writing you can purchase the light in several colors, for less than $100. Now, let’s talk about my favorite tool kit, which is full of all the necessary tools any shooter might need for their daily tasks.
3. Fix It Sticks The Works Tool Kit
The Works Tool Kit from Fix It Sticks (Amazon Affiliate Link) is the best portable tool kit I’ve ever used. It’s marketed towards shooting enthusiasts for AR15 rifle, and pistol maintenance. I’ve found that it’s good for much more than that, even if many of the attachments are ideal for gun cleaning.
The Works comes with brass roads that accept 8/32 attachments. This kit also includes: Glock front sight tool, 1911 bushing adapter, bolt carrier carbon scraper, torque limiter with two T handles, amongst your standard hex, and star bits. It’s full of EDC goodies for everyday carry gear fanatics.
One of the coolest parts of this EDC tool kit, is the magnetic patch. On the outside of the kit there is a velcro patch that is held onto the kit, with hook side velcro. You can remove it and it will hold small parts and small tools, because it’s magnetized. This is a very handy option when doing field repairs. There’s nothing worse than losing a screw on the ground!
After looking around at several different sellers, it seems like Amazon has the best price on this kit. As of this writing you can pick it up for a little over $250. Next let’s talk about a great EDC medical kit.
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4. Tac Med Solutions Pocket Medical Kit
The Pocket Medical Kit from Tac Med Solutions (Amazon Affiliate Link), is a great compact every day carry medical kit / small first aid kit. It’s designed with only the essentials in mind. Included in this kit is a SOFT-T tourniquet, gauze, wound strips, chest seal, and ESMARK bandage.
These items are the bare essentials that you need to work on a seriously wounded person, in order to get them to a higher level of care. In fact, if you read this article, you’ll remember that civilians receive more torso trauma than police or military folks, because they don’t have body armor. That makes gauze, and chest seals even more important.
As always, you can’t just purchase this kit, and call it good. You need to take a basic trauma response course so you know how to use it appropriately. Don’t be the guy with all the cool gear, and zero idea how to use it.
As of this writing you can purchase this for a little over $60. Next, we’ll talk about some EDC gear that could get you into trouble, or out of it, depending on your use.
5. Sparrows Lock Picks Ranger Set
The Sparrows Ranger Lock Pick set is a great compact set for most surreptitious entry needs. It isn’t something that you would use everyday, unless you’re Jason Bourne. I carry this kit professionally, and have used it many times with good effects.
The kit includes a latch slipper, standard picks and rakes, as well as turning tools. It also includes a few speciality items like wafer keys, and other items.
I’ve used this most often to help folks that are locked out of their apartment, or building, as well as welfare checks to avoid damaging someone’s door. If you’ve never done any lock picking, there are tons of resources online, including several great Youtube channels designed to teach you.
This tool kit is meant to be mounted on MOLLE webbing, but most often I remove the kit from its carrier, and throw it in my pocket. It goes without saying that you need to check your local laws, as it might be illegal to own this item in your location.
Even if it is legal to own lock picking tools, you still need to familiarize yourself with the laws that pertain to their use. Catching a felony because you opened a door you shouldn’t have is not a good idea. As of this writing you can purchase this great kit for $72. Next lets cover one of the more versatile pieces of concealed carry EDC equipment out there.
6. Blackhawk Stache N.A.C.H.O Belly Band
The Blackhawk Stache N.A.C.H.O Belly Band (Amazon Affiliate Link) is a great all around item, that I often use in the hot summer months. Out of the box it is a simple elastic belt with several sewn in pockets. These are very handy for carrying your wallet, medical gear, extra magazines, or tactical knives.
The center section has a thick piece of scuba webbing that is designed to accept nearly any kydex holster. It can fit anything up to Glock 19 sized holsters of relatively small size.
The elastic is strong, as is the velcro. I’ve found that I tend to wear it so that the lower third of the holster is covered by my shorts, in roughly appendix position. Because it has extra pockets, it allows you to wear things like gym shorts, more easily.
This is belly band is one of the best bargains on this list at less than $50. I would recommend following Blackhawk’s sizing chart fairly closely as it follows your actual waist measurement, not your pants size. We’ll finish this article off with a very cool phone charger, to round out this EDC list.
7. Anker Magnetic Phone Charger / Stand
The Anker Magnetic Phone Charger (Amazon Affiliate Link), is one of the items you will use quite often. This 5,000 mAH external magnetic battery charger keeps your phone powered up after extended use. It has a strong magnet that will hold your late model Iphone in place, as well as a foldable stand for easy viewing.
Because it’s only a half inch thick, it can stay attached to the phone, and almost disappear in your pocket. It also includes a USB C port to charge the device, and to charge other non Mag charge devices. The charger does not support charging two devices at once.
If your someone who travels a lot, or doesn’t have access to a cable to charge your later model Iphone, then this is a great option. As of this writing you can purchase it for under $50. Now let’s finish this article up with my final thoughts.
Final Thoughts
If I had to pick the two best pieces of EDC gear on this list I would go with the Arkfeld Pro flashlight, and the phone charger. I tend to need those two items the most on a day to day basis. They’re also relatively inexpensive, giving you more capability with your EDC kit.
The second runner up would be the belly band. I find it to be a great option for every day carry, or you can keep it as an emergency kit for home defense. It’s compact enough to throw into a lock box and retrieve it should you have to defend yourself. The nice thing is that it has room for other essential items, in its pockets.
If you have any comments or questions about the equipment, check out the links first, or your can drop a comment below, and I’ll do my best to get you an answer. Now get out there and get training! Don’t forget to join the email list below.
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