Everyday Carry
Everyday carry, or EDC, is simply what you have on you, in your pockets, purse or jacket, every time you leave the house. A few sensible items turn small problems into non-events. This page covers a practical minimum, phones and power, ID and medical information, Gary’s own jacket kit, and carrying tools legally and sensibly in Canada.
On this page
What everyday carry means
EDC is a term that has picked up some odd baggage online, with pictures of tactical gear laid out on a table. Ignore that. For most people it means a handful of ordinary, useful things you carry so you’re not stuck when something small goes wrong: a phone that dies, a cut finger, a parcel you can’t open, a dark parking lot, a vehicle that won’t start.
The idea is the same as the home kit and the vehicle kit, just smaller: think about what a normal day around Lethbridge can throw at you, and carry the few things that cover most of it. This page explains the thinking behind a good carry and the rules you need to know, with Gary’s own jacket and pocket kit as an example. His truck and camp kits are on our vehicle kit page.
What it means for you: the best everyday carry is the one you actually carry. Start with what’s already in your pockets, add one or two things that would have helped you in the past month, and stop there.
A sensible minimum
Phone
Charged, with emergency contacts and medical information set up. Your light, map, radio and lifeline.
Power bank and cable
A small charged battery pack and the right cable for your phone.
ID and health card
Driver’s licence or other photo ID, and your Alberta health card.
Your medications
A day’s supply of anything you can’t miss, and any emergency medication such as an inhaler or epinephrine auto-injector.
A few bandages
Adhesive bandages and a couple of antiseptic wipes in a small bag.
Keys and a little cash
Some coins and small bills for when card machines are down.
A small light
A phone light works, but a small flashlight saves the phone battery.
One simple tool
A small multi-tool or folding knife, where it’s legal and appropriate. More below.
Good extras: a pen, a whistle, lip balm and sunscreen in summer, a toque and light gloves in a coat pocket in winter, and a length of paracord. Glasses wearers should think about a spare pair in the car or bag.
A Lethbridge day can start below freezing and end in a warm chinook wind, or the other way round. Glance at the forecast before you head out and adjust what’s in your coat pockets, not just which coat you wear. Our what to wear page helps.
Phone and power
For most of us the phone is the single most important thing we carry. It’s how you call 911, how you get Alberta Emergency Alerts, how you check 511 Alberta and the forecast, and how your family finds you.
- Keep it charged. Make topping up part of your routine, and charge in the car on longer drives.
- Carry a small power bank and cable. Get Prepared lists a phone charger and power bank in its basic emergency kit, and the same logic applies in your pocket.
- Save battery when it matters. Turn on battery saver, lower the brightness, and close apps you don’t need. Where the signal is weak, the phone works harder searching for it.
- Text first. When networks are busy, Get Prepared suggests texts, email or social media over calls, and keeping calls short.
- Know your location. If you call 911 from a highway, be ready with the highway number, your direction of travel and the nearest town or kilometre marker.
Gary always carries an extra battery pack and cable, and has lent his out so people could charge their own phones. His story is on our camp gear page.
Cold drains batteries fast. In winter, carry your phone and power bank in an inside pocket, close to your body, rather than in an outside pocket or a cold car.
ID and medical information
If you’re ever hurt or taken ill away from home, the people helping you need to know who you are, who to call, and anything that affects your treatment.
- Photo ID and your Alberta health card.
- Emergency contacts. Most smartphones let you add emergency contacts and medical information that can be seen from the lock screen without your passcode. Set it up, and check that it works.
- A paper card in your wallet with an emergency contact, any serious allergies, medical conditions and current medications. Phones die; paper doesn’t.
- Medical alert jewellery is worth considering for serious allergies, diabetes, epilepsy, heart conditions or anything else a responder should know right away.
- Your medication list. Get Prepared puts a list of medications, with doses and purposes, in its important documents. A photo of it on your phone, plus a paper copy in your wallet, covers you either way.
What it means for you: take five minutes tonight to fill in the emergency information on your phone and on a wallet card. It’s the most useful thing on this page that costs nothing.
Gary’s jacket and pocket kit
Gary’s jacket is his everyday carry.
“I’m kind of a weirdo.” That’s how Gary describes himself when it comes to everyday carry.
His jacket doubles as a tool pouch. In it you’ll find knives, including small pocket knives, nail clippers, a can opener, pliers, a multi-tool, bandages, some change and paracord. The heavy jacket also doubles as rucking, a way to get some exercise by walking with extra weight.
If he could carry only one thing, it would be his multi-tool.
You don’t need to carry all of that. But notice the pattern: a way to cut, a way to grip and fix, a way to open food, something for small cuts, a bit of cash, and some cord. Those cover most of the small problems a day can bring. The paracord has another use too. When a kid is bored, Gary throws them a piece and teaches them a knot. Our knots page has a few good ones to start with.
His pocket kit
Gary’s own pocket kit:
- A small multi-blade pocket knife
- A compact pliers multi-tool and a small folding knife
- A small LED flashlight
- A lighter wrapped with paracord (fire and cordage in one)
- An encrypted USB key with copies of important documents
- Keys on a carabiner
Choosing the tools themselves, from multi-tools to pocket knives, is covered on our Blades and multi-tools page, and keeping them sharp on Sharpening.
Knives and tools: legal and sensible
A small knife or multi-tool is one of the most useful things you can carry, and millions of Canadians carry one every day for work, farm, camp and household jobs. A few points keep it that way. This is general information, not legal advice. Check the law and the rules where you’re going.
- Carry it as a tool. In Canada’s Criminal Code, almost anything can count as a “weapon” if it’s used, designed or intended to hurt or threaten someone. A pocket knife carried for cutting twine is a tool. The same knife carried “for protection” can be treated very differently.
- Don’t carry it hidden as a weapon. The Criminal Code makes it an offence to carry a weapon concealed unless you’re authorized under the Firearms Act to carry it concealed.
- Some knives are prohibited outright. Under the Criminal Code, a knife with a blade that opens automatically by gravity or centrifugal force, or by pressing a button, spring or other device in or attached to the handle, is a prohibited weapon. The Canada Border Services Agency also treats some flick-open knives as prohibited at the border.
- Choose a plain, ordinary tool. A small multi-tool or a simple folding knife you open with your fingers is less likely to cause any question, and it’s all most jobs need.
- Use common sense. Keep it in your pocket, use it for its job, and put it away. Never brandish it, even as a joke.
Our Knives and tools: law and kids page goes into more detail, with links to the actual wording of the law.
Flying, events and other places with rules
Plenty of places have their own rules about knives and tools, whatever the law allows on the street.
- Flying. The Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA) says knives are allowed in checked baggage. In carry-on, a knife with a blade of 6 cm or less is permitted when flying within Canada or to an international destination other than the United States. No knives of any length are allowed in carry-on on flights to the United States, and, in CATSA’s words, “Concealed knives of any type or length are not permitted.” That refers to CATSA’s own category, explained on its website. Check CATSA’s knives page before you pack, and consider leaving the pocket tool at home.
- Crossing the border. The United States, and each state, has its own knife laws. Check before you go.
- Schools, courthouses, hospitals, government buildings, concerts and sports venues often ban knives and tools. Leave yours in the vehicle (out of sight) or at home.
- Workplaces may require, allow or ban knives. Follow your employer’s rules.
What it means for you: before you leave for a flight, a game or an appointment, pat your pockets. It’s easy to forget the multi-tool that lives in your jacket.
EDC for kids and older adults
Kids
Kids need a smaller, simpler carry, and it builds good habits:
- A whistle, for getting attention if they’re lost or hurt.
- A copy of their emergency card, with a parent’s phone number. Our Home Alone and Weather-Ready page has a printable one.
- A small first aid pouch. The mini first aid kit page shows how to build one.
- A small flashlight, a snack, and a water bottle.
Knives and tools for kids are a family decision and should come with teaching and supervision. Many schools ban them. See teaching kids knife safety.
Your everyday carry is the stuff you always have with you. Grown-ups carry keys and a phone. You might carry a whistle and a card with your family’s phone number.
Wonder: why is a whistle better than shouting if you’re lost?
Try this: with a grown-up, choose three small things for your jacket or backpack that would help on a normal day. Check them once a month.
Older adults
- A day’s supply of essential medications, and a medication list.
- Spare glasses and hearing aid batteries.
- A phone with large-text emergency contacts, and a charged power bank.
- Ice grippers or a cane tip with grip in winter, because our chinook melts often refreeze overnight.
Keep it light
A pocketful of gear that’s too heavy to carry ends up in a drawer. Spread things out instead:
- On you: phone, ID, keys, a little cash, medications, and one small tool.
- In your bag: power bank and cable, bandages, a small light, a pen.
- In the vehicle: the full kit on our vehicle kit page.
- At work or school: a small get-home bag. See get-home and go bags.
Look through your carry when the clocks change, along with the home and vehicle kits. Replace bandages, check medication dates, and charge the power bank.
Sources
- Public Safety Canada, Emergency kit checklist (phone charger and power bank; medication list; cash): canada.ca
- Public Safety Canada, Make an emergency plan (texting and short calls during emergencies): canada.ca
- Justice Laws Website, Criminal Code, section 84 (definition of prohibited weapon): laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
- Justice Laws Website, Criminal Code, section 90 (carrying a concealed weapon): laws-lois.justice.gc.ca
- Canada Border Services Agency, Customs Notice 18-01, Centrifugal opening knives: cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
- Canadian Air Transport Security Authority, Knives: catsa-acsta.gc.ca
- 511 Alberta: 511.alberta.ca