Last Updated on April 29, 2023 by Lisa Vargas
When it comes to survival kits, the bug out bag is king. Most people know what it is, and many of you already have one put together. That seems to be one of the most popular topics of conversation for survival, especially when you are new and still learning the basics.
You might even have a get home bag that you keep in the trunk of your car to help you get home in case of an emergency. But today we are going to learn how to build an EDC kit. EDC stands for everyday carry, for those of you who are new to prepping.
This post will go over several important pieces such as:
- What is an EDC kit?
- The reasons for building an EDC kit
- How to decide what to put into your EDC kit
- The differences between an EDC kit, a bug out bag, and a get-home bag
- How to carry and EDC kit
- What items to put in your EDC kit
However, when it comes to the typical bug out bag, there is an alternate scenario in which these kits may not be of any help. This is why you must understand how to build an EDC kit in addition. Let’s imagine you are at work, but you park eight blocks away. Your get home bag is in your car, but you are unable to get to the vehicle.
Maybe there is flooding making it unsafe in that area. Maybe there are down power lines. Perhaps there is a crowd of violent looters surrounding your car. You might even be trapped in your building after an earthquake or other disaster.
These are times an everyday carry kit can come in handy. In this article, we will cover in detail how to build an EDC kit and what needs to go in one.
What is an EDC Kit?
An everyday carry kit, or EDC kit, is a collection of gear that you can keep with you at all times. You might think this sounds strange, but an EDC kit is vital if you want to be fully prepared for any scenario.
There are a few unique challenges with building a kit like this. You need items that will greatly improve your chances of survival in a disaster. They need to either be small enough to hide on your person, or they need to hide in plain sight.
I will explain this concept later. Ideally, these items will have multiple uses. If you boil it down, an EDC kit is a series of survival items you can carry on your person.
Reasons for Building an EDC Kit
I know we put a ton of focus on building these awesome bags with every gadget that you can possibly imagine. I was so proud when I first put together a bug out bag. I thought I could handle anything that came along. So what do you do when you can’t get to your top notch bug out bag?
There are lots of times this could happen. I mentioned a few above but let’s expand on this. Maybe you take your spouse’s car to work and they took out their get home bag to make room for groceries.
Maybe it is unsafe to leave the building you are in. Perhaps it is just a shorter distance to get home without going to your car first. Your EDC kit is designed to save your life when you have no access to your other gear.
You may think this sounds insane, but just a few key tools can make all the difference in the world. A few years ago I put together a ‘knife-only’ wilderness survival challenge.
It was late March, and I planned to spend four days in the woods. I intentionally picked four days during which rain was in the forecast the whole time. I also dictated that all I could bring was the clothing I was wearing and my knife.
Understand, this was done in a controlled environment with all kinds of safeguards in place for my safety. I would never suggest anyone go into the wilderness with only a knife. I just decided one day that I wanted to see if I could pull it off.
I came out of the woods four days later in pretty decent shape. It poured rain the whole time, but I was able to find food, drinking water, and shelter with only my knife. The point is that you do not need a ton of gear to get through a short-term survival scenario.
Identify your EDC Kit Needs
More so than any other survival kit you build, your EDC kit needs to perfectly fit your specific needs. There are only so many items you can keep on you at all times, so you need to make them count.
Think closely about how you spend a normal day. Where are you located in reference to your car and your home? What do you spend your time doing? Do you have your kids with you? Do you or anyone with you have any specific medical needs?
Just imagine you can only pick four or five items to keep on you at all times. Which items will improve your chances of survival the most? This may change from time to time. Different seasons may require different items.
If you work in a rough part of town, the items you need may be different than if you work out in the country. You may also want to consider if you have other people around you during the day that carry similar items.
I would never rely entirely on other people, but you might create a combined EDC kit with one or two coworkers. Unlike other kits, you will likely not have a pack to carry everything. You must scrutinize every single item you put in this kit.
Differences Between an EDC Kit, a Bug Out Bag, and a Get Home Bag
When you start building these survival kits, it can be confusing to keep track of which kits are for what purposes. Your bug out bag is a bag kept at home that has all the gear you need to leave your home and survive for an indefinite amount of time.
This is typically the largest and most complete kit. Your get home bag is kept in your office or in your car. It is smaller and only has items needed to get from work or school to your home.
Your EDC kit is designed for those rare instances when you cannot get to either of these other kits. It is just gear you can keep on you at all times to help you survive in that scenario.
How to Carry an EDC Kit
While it would be easy to just put everything in a backpack and carry it with you, this is typically not realistic. For an EDC kit to be useful, it should be kept with you at all times.
This means that these items are close by when you go to lunch, when you go to the restroom, or when you lie down to sleep at night. I typically keep most of these items on my person, meaning either in my pockets or hidden under my clothing.
If you have a small bag that can always be with you, that could work fine. If you are a woman with a large purse, you can keep these items in it. You just need to be sure you keep your purse with you at all times.
You can do the same with a briefcase or backpack but never leave it behind. I just find it easier to keep everything with me if I do not put it all in a pack.
Things to Consider When Building an EDC Kit
As is with any survival kit, you should focus on the four pillars of survival: food, water, fire, and shelter. You can also consider items that help with first aid, self-defense, navigation, and signaling for help.
In addition, these items should be small and easy to hide. Occasionally you will find items that blend in with their surroundings like a tactical pen or a filter bottle for drinking water.
For example, a tactical pen looks just like a nice pen sitting on your desk. However, it doubles as an excellent weapon for close quarters combat. I have reviewed a few tactical pens that had LED lights, blades, ferro rods, and compasses built in.
When you have a multipurpose tool like a tactical pen that can hang out in your shirt pocket, that takes your EDC kit to the next level. Think about items like this when assembling yours.
How to Build an EDC Kit
As you put your kit together, get creative and see what items are out there that can be hidden easily.
Food
Keeping snacks on you at all times should not be a major priority, but having options is always a good thing. I like to keep one meal replacement bar in my pocket when I can. This could give me the energy I need to get through a few rough days.
Water Purification
As mentioned above, filter bottles are great for EDC kits. They look just like a nice water bottle, but they have a filter built into the lid. This filter eliminates 99.999% of all harmful pathogens from water so it is safe to drink.
Without this filter, you could get sick with waterborne pathogens that cause nausea and diarrhea. Most people would not know the difference between a filter bottle and a normal water bottle if you left it out on your desk. You can also put a straw style filter in your pocket if you prefer.
In addition, I like to carry iodine tablets in my EDC kit. If your filter gets clogged, it is good to have a backup plan. Just drop a couple of iodine tablets in your bottle and the water is ready to drink in about 30 minutes. The vial of 50 tablets is tiny, so it can easily fit in your pocket.
Fire Starters/ Tinder
I always keep a ferro rod with me for starting fire. Fire can keep you warm, light your camp, boil water, cook food, and boost morale. Ferro rods are windproof, waterproof, require no fuel, and shoot out sparks at around 3000F. I sometimes keep one on a chain around my neck. I have also kept them on my keychain.
Lighters are always a good idea for your EDC kit. While they can run out of fuel, they can get a fire going quicker than a ferro rod. There are also enough people that still smoke that you can keep a lighter in your pocket and nobody will ask questions.
I prefer Zippo style lighters as they can be refilled with any flammable liquid and are windproof.
I also keep a Wetfire cube in my pocket as tinder. These waxy cubes are windproof, waterproof, and will catch a spark. With just a ferro rod you can get a flame for a few minutes to get your other tinder lit. They are individually wrapped, so they just look like a mint in your pocket.
Emergency Blanket
Normally I prefer a tarp style emergency blanket for survival kits. However, they are too bulky for an EDC kit. Space blanket style emergency blankets are only a few inches across and very thin.
They can easily be kept in a pocket or possibly in a wallet. These blankets are waterproof and reflect 90% of your body heat back to you, so they can protect you from hypothermia in wet or cold weather.
Knife
A knife is by far the most important survival tool you can have in your EDC kit. If you work a job where you can keep a knife on your belt, go with a bigger full tang knife.
These are more reliable than folding blade knives and can handle tougher tasks like batoning firewood and smaller tasks like dressing game. If this is not an option, you have several other choices for hiding a knife.
You can go the obvious route and get a folding blade knife to keep in your pocket. These are more likely to break but still offer advantages. If you want to stick to a full tang knife, you can also select a boot knife or a push knife.
A boot knife is designed to clip onto the inside of a boot so it cannot be seen. A push knife is primarily self-defense and often worn on a lanyard around your neck. Whatever knife you choose, pay attention to the quality of the steel.
A quality high-carbon blade can stay sharp for a long time. Low-quality blades have to be sharpened constantly.
Multi-Tool
There are dozens of different styles of multitools, but they all give you a series of additional tools to help you survive. The great part is that nobody cares if you wear one on your belt. I have three multitools, two of which are attached to my key chain and one on my belt. They are always a good idea.
Flashlight
Whether you are in a big building with the power shut down or wandering through the woods at night, lighting is important. You probably have a flashlight app on your phone, but you should never rely on your phone for survival.
It is too easy to have your battery run out or for the phone to be damaged. There are small LED lights that can attach to your keychain that work great.
There are also credit card-sized flashlights that you can keep in your wallet. You can even keep a glow stick in your pocket as a backup plan, or you can also carry a headlamp just in case.
Compass
While it is difficult to keep a map on you at all times, you should always have a compass. I have a small one attached to my key chain. In addition, several of my other pieces of gear have compasses built in. With these, I can also determine my general direction of travel to get where I am going.
Cordage
It is difficult to make strong cordage using natural materials, so having some with you is a good idea. I like to use 550 paracord. It is thin, but strong enough to hold 550 lbs. of weight.
It can be split apart to use its interior strands, so 10 feet is actually more like 80 feet of total cordage. I always replace my bootlaces and shoelaces with paracord. That way I always have some with me.
I also typically carry an ankle bracelet woven from paracord and a lanyard on my filter bottle woven from paracord. With all of this I probably have about 500 feet of cordage, including the interior strands.
This can be used for building shelters, making snare traps, building weapons, and lots of other tasks.
Signaling Tools
There are two easy ways to carry tools for signaling at all times. If you don’t have an emergency whistle built into another tool, attach one to your key ring. The sound will cut through the wind and traffic noise so it can be heard from further away than just yelling.
You can also put a signal mirror in your wallet. They make them the same dimensions as a credit card so it will fit just fine, and they are made from flexible plastic so they won’t break.
There is a hole in the center, so you can reflect the sun’s light at a specific target to get the attention of rescuers.
Pocket Fishing Kit
Ideally, you want to have a way to acquire additional food beyond what you have with you. A pocket fishing kit is an easy way to give yourself the option of fishing. You can also use those cool survival fishing kit cards as well that can fit in your wallet.
You just need a small container like a mint tin, some fishing line, a few hooks, and then you can throw in lures, bobbers, and sinkers if you have room. I also like to put a little copper wire in there for making snare traps.
Pocket First Aid Kit
You cannot fit much in a pocket-sized first aid kit, but you can have the most important supplies with you. Again, I would start with something like a mint tin.
Put gauze, butterfly bandages, disinfectant, and any required medication in there, and you are set. That should help with any serious cuts. Mini first aid kits easily can fit in a purse or briefcase.
Wallet Tools
There are a whole series of tools made specifically to fit in a wallet for survival. These are made to the same dimensions as a credit card, so several can fit in a wallet.
I have a knife, an LED flashlight, a lock-and-pick set, a fishing kit, and a couple of random multitools that all fit in my wallet. The multitools have blades, a compass, a ferro rod, an emergency whistle, and lots of other useful tools built-in.
Self Defense
You already have a knife in your EDC kit, but you have other options for self-defense. I like to keep a tactical pen in my breast pocket when possible. It looks like a nice pen you might give someone as a gift, but it can be used to defend yourself if needed.
I have two made from aircraft aluminum. Both are perfect for targeted strikes to areas like the neck, eyes, ribs, or head. In addition, they have an LED flashlight, a blade, a glass breaking point, and several other tools.
You can also carry tools like a baton or stun gun for non-lethal options. Many of you already have a conceal-and-carry permit, and carrying a handgun is ideal if you are allowed to carry where you work. There are lots of smaller handguns that can be worn without anybody knowing.
Final Thoughts
Take the time to try out different items in your EDC kit to determine the combination that can easily be carried all day and will also meet your survival needs. You might find that you cannot comfortably carry both a pocket fishing kit and a pocket first aid kit and decide to go with one or the other.
That is completely fine. Even if you carry just one of these items with you, you will be more prepared than if you didn’t have it. Every little bit helps. You can also buy a premade EDC kit if you wanted, just to make things a little easier.
Be sure you know how to properly use all of the items in your kit. Just carrying these items is not enough. You need to get out in the woods and get practice with these tools. This is easy since you will have them with you every day.
The next time you go for a hike, go camping, go hunting, or go fishing you should stop and try out a few items. Just imagine you are lost or injured in the woods and see how many ways you can use the tools that you have with you.
The most important aspect of this kit is that you need to keep it with you at all times. If you go to lunch, the kit comes. If you go to the restroom, the kit comes.
When you go to bed at night, the kit should be in the same room. If you start carrying your EDC kit and find that you sometimes leave items behind, consider changing your kit. Decide which gear can be carried regularly and stick to it every day.
If you stick to this routine, you will be so much more prepared than the average person.