EDC Bag or Every Day Carry Bag, this is a bag that is intended to have the supplies you need to survive in place for a couple of days or will have the supplies you need for 24-48 hours in order to get you home from work or from a near location (provided that you work relatively close to home – within 40 miles). If you work or have an activity further away from your home, you will have to take that into consideration as you are preparing your bag.

EDC bag considerations should be season and climate of your area, adequate clothing, temporary shelter, fire starting, water carrying, water purifying, food, first aid, required medication, communication and navigation.

I like a rugged, well made, water resistant backpack. I am currently carrying a Maxpedition Falcon II backpack.

An over the shoulder bag is uncomfortable to carry for long periods of time. Balance is an issue for uneven terrain. A fanny pack is way too small for my gear. I am typically at least 40 miles from home on any given outing. Check out this page for the basic contents I carry in my EDC bag.

Season and Climate

The season and climate of your area plays a big factor in all the other considerations in your pack. If it is really hot and humid, you will need to plan to carry or obtain more water than you would in the winter. A good rule of thumb is to be able to carry 2 liters of water to start out and be able to obtain and purify more as required.

Season and climate will also dictate what clothing should be in your pack for the season (hard soled walking shoes, long pants, long sleeve shirt, hat, gloves, safety glasses, merino wool socks at very minimum and more layers if it is cold), fire starting supplies may have to include tinder that will burn when wet or in a container, temporary shelter materials (less for heat and more for cold), how long your flashlight batteries will work, how many calories you will need in your food supplies, first aid needs, communication and navigation.

Gear

You need gear that works, that you have used or tried and gear that works for you. You may have special needs, you may be not as strong as you like, not as fit as you want to be, not as tall as most people, there are thousands of considerations. Sometimes gender makes a difference on gear and how it works. And there is always personal preference, you aren’t as likely to use gear that you just plain don’t like.

You need to test your gear periodically to make sure that it is still in working order. Make sure that your food supplies have not expired. Rotate your stored water supplies if you are storing tap water or filtered water (every 3 months is a rule of thumb). I usually test gear out when the time changes every 6 months and install new batteries in all items that require them (just as I do in our home with the digital thermostat, weather radios, clocks and flashlights), but a more frequent gear check doesn’t hurt.

Of course, in places that do not observe any time changes throughout the year, will have to go on another schedule. Figure out what schedule works best for you and mark it on your calendar.