Outfit Your Everyday Carry Like A Boss
No one aspires to do something like an intern. Lead, inspire, dominate—that’s the way it’s done. For nearly a decade, we here at GearMoose have been discovering and writing about the best EDC items on the market. The upshot of all that has led to this: our emphatic selection of a single best item in each category. Ridge, Leatherman, TJB, Rolex, zero of these brands miss the mark when it comes to what you should put in your pocket or otherwise carry on your person.
Some of you like to change it up each day. Some of you stick with what works until an item demands replacement. You could be the type to lay out today’s EDC in a grid and snap a pic. You might just snatch it off the nightstand and go. The only rule when it comes to EDC is to do what works. And regardless of what works for you, the following will ensure you’re prepared and organized to face the day ahead. Coming from inspiring leaders dominating the scene, this is how you outfit your everyday carry like a boss.
The Knife
The James Brand Carter Knife
Packages need opening, food needs slicing, cords need cutting, tinder needs shaving. In a dire situation, you may need to sever a seatbelt. Carry a good knife on you and the opportunities to use it will come up almost hourly. Once you get used to one, not carrying a knife will make you feel like you’re missing a limb, or at the very least severely underdressed.
When a knifemaker with the amount of craftsmanship and cult status like The James Brand calls something their “most advanced” EDC knife, that carries some weight. The Carter is a drop-point, ambidextrous blade with an easy one-handed opening. It will never feel bulky in your pocket but the rock-solid construction will cut confidently and consistently for years.
The Wallet
The Ridge Titanium Wallet
There really is a better way to cart around your cash and cards. Minimalist wallets eliminate the excess baggage that every leather trifold jobby accumulates over the years—stubs, receipts, defunct membership cards. Slimmed down and front pocket-friendly, minimalist wallets leave you with easy access to your necessary cards, as well as a few folded bills for cash-only taco trucks.
We’ve highlighted this particular money wrangler before. That’s because The Ridge Wallet has an intelligent, simple design (that holds up to 12 cards plus cash) and a sturdy last-for-years construction. Ridge makes it in a variety of flavors, but Titanium has that combo of strength and good looks that makes it shine.
The Carabiner
WESN CB Carabiner
A wad of keys in your pocket are just there to poke your thigh and wear a hole in your pants. Kept on a carabiner, they’re always accessible, and far more comfortable. Besides, a good carabiner just looks cool with your jeans/boots/waxed jacket combo.
WESN believes in the utility of simple design. Milled from a single piece of titanium, the notches in the CB Carabiner give the gate just enough movement to easily harness your keychain and belt loop, while keeping everything securely in place.
The Watch
Rolex Explorer II
Name another object that subtly announces your personal sense of style while simultaneously telling you it’s time for dinner. Your phone does not count. While watches sadly waned after the rise of the smartphone, their rocketing return to the wrists of men everywhere proves their enduring appeal.
Show up to the party with a Rolex and you automatically (pun intended) win the watch contest—even if other guys didn’t know they were playing. The Explorer II combines the built-in sophistication of a Rolex with the more robust size and easy-read function of a field watch. It’s the one with the iconic orange GMT hand and a mid-range price tag that makes it potentially accessible.
The Pen
Tactile Turn Titanium Bolt Action Pen
Like the watch, the personal pen suffered a moment of decline after we all got phones. But soon, we all realized that a quickly penned reminder or a brainstorm on a napkin were far more effective than poking through counterintuitive functions in some app on your screen.
Machined in-house in Texas, the Tactile Turn Titanium Bolt Action Pen is tough, properly weighted and features a satisfyingly smooth deployment that make free bank pens cry. Keep it in your pocket and you’ll be ready when thoughts hit. It’ll also give you something to fidget with when the line at the coffee shop’s at a stand-still.
The Sunglasses
Garrett Leight Brooks Sunglasses
A good pair of sunglasses can be the feather in the cap of a properly put-together outfit—without having to walk around with a literal feather on your head. Sunglasses also do your eyes the solid service of protecting them from sun damage and excessive squinting. Get a pair with a classic design and endeavor to always stick them back in the case, and you’ll rely on them for a good long time.
Garrett Leight sunglasses are designed in California by a company with decades of experience in the eyewear market, and each pair is handmade in Japan. The Brooks have a timeless keyhole bridge design with square lenses that look good on just about every mug out there.
The Multi-Tool
Leatherman Free P4 Multi-Tool
Your knife is great, but it is not pliers. Nor is it a screwdriver or pry tool. That’s where your multitool comes in. Keep it on your person and when something breaks, comes loose, or otherwise needs repair, you’ll be the guy in the room who says, “Let me take a look.”
Leatherman tools are the gold-standard of functionality and durability, the company that puts a toolbox in your pocket. The Free P4 has 21 tools, but doesn’t feel like you’re hauling around a brick. These aren’t obscurely specialized tools that you’ll never find a use for, either. Carry the Free P4 around for a few months and you’ll eventually find you’ve unfolded each one for one purpose or another.
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