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Earplugs
Can't go anywhere without mine now. Movies, sporting events, bars. Just way too loud without earplugs
For OP and anyone into this thread - If it's not on lemmy already, there was a dedicated subreddit for this called EDC (every day carry).
That's the one I've been using, not the most active but seems decent.
Back to the OP. I carry a Rovyvon A8x flashlight and yubikey on my keychain.
A towel.
"Any man who can hitch the length and breadth of the galaxy, rough it, slum it, struggle against terrible odds, win through, and still knows where his towel is, is clearly a man to be reckoned with."
A hardware security key, a knife and some pepper spray is usually what I have, plus my phone but thats a given
Edit: I live in a bad area haha
I didnβt realize that even good areas are bad areas until I was homeless. Got jumped by a preppy-looking frat boy in a nice part of Boston.
Now I carry the knife everywhere because it all feels dangerous to me now.
Damn sorry to hear that. I got mugged when I was going through my photographer phase. Recommend pepper spray since its a lot more effective and gives you distance to run. My knife is more for everyday use in my case
I couldnβt get pepper spray without a license, so I went with the knife.
That law has since changed in MA, and I hope that my telling that story to Elizabeth Warren helped change it.
I was utterly horrified to discover I couldnβt get pepper spray. I couldnβt even keep myself reliably enrolled in Mass Health, as awesome as it was.
No license needed for a knife so I got that instead. Now since a knife canβt actually stop an attack very well, I had to use it as a deterrent.
To do that I had to promise myself I would give anyone who attacked me life altering consequences. Once I had that established, I stopped getting fucked with.
Before I armed myself, after the attack, it was like I had a crack in my aura. Predatory people could smell the fear on me. Had a few weird run-ins that almost turned into fights. One time a guy just put his hand out and stopped me. It was terrifying.
The thing that hurt really bad about the attack was the way the guy stumbled drunkenly away, probably forgetting about me, having zero consequences. So at least I can prevent that from happening again.
Swiss Army knife, bottle opener, pocket pen, and most important of all: one of those wavy keys to open toilet paper and paper towel dispensers
A tiny keychain tape measure. It's one of those things you have no idea how much you'll use until you have one on you all the time.
Looking at something online? How big exactly is it? It says 16.5" but can you picture that in your head somewhat accurately? It's just easier to pull out your tape measure and see.
I've also started carrying around a small flashlight everywhere I go. I have an Imalent LD70 Mini. It's small enough to fit in my change pocket and it'll put out a blinding ~4000 lumens on turbo (for about a minute before it gets too hot). I do admit that it's not the best flashlight ever. It has a ridiculous magnetic proprietary charger that will short on whatever if you leave it plugged in but it does what I need it to do.
"Tape measure"
I measured my fists. Does well enough.
And know the sizes of some common items; paper currency, coins, hand, arm, length of stride. You can use these to get a close approximation.
Depending on how much you want to carry, some of these:
- Screw-lock karabiner, rated for climbing.
- Loud whistle.
- Resqme car escape tool.
- Mini pry bar.
- Mini flashlight.
- Keychain Fisher space pen.
- Mini swiss army penknife.
- Keys ;)
Gerber Shard multitool. Thing has come in handy so many times.
Bonus: Only useful multitool I've found that the TSA won't give you shit over.
Less.
I was the guy with all my keys and fat wallet with all cards and phone + Multitool knife.
Then I got inspired by my sister that travels a lot and tries to optimize for what she REALLY needs.
First I realized that most of my wallet is useless. I started carrying a smaller flip style one with my most used cards and some cash.
Then I reduced my keys to a carabiner with sorted keysets on keyrings, so I carry only the needed ones. Home + bike + cellar for daily use. Home + family keys for vacations. Home for going out. Added a very small key knife and a bottle opener that is part of my daily driver but left when not needed/forbidden.
The current setup is a phonecaee with space for 4 cards and maybe 3-4 bills. And my key setup. Yes you have to remember to take some Special thing. But usually I have my old wallet in my backpack when traveling or when needed.
Sometimes less is more.
A bottle opener, if you can't open bottles with anything like apparently everyone else.
inb4 reply guys: Please don't explain it to me and don't send tutorials I am not asking for help.
Titanium whistle, one saved my life when I was incapacitated and freezing to death.
A bottle opener.
I second this. Worth it just for the countless βI got you, broβ moments when youβre with friends and family.
I donβt know about pockets, but my bag usually has(besides the usual stuff) a tiny sketchbook with a pencil. I use it as an alternative to browsing my phone whenever I have time to kill.
Mostly because I feel I spend way too much time on this thing.. like now..
- Leatherman. I carry a Wave. Got a Gerber and a couple others, but the original (this replaced my 1st gen) is best.
- Pen & notepad. Always having your own pen that is kept full, and some paper to write someone a physical note, is an amazing superpower.
- Face masks. COVID is still a thing, don't be dumb. Also carry hand sanitizer or alcohol wipes.
- Flashlight. I have a small tube 9-LED that's usually in there, but also a 1-LED watch battery thing for the keychain, and I've got a few more around here. Yes your phone has a flash that can be kept on, but it burns battery, and is often awkward. Having light whenever is magic.
- Switchblade, survival knife, folding knife, etc. Defensive uses, but also heavier utility knife than the Leatherman.
- Pepper spray, derringer, etc. if you live in a dangerous area.
- Survival kit. This is more of a backpack item. Get a tiny survival, first aid, etc. kit, there's a million uses for having some cord, bandages, shiny foil blanket, etc.
- Cigarette lighter or box of matches. Even if you don't smoke, being able to make fire is another magic skill. I keep this with the survival kit.
- Headphones, I have slightly-better-than-earbuds tucked in my coat. Noisy annoying people just stop being a problem.
And then my phone, keys, wallet, shades. Yes, I buy clothes with a lot of pockets.
Do you carry a fuckin lifejacket too mate, fuck me if you fall into water you'll sink like a stone
Do you rattle when you walk ππ
A variety of Linux live USBs, you never know when you might want to convert someone
I have a tiny led light that fits on my keychain that I find really useful. It's better than the light on my phone and is a good backup light when I go camping. I also really like the Victorinox Rambler knife. It has a Phillips screwdriver, bottle opener, and scissors.
This handy aspirin holder. Could save the life of someone having a heart attack. https://www.saveaheart.ca/
Victorinox knife; FIDO2 key with USB-A, USB-C and NFC; small USB-A to USB-C cable with magnetic cable tie thingy
Edit: I regularly throw in a bootable Linux drive, too
A security key for your online logins.
If you really want to go deeeeep down this rabbit hole, the words to search are "every day carry". Hide your credit card first though π¬
- I have foldable scissors that are always attached to my keys. They're useful for, well, cutting stuff.
- Safety pins. Not only that you can use them for clothes (for example if your coat's button decided to detach), you can use them for self-defense if you can't have weapons or pepper spray.
- A small notebook and a pen. You can write down important things or just doodle out of boredom.
Chapstick
A hardware authenticator