When it comes to choosing the stuff you keep strapped to you on a daily basis, there are a number of things you need to take into account: the environments you’re normally in, the laws in your particular state and county, weight, mobility, and perhaps most important of all – comfort. It may sound awfully soft of me to suggest comfort matters when it comes to survival, but let’s be honest with ourselves – if what you’re wearing isn’t comfortable, it’ll eventually end up in the glove box of your car or the drawer of your desk instead of where it belongs: on your person.
I can’t tell you for sure just how heavy my EDC gear is, but it isn’t bad. I’d argue I lost more weight by switching from beer to vodka than I put back on each morning with this stuff – and that’s important. Not only does weighing yourself down make you uncomfortable, but if you’re like me and you load all of your daily carry onto your belt, it also poses a problem when it comes to keeping your weapon concealed. As many of us who carry on a daily basis can attest, a heavy firearm pulling your pants down on one side often forces you to readjust your belt and pants to walk comfortably – and one of the first things you’re taught when carrying concealed for security purposes is not to fiddle with your firearm. Every adjustment you make to your waistband holster will advertise the presence of your weapon to anyone with a keen eye for trouble – which isn’t the type of attention you want to draw to yourself.
The first thing you may have noticed in the picture above is the fact that I carry not one, but two knives. That isn’t because I love knives (though I do) – it’s actually a product of years of martial arts training. There are lots of different mindsets when it comes to martial arts, but regardless of discipline, I’ve always sought instructors that maintain a combat mindset in the execution of techniques. I’m not training to win a tournament, although I’m happy if and when I do, I’m training to win a fight I don’t want to be in. When you climb into a cage or ring, there are rules in place to keep you safe. If I find myself drawing a knife in a parking lot, there aren’t. I’m not even thinking about escalation of force – I’m only concerned with neutralizing a threat.
by Alex Hollings
