My modified every day carry, on and off body (VIDEO)

My Every Day Carry is built around a Glock 19 with a number of aftermarket accessories. While the other items I carry are far more likely to be used on a daily basis, everything I carry and where I carry it are designed to allow me to get to my gun as quickly as I can and from as many positions as possible. To that end, I carry with my gun in front, appendix, under my concealment garment, along with an extra 17-round Magpul magazine.

In my right pocket, I carry a Tenacious G-10 black folder from Spyderco in my right pocket on a clip. I do this because I am right handed and most proficient using a blade with my right hand. I also carry my wallet, an RFID shielded jobbie from Celtic Shield and some lip balm.

In my left pocket, I carry my Inforce TFx 700 lumen flashlight on a pocket clip, and I keep a light on my left because that is the hand I would hold a light with when shooting a pistol in low light conditions. I also keep two Tool Logic survival cards in my left pocket as they’d be useful for less than ideal situations, and a standard Bic lighter.

My EDC has evolved over the years, and will continue to change to meet my needs as my personal situation and threat matrix changes. (Photo: Chase Welch/Guns.com)

A solid folding knife is an essential part of everyone’s every day carry. There may be no more versatile tool than a good blade. (Photo: Chase Welch/Guns.com)

Strapped to my ankle, I keep a Rescue Essentials Tactical Medical Kit that contains latex gloves, a hemostatic agent, tourniquet, gauze, chest seals, tape, a Sharpe to mark method of injuries and treatment administered, and a few Band-Aids for those tactical boo boos.

Off body, I carry a Gray Ghost Gear Griff Pack for a notebook, whatever books I am reading at the time, a larger medical kit that can serve multiple people, more ammo for my carry gun, business cards, a computer, and some hand sanitizer.

The pistol you carry everyday is a personal choice and must be right for you. You may choose to carry different pistols in different seasons or for other reasons if your lifestyle, clothing, and budget allow it. The bottom line is that you must be highly competent and confident with any pistol you carry. Your life and the life of your family depend on it. (Photo: Chase Welch/Guns.com)

There is NO substitute for a good medical kit on your person. It is shocking how fast a person can exsanguinate if they are bleeding fast from a major artery. I encourage everyone to carry equipment on them to help stop bleeding and start breathing at the bare minimum. (Photo: Chase Welch/Guns.com)

Then, I keep gear in my car. What goes in the kit, however, depends on where I’m going and what I expect might happen. If traveling out of state, I keep a larger bag packed with everything I need for a protracted fight. The three-day bag contains plenty of ammo, a plate carrier, night vision and thermal optics, a helmet and an extra pistol. The idea here being that if things go horribly wrong, I can pretty much sustain myself and my family or any one else traveling with me for some time.

However, if I am driving in my hometown, I simply carry a discrete sling pack by 5.11 with a Zenith Firearms Z5-P, which is a copy of the Heckler & Koch MP5N, a few loaded magazines, ear and eye protection and some highly reflective garments because in the event I should need this firearm, I do not want to be mistaken by the responding authorities as a bad guy.

Bringing it all together

This may seem like a lot of stuff – or maybe not –depending on how you look at EDC and what threats you expect to face. My background is military and I have had to live and fight out of a single backpack for extended periods of time, without resupply, so I will admit I tend to load for bear and expect the worst. However, I will also say that means I am most often pleasantly surprised that things are not as bad as they could be, and I cannot remember the last time I didn’t have something I needed.