Advice on EDC bag please

[Medusa]

So as with many of us I carry an EDC. I still use the old one I had when I worked 24 hour shifts/overnight away from home. I am older now and have some mobility issues and am finding the bag way too heavy. I no longer work overnight or 24 hour shifts and need to lighten the load. My truck is parked 5 minutes away from work which has a good stock of items, if SHTF at work I no longer have any responsibilities to others and could simply leave whereas before this would have been difficult. What at a minimum would you be willing to carry in your EDC in my situation? I should perhaps mention here as a female that I do not wear heels/ladies shoes and wear work boots so no changes of footwear required

[jansman]

So as with many of us I carry an EDC. I still use the old one I had when I worked 24 hour shifts/overnight away from home. I am older now and have some mobility issues and am finding the bag way too heavy. I no longer work overnight or 24 hour shifts and need to lighten the load. My truck is parked 5 minutes away from work which has a good stock of items, if SHTF at work I no longer have any responsibilities to others and could simply leave whereas before this would have been difficult. What at a minimum would you be willing to carry in your EDC in my situation? I should perhaps mention here as a female that I do not wear heels/ladies shoes and wear work boots so no changes of footwear required

I too have mobility issues now. Also,I cannot work either. That aside though,back at work,my EDC was in my work trousers pockets. The GHB in my car. My car was parked away from work,so if anything went wrong,my car was safe! So car keys in pocket most important. Along with multi tool ( very,very used) ,phone and wallet. Phone was always 100% charged and never prattled about with at work. Unlike many colleagues In my wallet was always at least a hundred quid in ten and five pound notes. Still is. In an emergency cash is still king. One example was our local petrol station; card machine playing up ,so cash only! In that wallet was always a few plasters- after all ,knives were my tools- and a resuscitation face shield,as I was the first- aider. A bottle of water too. Always filled when emptied. Latterly ,dehydration was a health issue that arose for me,and it was important. A cigarette lighter too.

In Winter I would wear my waxed jacket to walk through the church yard to work, which always had a couple of mars bars and my woolly hat inside too. I wore work boots too,not poncy trainers like the rest of em,so if I had to I could walk home in about four hours.

As things are now,I still have the same in my pockets ,with the exception of the Leatherman. I have a Swiss Army knife instead. Too much kit is too much clutter. Skills are better.

[Frnc]

So as with many of us I carry an EDC. I still use the old one I had when I worked 24 hour shifts/overnight away from home. I am older now and have some mobility issues and am finding the bag way too heavy. I no longer work overnight or 24 hour shifts and need to lighten the load. My truck is parked 5 minutes away from work which has a good stock of items, if SHTF at work I no longer have any responsibilities to others and could simply leave whereas before this would have been difficult. What at a minimum would you be willing to carry in your EDC in my situation? I should perhaps mention here as a female that I do not wear heels/ladies shoes and wear work boots so no changes of footwear required

Hard to say what you should carry, but I can help with reducing weight of gear. Can you maybe list what you carry now, how much it weighs in total including bag, how much some of the items weigh? Then it's a choice between not carrying something, or spending money on a lighter version. What items do you think you could ditch? What items do you want to replace with lighter ones?

For instance, starting with the bag itself. How heavy is the empty bag, and what is the capacity? Obviously if you decide to ditch some items, you could use a smaller bag. If you get lighter versions of some things, they should pack smaller, so you might be able to use a smaller bag. I would have thought an empty EDC bag should weigh no more than 800g. You can get lighter, but side and lid pockets make it easier to find things. A good example is the Berhaus Arrow 30, 760g. I use one for groceries shopping. The lightest day packs you can buy weigh as little as 100g, but these are smaller (a bit, to a lot), and are very basic packable type rucksacks.

Here is a whole load of the lightest rucksacks, listed in order from lightest at 57g. https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/day-packs/

Here is a smaller 18 litre rucksack that weighs about 120g (£17.90)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naturehike-Ult ... DM4Y/?th=1

[Frnc]

I don't carry edc myself, usually. Depends how far I go. On bike rides I have quite a bit. In my bike tool kit I carry this tiny Swiss Army knife
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001U51Z4Y/
Claimed weight is 21g

[Frnc]

If you want to carry water, you can get Platypus collapsible bottles. 1.0 litre weighs 24g. I also have a 0.5 l bottle.
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/sof ... osure-cap/

[Frnc]

For first aid on my bike, I have this, 110g,
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ult ... dical-kit/

but I've replaced most of the things in it and not weighed it. They also do the 3 which weighs 66g
https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/ult ... dical-kit/

Of course you can just have a few things in a small re-sealable plastic bag. I prefer a fabric bag for durability in my pannier.

My bug-out bag first aid kit is home made, in a Sea to summit 3l first aid dry bag 44g.

[Frnc]

Torches

For edc I might carry a little torch that uses 1 AAA battery. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01CS8LYVU/
I have one on a lanyard in my bike bag. Also one in my BOB for redundancy. I have an aluminium whistle on the same lanyard (they came together) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01NBC60ZA/
plus a mini screwdriver
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Q6ZQSWS/

Also I have in my BOB a mini Petzl head torch that uses 2 coin batteries than can be stored in it for 10 years.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01KYTR0HM/
This comes in a little case which protects it, but it is a bit fiddly to pack it inside, so I would recommend it for emergency use rather than regular.
I also have a "proper" one, Black Diamond Storm, uses 4 x AAA. This resides on my bed post. The later versions are a bit more powerful, but this is perfectly adequate.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07MRFPJ2W/

[Frnc]

The only other thing I carry routinely apart from bike stuff and shades etc, is a small zip-up clear plastic case (with fabric sides where the zip is). This is in my bike bag. It contains:
Tissues (travel pack x 2)
Disposable gloves
Coin towels (add water to get wet wipe)
Hand sanitizer gel
Imodium Instants
maybe small tube of cream

In summer I carry a packable bucket hat (not on my bike, obviously) and shades.

Also because my eyes are knackered, I carry high power (x 3.5) reading glasses.

[korolev]

Here is a whole load of the lightest rucksacks, listed in order from lightest at 57g. https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/day-packs/

Here is a smaller 18 litre rucksack that weighs about 120g (£17.90)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naturehike-Ult ... DM4Y/?th=1

What's the durability like on these lightweight jobbies ? My current bags are both 5.11 which are bomb-proof but weighty

[Frnc]

Here is a whole load of the lightest rucksacks, listed in order from lightest at 57g. https://ultralightoutdoorgear.co.uk/day-packs/

Here is a smaller 18 litre rucksack that weighs about 120g (£17.90)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Naturehike-Ult ... DM4Y/?th=1

What's the durability like on these lightweight jobbies ? My current bags are both 5.11 which are bomb-proof but weighty

Well, they are thinner material. The straps are just mesh. So they are not as durable. I've had a similar Naturehike one for a few years. It's been to quite a few gigs, 3 weeks in Japan etc, still as good as new. They aren't great to carry, as there is no back padding and most don't have a chest strap. The Arrow is a good compromise and has 3 decent pockets. It has no frame, but does have back padding, simple hip strap and chest strap. Chest strap keeps shoulder straps in place.