MindThe Beginner

As I promised I’m showing you want exactly is in my bag. As I’m a blogger nowadays my laptop goes with me wherever I go. But that’s not all that goes along with me every day. I’m not only a blogger, I’m also a frequent visitor of EDC forums. A forum dedicated entirely to all the things we carry with us every day.

For me it all started with my father, who carries a simple swiss army knife with him every day. But that was not all, he also carries a small stone egg with him that serves no purpose at all other than being a stone egg.  Many people find the idea of carrying a knife strange at first, but anyone who carries one will quickly come to appreciate its value.  A knife is the most basic of tools and, even in a urban environment, I use it almost daily.

Although I do carry a lot of stuff, it’s still minimal compared to people on the EDC forum. So I’ll just stick this blogpost under minimalism.

Let’s take a look in my pockets first:

Well, actually not all in my pocket but it’s on my person or first level EDC as they call it. So what’s actually in my pockets:

Seiko black monster automatic watch deemed indestructible by a lot of people. All I can say is that I’ve been wearing it every day for a year now and still no scratches on the glass. It’s about 4 seconds slow a day but I don’t have a need for the time down to the second.

Victorinox compass, magnifier and thermometer combination, cm and inch marked on the side. Brilliant piece of kit, the most important being the fluid filled silva compass. It points north and does so every time, what more do you need. I carry it for those times that someone tells you “walk to the end of the street and there go east to find that nice temple half a mile down the road”

Keyring with tritium vial and fox40 whistle. The ring is stainless wire allowing the keys to lie flat inside my pocket. The tritium vial will glow for about 10 years (radioactive, not glow in the dark) so I can always find my keys in the dark. The whistle is great for attracting attention for whatever reason.

Bigskinny wallet with bankcard, credit card, driver’s licence (showing, a strange shade of pink) and health insurance card inside. Probably a little cash in there too but I do almost everything with a bank card. The wallet itself is very thin and I carry it in my front pocket. Much harder to steal and I don’t like having a “butt brick”. There isn’t much room in the wallet so I can’t stuff it with all kinds of things. No pictures, no receipts, no whatever it is that people tend to stuff in there. Only the essentials.

Black Buff I have that around my right wrist. It’s great for keeping my hair out of the way when needed. These things are highly multifunctional: bandanna, bacalava, hat, headband, facemask and for me usually a wristband.

Lip balm There is something about cracked lips I don’t like.

A stone egg As a tribute to my dad. I gave him a nw egg a while back when he lost. I also bought one for myself at the same time and have been carrying it ever since. I don’t know what kind of stone it is though but I don’t mind. It’s a nice conversation piece.

Nitecore EX10 flashlight with a pocket clip. You’d be amazed how often a flashlight (this thing produces about 120 lumes, that’s more than a 3D maglite) is useful to have.

HTC Touch smartphone, I’m going to replace this one with an iPhone one of these days. I’d like to be able to listen to music properly and perhaps read some eBooks while at it. This phone isn’t very useful for that. It’s a great little phone but there are a few things that I’m missing.

Victorinox huntsman my main pocket knife. A great little tool with all the extras you could want without being to thick. It’s sharp enough to shave with (seriously) I use it every single day and feel “naked” without it. I’ve attached a short lanyard to it (with a glow in the dark end) so I can easily get it out of my pocket.

Something not in the picture There should be a fisher bullet space pen in there but I lost it resently. I think I know where I lost it and still have to look there. If I can’t find it I’ll get a new one. It’s one of those things that you quickly learn to appreciate, alays having a pen in your pocket. (Goes great with my moleskine)

On to the second level or “What’s in my bag”

A lot more in here of course, in here we have:

My laptop a PB R1801 easynote dualbooting windows 7 and ubuntu jaunty. It’s an old laptop and I’m looking to replace this with a thinkpad. Battery life is down to about an hour and everything is going slower day by day. It’s the only computer I own at the moment and it’s not very reliable anymore but it works and so far has never completely let me down. Will be replaced with either a thinkpad T400 or something Apple.

A 16 oz nalgene bottle. Every chance I get I fill it up with fresh water. I’m not much for soft drinks or spending money on drinks so I always have fresh water with me. If needs be I can use it to wash my hands or clean my knife. Ever had a bird do it’s thing on your bike saddle? You’ll instantly appreciate a waterbottle .

A hairbrush I have long hair and it does need some care. Put on and take off a motorcycle helmet and you’ll know what I mean.

Reading material at the moment Probogers book and Peter Ralston’s Ancient wisdom new spirit. You probably know probloggers book but I would really recommend Ralston’s book if you can get a hold of it. It’s an investigation into being so to speak. Ralston is a world class martial artist and founder of Cheng Hsin.

My sunglasses and hardcase, polarized glasses, a great way to keep bugs from hitting your eyeballs when riding.

A reflective vest just in case. I always wear it when riding in the dark, in rush hour and with a low sun but you never know when you might need one in an emergency.

A small bottle of alcohol handrub Not every public space is very sanitary, public transport for instance. Shake enough hands and you’re bound to shake hands with someone who has a flu and transfers it to your hands.

4GB USB stick with a lanyard attached to it. Just so I can instantly recognize which one is mine and it makes for easier grabbing.

Spyderco jester with LED light attached. A very small pocketknife and flashlight combo. I havn’t used this in a long while and I think I’ll get rid of it as part of my 100-things challenge. Razorsharp but not used.

Victorinox knife my backup pocketknife. Thankfully I’ve never used it, because that would mean I’ve lost my huntsman.

“Jordan Go” toothbrush and paste combo There’s always the chance to get stuck somewhere and having to spend the night. (Major problems with public transport) It’s a comforting thougth that I can brush my teeth (and have a fresh breath) if the situation calls for it.

A ferrocerium rod Only the real outdoor-people will know these (or anyone who has seen Ray Mears in action). Scrape it with a knife and a shower of hot sparks will be produced. It’s small, light and means I can always start a fire. I can start a fire without it (“rubbing stick” or other ways) but this is much faster. A lighter would be faster, but less reliable.

A bundle of cable ties You never know where these can be used for. Emergency repairs and “locking”  bag zippers come to mind.

My little black book A moleskine sketchbook. Used for all sorts of things but mainly for writing down quotes when I’m reading and investigating new ideas though mindmaps or drawing. There is a small pocket in the back of these notebooks. I have a few bandaids in there.

A CD with “memtest86″ on it The memory of my laptop has been acting up. It makes a nice mirror as well.

Random reader a calculator style thing that lets me log in to my bank account from any computer. Great for paying bills and checking the balance on the go.

An MSR towel Don’t panic! But always have a towel.

Pens and pencil these don’t need a further explanation right?

Ti Spork Somehow you always get plastic utensils with “street food”. Those always break with me. I don’t see this one breaking, ever. I heat-colored it.

Tire pump When you live in the Netherlands you’ll be using a bike a lot. A soft tire make for a terrible ride so I have a small pump with me. You’d be amazed how many people over here spend hundreds of euro’s on a bike but don’t have a proper tire pump. If needs be I could even use this one to add some air to the tired on my motorcycle.

10 Meters of paracord (30 feet) Replacement shoelaces, emergency repairs and recently used to lift some chairs 3 stories through a stairwell.

Power supply to my laptop and an USB to mini USB so I can charge my laptop and use the portable HD

Two things not in the picture The portable HD I just mentioned is not in the picture. a 320 GB lacie 2,5 inch disk. Also not in the picture is a small black collapsible umbrella, actually a special “wind resistant” umbrella. Can take winds up to 7 on the Beaufort scale without breaking.

Everything from this second layer is carried in a booq Boa 3m Backpack. A brilliant backpack, low profile but very though. It’s hard to see there is a laptop in there. It’s specially designed with laptoptransport in mind but with more than enough room in there for other things as well. You can easily stick a pair of running shoes and some college books in there along side all the stuff I carry every day. Yes it’s expensive, but it was worth it, if I’m correct it’s small enough for carry-on luggage and big enough to take everything with you you’d need for some time away from home.

A very long post indeed but I’ve always wanted to do one like this. Everything I EDC has had considerable thought put into it and it’s constantly evolving. It’s the constant "challenge" of getting the most utility out of the least number of things that appeals to me. If you add a passport, a change of clothing, a pair of sandals, a silk sleepingbag liner and loose the knives you’re set for minimalist international travel. Okay maybe a bit more work to it but the basics are here for a decent flashpacking tour of the world.

The bag is actually exactly the right size to fit inside the overhead compartment on a plane. Just imagine that, world travel with just a backpack, not having to wait at the luggage belt and hope your suitcase survived the trip. One backpack to navigate the world, my entire “office” is in here. Less stuff to carry, less stuff to loose.

I chalenge you, do a “what’s in my bag” on your blog and link back here. I’m really curious as to what yuo have with you every day.