Everyman EDC: A Look at What the Average Armed Citizen Carries

This article originally appeared in CONCEALMENT Issue 13

Compiled and Edited by the RECOIL Staff

Kita Busse

Profession
Shooting Coach

Job title
Owner, 180 Firearms Training, LLC

Describe Your Working Environment
I am a movement coach for competitive level shooters and teach fundamentals to small groups for my own company, 180 Firearms Training, LLC.

How does your work environment affect your EDC?
I spend the majority of my time on the road by myself, whether it be driving or flying. As a woman traveling the world alone, it is of the utmost importance that I have the ability to protect myself.

Describe your EDC items
SIG SAUER P365
In selecting a firearm for EDC, I was looking for something compact enough to hide on my small frame, but with a decent capacity and grip size. I went with the SIG P365 because it can carry up to 13 rounds, it fits my hands well, and I can reliably hit a target accurately at speed. It was a good fit for me and my body type.

Streamlight ProTac 2L task light
I carry a Streamlight ProTac 2L task light, or something similar that’s slim with a clip to easily attach to my front pocket or belt. It turns on with the push of a button in case my other hand is occupied. What I usually end up using this for is looking under the hood of a car, locating items in the dark, or lighting my path.

Gerber multitool
Due to wardrobe restrictions, the Gerber usually stays in my purse or backpack so that it is always within reach. This is not a good idea with a gun, but if I get separated from my Gerber, I can live with that. I’ve used it to cut off the shoe of a woman with a gunshot wound to apply a tourniquet to her ankle.

ESS Crossbow
I’m currently using military-grade ballistic eyewear, the ESS Crossbow. I like it because it’s affordable, it works, and it doesn’t obscure my peripheral vision. There is also an option for bendable arms that don’t apply pressure to the sides of the head, which is great for under a hat, muffs, or for those who are headache prone.

Keepers Concealment Short Errand
I can use the clip with anything from jeans with a carry belt to yoga pants without. It’s comfortable and doesn’t come into contact with my leg. I like the idea of kydex covering the trigger guard for safety as opposed to a soft holster.

Mean Gene Leather belt
Mean Gene Leather makes excellent carry belts that are firm and durable. It doesn’t stretch out easily like other belts do and has an easy release buckle.

Explain your everyday-carry philosophy
I carry praying that I will never need to draw my pistol, and my primary form of self-defense is avoidance and de-escalation.
I carry on my person rather than in my purse, car, etc., because I can be separated from those things. I can’t be separated from myself. It is important to carry as an everyday lifestyle, because if I don’t have my gun the one time I need it, then I will never need it again.

Follow Kita at www.facebook.com/180FT/

Jacqueline Carrizosa

Profession
Technical advisor, athlete, stuntperson, and model

Describe your working environment
Discreet and high paced. Environments are subject to change due to national locations. Sometimes, I’m even just sitting in my college classes. Usually clothed normally, but thanks to innovative companies I can use my functional gear clothing and appear normal.

How does your work environment affect your EDC?
My work environment is always changing and is all over the United States, so I like my gear to be as versatile as my days and minimal. I travel a lot so it’s important to me to have items I can always carry that take up a small amount of space. I would love to carry more, but make do with what you can.

Describe your EDC items
Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm
Stippled grip, stock trigger (need to change that one day … ha), and TruGlo night sights; two magazines with TTI Magazine Extension basepads; Critical Defense hollow points by Hornady; NeoMag extra mag clip/holster

StealthGear USA appendix holster
Varies depending on clothing style. Works in almost all IWB positions. I mostly use appendix or 4 o’clock.

Optional Hidden Heat women’s holster
Velcro-tightened and great for concealed carry without a belt, i.e. yoga pants, skirts, etc., very slim, and easy to use in multiple outfits.

Cheap ASP light
I got it a few years ago; great LED light, super bright for its size.

Minimalist Knife
Great size, and I have a small sheath for it.

RATS TQ
Controversial, but minimal and fast for me to have on-body carry. If you can carry an SOF TQ, a wide SOF TQ, or a CAT TQ (North American Rescue makes great ones), that tourniquet setup is better for the body and technically better to use. I have three tourniquets (not RATS) in my truck at all times in my personal med response bag I have built over the years.

Lipstick
I use it daily — plump the lips.

Explain your everyday-carry philosophy
No one cares. At the end of the day you should know how to save yourself and possibly others, if you can help and you’re in the right position to do so. Train and train again. Go to shooting competitions and learn from established instructors where you fumble and suck at proficiency with your firearms of choice. If you have a family, you should be able to protect them and, because we live in the USA, we can protect lives and our homes with whatever tools we deem necessary. Learn medical assistance for those in emergency situations. Time is of the essence and very valuable in grave situations. I share many techniques on a daily basis with friends and family and through my students in my courses.

Follow Jacqueline at https://www.facebook.com/JacquelineCarrizosa/

Charr Cee

Profession
Healthcare Recruiter/PI

Describe your working environment
I’m out in the field a lot, so it’s important to always be vigilant and prepared for any situation. I’m always out dealing with the public, whether it’s doing seminars with our local Bass Pro Shops or a lot of community involvement events.

How does your work environment affect your EDC?
Depending on what outfit I am wearing and where I’ll be, I’ll choose between a G43 or G19. My Glock 43 is easier to conceal than my Glock 19 due to my size. I carry on a daily basis, because I refuse to be a victim.

Describe your EDC items
Glock 43 + Miss Concealed Hidden Heat Gun holster
The G43 is a lot easier to conceal, and I usually carry this on me with an IWB holster or with the Miss Concealed Hidden Heat holster when I’m wearing pencil skirts or professional attire.

Spyderco folding knife with a stainless steel blade
My Spyderco knife is typically carried on me if I’m wearing pants or jeans, though a lot of times it’s carried in my purse.

Jord watch
I can’t go anywhere without a watch.

Sephora liquid lipstick in Burnt Sienna
Sephora liquid lipstick, because a girl still has to have that balance of being a badass yet feminine.

Explain your everyday-carry philosophy
I believe a woman should be able to protect herself and not depend on a man. It’s imperative that we continue to train with our EDC. I’m exercising my American rights, the right to keep and bear arms.

Go to http://cctactics.com/

Kevin Estela

Profession
High school teacher, owner/head instructor at Estela Wilderness Education, writer/photographer

Describe your working environment
I work in a public urban high school where weapons are prohibited. I can’t leave items in my vehicle by law and am not allowed to have them on my person on school grounds. As a survival instructor and writer, I travel frequently and end up in many cities before I hit the woods and waters. The environment is always changing.

How does your work environment affect your EDC?
When I get home and away from the high school, I arm myself with my G43, a spare magazine with extension, and my Atienza Kali EDC4 blade. I hate being disarmed at work, but would hate being unemployed and jailed for carrying certain items at work even more. In the woods, I add more robust gear to my belt and daypack to supplement the first line gear carried in my pockets.

List your EDC items
Streamlight ProTac 1L-1AA
Until I can see in the dark, this high-output and inexpensive light I can buy or salvage batteries for easily will ride in my left front pocket. It has had a place there for the past three years.

Victorinox Ranger with Exotac FireROD
The bare minimum non-threatening knife and fire-starter tools I carry everyday wherever I travel to around the globe. Most of the time it rides in my pocket, unless I’m in the great outdoors — then it goes on the belt next to a stout 4-inch belt knife.

Marathon TSAR with Prometheus Design Werx Watchband Compass
This diving watch I really do use for diving, and its compass keeps me on time and helps me with general orienteering or as a backup to verify my primary compass should I ever doubt it.

NxN Merino Wool Handkerchief
Ever since I was lead survival instructor at the Wilderness Learning Center, I’ve carried a handkerchief in my back pocket as a flexible fabric tool with 101 uses. It is a pressure bandage, potholder, flexible weapon (with weight attached), head wrap, and indispensable EDC item.

Glock 43/Spare Mag/Atienza Kali EDC4
I carry the G43 for maximum concealability AIWB and my blade at the 10 o’clock position and drop the spare mag behind the handkerchief in my back pocket. These capable tools are easy to carry and can help me address my envisioned realistic threats.

Explain your everyday-carry philosophy
I believe in carrying a baseline of multipurpose practical gear. The items represented here are constants, and depending on what I’m legally allowed to carry, I add to it. My gear needs to be lightweight, as summers are hot and so are some of the tropical destinations I travel to. It needs to be realistic and grounded in an honest threat assessment. One of the most important aspects of my pocket carry is pressure testing. All of the gear I carry, like my Swiss Army knife that I’ve cleaned fish within Alaska, has been used extensively proving its worth and inclusion in my kit.

Visit http://kevinestela.com/

Rob Harbin

Profession
Overseas security contractor and writer

Describe your working environment
My daily environment can be a smorgasbord from being at a charity event in the city one day in a suit and tie, to being up in the remote mountains of the Appalachia the next enjoying the fresh mountain air.

How does your work environment affect your EDC?
With a broad range of environments, I focus on items that will be suited for the broadest range of capabilities with minimal baseline deviation in items to meet the daily changes and locations.

List your EDC items
Glock 26 Gen 5 and Crossbreed holster
Back when I was younger, seeing my father receive the Tupperware box with one of the first Glock 17s in the U.S., to my departmental carry sidearm being the Glock 22, and deploying for 11 years in Iraq and Afghanistan being issued the Glock 19 — I have always preferred the dependability and minimalist reliability of the stock Glock. The Glock 26 with a Glock 19 magazine in a Crossbreed Holster fits into my EDC carry in each environment.

Spyderco Mantra Titanium folding knife
Spyderco has been strong and sturdy while holding a sharp edge. I chose a plain blade to allow easy sharpening.

Garmin Fenix 5
It allows communication with the iPhone and Garmin Inreach Mini, with apps that bring technology away from always having a cell phone in your hand. It is stylish enough to fit in wearing a suit and rugged enough for being up in the mountains.

Garmin Inreach Mini
Being in remote areas where a cell signal or assistance could be 30 miles away, the Inreach Mini brings a communication source anywhere I could go in the world — all the while being half the footprint of a credit card.

SureFire Guardian
This is the newest addition to my EDC carry. The SureFire Guardian is a dual beam multi-level brightness light that’s as adapt reading a map as quickly brightening to light up an entire field without switch actuation. When in the remote mountains with the closest street light 15 miles away, the Guardian brings daylight to darkness. As well, it can be used as an external battery pack for the iPhone and Garmin Inreach.

Explain your everyday-carry philosophy
My EDC carry philosophy has always been to keep it simple and minimalist. Not just focusing on the anomaly of a hostile threat, but also what items increase the comfort and safety of my daily life and at the same time having the broadest range of incidents and tasks covered. Having a mindset to use the tools at hand and always thinking how to utilize them to shoot, move, and communicate. All the while, EDC items should be reliable, but not completely depended on for daily success or failure.

Jason Squires

Profession
Trial attorney, competitive shooter

Job title
Owner, SQUIRES LAW, PLLC

Describe your working environment
Daily visits to various Arizona courtrooms; working near various individuals charged with a multitude of serious crimes, including homicide.

How does your work environment affect your EDC?
I must have a firearm that is concealable and easily donned and doffed. An ankle holster is a must for its ability to be easily removed while in my vehicle without drawing attention to what I’m doing (like taking your belt off outside your car). Most courthouses do not allow attorneys to bring their firearm into the building. My work environment situates me near the most dangerous and violent people in our society. The courthouse is also a lightning rod for potential terrorist acts, given its governmental nature and target density.

Describe your EDC items
Glock 43
It has a Ghost 4.5-pound connector, Trijicon HD orange night sights, and Ghost extended slide release. It’s lightweight and simple. The ubiquitous Glock frame and trigger make me feel as though I’m training anytime I fire any Glock. My ammunition varies between Hornady Extreme Duty and Hornady Critical Duty 9mm. I use a mountain bike tire tube over the grip. This trick, taught to me by Mike Pannone (RECOIL contributor and owner of CTT Solutions), was a peanut-butter-meets-chocolate moment. The mountain bike tire tube cut and slid over the grip is the best grip I’ve ever used.

Galco Glove Ankle holster
Has a thumb-break (essential for running). I keep a backup magazine, or two, with the first two letters of my last name written in glow-in-the-dark Trident brand marker paint (three-dimensional paint). The 3D paint allows identification of my mags as well as an index point when loading mags in a stressful environment.

Strider Knives, SnG tan G-10 folder
Named for the famed Special Forces Operational Detachment — Delta (Delta Force) snipers and Medal of Honor recipients Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon. This is the strongest folding knife I have ever owned. I could smash a windshield or pry open a car door (in theory — I’ve never tried).

Rolex Submariner in stainless steel
The watch is elegant and bulletproof. The Submariner is always on my person. Whether I’m shooting, diving, skydiving, sipping wine in the Bahamas, or standing in court, the Submariner is rugged, appropriate, and can take a beating.

Mont Blanc Meisterstruck Classique ballpoint pen
Again, this pen is also rugged and reliable. I have tested every pen on God’s green earth. Every single model has let me down at a key moment. Do you want your attorney shaking his pen while the opponent’s key witness is on the stand? No, of course not. When quality counts, Mont Blanc never lets me down. I carry a spare cartridge in my briefcase.

Explain your everyday-carry philosophy
The heavier the weapon, the less likely you are to carry it with you. The worst gun you own is the one you left at home. I tried lugging my 1911, Glock 34, CZ Shadow, etc., and they were simply too heavy and were not suitable for an ankle holster. The Glock 43 is the perfect fit for me. I might not be a personal security detail (PSD) for an ambassador, but I am responsible for the security of myself and my family and must protect them in all environments. And my philosophy is the training is as important that the firearm.

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