Primary Arms
Round two! If you missed the first installment of EDC Essentials,
click here.
Three more Primary Arms Employees have laid out their EDC gear for you this week, and our hope is that you take a little insight and inspiration from what they carry. Choosing to equip yourself with certain items every day is a personal choice, and everyone’s needs are going to be different. What you encounter day-to-day may look nothing like what these three individuals prepare for, but some things are just essential.
Let’s take a look at this second installment. Watch for part three soon!
TONY A – Primary Arms Customer Service Representative
My philosophy on what I carry is straightforward. I choose to carry a firearm because it is not only my right as a law-abiding citizen, but as a Father and Husband it is my duty to protect my family.
Yes, there are more expensive and even more popular options when it comes to what I carry, but I have found that these are the tools that work for me. These items are on my person any time I leave my house, and even most of the time I spend in my house as well. What works for me may not work for you, but I believe with enough hands-on experience and a little bit of trial and error anyone can find what they’re most comfortable with.
For my EDC firearms I carry a Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 Compact 9mm. I carried the M&P Shield 9mm for a few years and always wanted to take a step up in capacity and I liked the modifications and improvements they made to the Compact, so I decided it was time. It carries comfortably, shoots great and I’ve had zero issues with it shooting either regular ball or hollow points. I typically carry it in a Concealment Express IWB Holster and will sometimes carry it in a Bravo Concealment OWB Holster with a Streamlight TLR-1 attached.
Carrying at least one extra magazine is a must for me. I typically carry the extra Smith & Wesson factory mag in my front left pocket. And if I’m able to comfortably, I’ll carry another magazine in a single mag carrier on my belt. All of my magazines are loaded with 124 Grain Federal HST’s or 124 Grain Speer Gold Dots.
I went through quite a few knives trying to find a solid utility knife that was easy to carry. Finally settled on the Link, from Kershaw knives. I use this more than anything else I carry. And since it’s very affordable I won’t have an issue if I were to ever lose it. Am I ever going to use it to actually defend myself? Probably not. But man does it come in handy.
I also carry a pocket flashlight. My light of choice is the Streamlight ProTac 2L This is another item that I never knew would be so handy. I have other lights with “all the lumens†but I find this one to be the most comfortable to carry on a daily basis. And it has more than enough lumens for what I need it for, which it typically giving it to my 5 year old so she can look for things or light-up a dark room she’s afraid to go in.
Sunglasses in Texas are always a must-have. So why not have them also be ballistic-tested? I wear 5.11 Tactical Ascend sunglasses every day. I own several pairs of shooting glasses and these are the most comfortable and durable I’ve come across so far, plus they are practical for every-day wear.
Coming from a background of working in a machine shop I know the importance of having tools handy. Since I can’t fit my toolbox in a spare pocket the Gerber Suspension multi-tool is certainly better than nothing. Any multi-tool is a great addition to an EDC set-up, but I’ve always had a Gerber. If I’m not carrying it on me it’s in my backpack that I carry almost everywhere.
More for Colin D and Matt D:
http://news.primaryarms.com/q/-mkL0T7D-x3CkY0KlzkUSNpDVJb-4a_GoBBYxadFvHaJJujQF6hGB_dim