I’ve been stuffing my wallet with a number of items that I thought might come in handy. After awhile you start running out of room and it becomes kind-of awkward. It occurred to me that having a second wallet for the express purpose of hosting Every Day Carry (EDC) items might have some merit. It relieves your primary wallet of the bulk and most pants have two pockets in the rear that can accommodate it’s storage. (For guys over forty, this could balance your rear gear and help enhance what has begun to diminish on your back porch.)
Here are a few suggestions on the contents that could be carried that could be useful for emergencies.
– Bandages (simple first aid or for alternative taping/binding)
– Alcohol prep pad (first aid or tinder for fire)
– Fresnel lens (a.k.a. wallet magnifier or solar fire starter)
– Credit card knife (as a cutting tool or for possible defense)
– Single edged razor blade (a very compact cutting tool)
– Multi-tool card (the one shown has 11 functions)
– Duct tape (wrapped around card – unlimited uses)
– Currency (backup funds or as wallet decoy in case of robbery)
– Gum wrapper foil (when cut in narrow hour-glass strips are used with AA or larger batteries to create flame)
Not shown
– Bobby pins (as clips, lock picks, or tweezers)
– Mirror (for signaling or covert observation)
– condom (water container)
As indicated above a second wallet has a potential benefit of being sacrificial in the event of a robbery. Submitting a wallet with exposed cash to an anxious robber might satisfy their demand without sacrificing your primary wallet that may contain larger amounts of currency, credit cards, and personal information. You just need to standardize which pockets each wallet is kept in to know which pocket to draw from.
It is important to remember to eliminate certain items in your EDC that might be prohibited by TSA or other safety check points when traveling by commercial airlines or when entering other restricted areas.
You may already carry some of these items in your own EDC but a second wallet may provide more options. Your suggestions for other items to include are welcome and can be entered in the comments section.