Whats Your EDC?

no frills, 5906 Tank
17+1
Went from glocks and berettas to this and have never looked back.

 

Hey guys, Im a beginner to EDC. I would normally carry a no name brand knife but want to start having a go to EDC for when I am out and about or at home.

Little backstory as to why I dont want to play it safe anymore. I take public transportation to and from work. The latest being the killing of a 23 y/o at the subway platform I normally take. All the robberies happening hours away from where I live, they have now found themselves within miles of the usual areas I spend with friends and family. The subway killing was the last straw. Luckily I was already gone when it happened. With all the brazen robberies at malls and homes, I want to be ready for anything.

I am planning on taking a CCW course as soon as I have some free time and find a reputable program.

What would you guys recommend as a "starter kit":
good quality knife/knives,
handgun that's easy to shoot and handle (i've shot and know my way around a handgun)
flashlight
any other must haves.

fwiw, my wife is a nanny of two girls (6 and 10) I also want to put together a kit for her to have at all times. I just recently purchased her a Go Guarded knife/pepper spray. Its a start and I make addiment she always has it on her.

Appreciate it.

 

Honestly my man, if you dont have much experience with different models, taking a train class or two, then trying several pistols out at a range will give you a good idea.

You have to find a mix between concealability and shootability. For most something the size of a P365XL or a Glock 19 is the best of both worlds.

We all have different body types and styles of dress and that can greatly affect how and where you carry.

In the summer I'll carry a P229 or P365x. Colder weather I'll carry my 92x centurion or P226. I've recently been rotating a Shadow systems MR920L in the mix.

I'm 6' 1" and 220 so I can get away with bigger pistols.

I like clinch pick type knives personally. They are compact and east to clip on my belt.

 

First forget knives. Unless you’ve trained in knife offense and defense carrying a knife into a fight is a bad idea. You may likely get stabbed with your own knife. Carry pepper spray if you want but leave the knife at home. Pepper spray may temporarily stop or slow down an attacker and give you the chance to getaway.
Next I’ll just touch on guns. Everyone will have their own gun suggestions. I will just suggest one you can’t go wrong with although there are several that would suit your purpose. I would suggest a Glock 19 9mm for the following reasons.
First it is a moderately priced simi auto. It is considered one of the most dependable autos you can have. It always goes bang. You can put a couple thousand rounds through it with out cleaning it and it will still go bang. (I do not suggest doing that. I clean my guns after every use). It is not compact and not full size it is in between and is excellent edc. 9mm is a very lethal round but recoil is mild. 9mm ammo is plentiful and not expensive. You can find 9mm just about everywhere. I could go on but will stop there.
Before you consider carrying please take some gun training classes and self defense classes. Don’t take the ccw class until you have got your gun and have put a thousand rounds through it. Until you feel competent and confident with the gun. Until you can put 80% of your rounds within the 8 ring at different distances and in different positions (standing, kneeling etc.) Then after you complete your ccw class and get your ccw permit be sure to get ccw insurance. If you ever have to shoot someone no matter what the circumstances (especially in California) you will be sued. Repeat you will be sued.
I could keep going but will leave it here. Keep asking questions about this subject. Good luck.
One other thing you can’t carry just because you take a ccw class. You first need to apply for ccw through your county sheriffs. After the interview you then take the ccw class ( most county’s in California 16 hours or 2 days). As part of the course you’ll have to qualify on the range with your gun. The range qualification varies from county to county. That is one reason you want to be quite competent with your gun before you take the ccw course. After successfully completing the ccw and range qualification you go back to the sherif for another interview and your ccw. This can be a lengthy process.
One last last thing, I just realized you are in N. Hollywood, getting ccw there may be a very long long drawn out process. Really long process.

 

Don't be a beginner to EDC. The whole EDC thing started out as people trying to out tactical each other with a "pocket dump."
"Hey look at how Operator I am. I carry all this cool sh...tuff."

Just carry the things you need to do the job of getting you out of the house and back home.
And consider... Just consider. Moving out of The Peoples Republik of Kaliforniastan. Reason I mention that:
1. They created this Social Monster you are considering carrying as an alternative to deal with.
2. They do not favor people who stand up for their own protection in their laws or in the courts.

I know we aren't supposed to get political here, and I'm not saying one way is better or worse than the other, but I think we can all look at the laws that California has passed and how they have prosecuted people for breaking them and determine that California (wright wrong or indifferent) makes it very complicated to do what you are asking. More complicated than 47 to 49 other states.

CCW is going to be very difficult for you. Even if you jump through all of the legislated hoops to get the CCW certificate from California (which is already very difficult and working its way through the court system on its way to the supreme court), you are then met with several NPE Exemptions. NPE is a Non Permissive Environment. Like any city, county, state, municipal, or other government property - including public transportation. Basically, carrying a firearm in California is only feasibly possible if you have your own vehicle and drive it to your own business that you work at and then back to your own home. And with your wife nannying kids I wouldn't even take a firearm to that location.

Knives... Knives are great as a tool to get work done. As a self defense mechanism they are horrible.
1. Most states have regulations about knives being a weapon. In my state, Arizona, if it is a folding blade, and 3" or less, it is not a weapon but can be if I use it verbally or physically in a threatening manner. Anything fixed blade or longer than 3" is automatically considered a weapon and subject to all of the same restrictions a firearm would be subject to.
2. Most fatal confrontations start from inside 12 feet. Inside 12 feet your attacker can cover the distance to you faster than you can deploy and use a firearm or a knife.
3. Distance is your friend! You need to look to resolve problems before it crosses that 12 foot radius. A knife can't do that.
4. A shockingly high number of people that use a knife as a defense weapon end up getting that knife used against them because the aggressor always makes the first move which puts you one move behind , always, and usually never able to catch up.
5. Wounds inflicted in a knife fight can be fatal. But are rarely a threat stopper. People who are stabbed can bleed out and die in 15 minutes but will spend their last drug fueled 15 minutes beating and raping you then killing you. What good is that?

Having said that, when we would go to San Fran, my first stop was always China town for a cheap knife that I would carry while there and then toss in a can as I went into the airport. One trip I got one with an EMT logo on it and ironically, it kept spring deploying in my pocket the whole trip. Once it poked me in the nutz, I dumped it.

Which knife, spray, firearm, etc should you carry?
When we DRIVE into California, I carry a 357 magnum revolver with the boolits in a speed loader - in separate locked cases for high way compliance. Then in the hotel I load it. But it stays in the hotel. Which, by the way has a Gun Buster Sticker on it. Most California hotels, restaurants, and other businesses do. In Arizona we have the Gun Buster sticker too, but here it's meaningless. They have to verbally ask you to dis arm before the sign becomes legally enforceable. In California it goes straight to illegal and the police get called. But I bring the 357 because it does not have a detachable box magazine. It does not hold more than 10 rounds (6 to be exact) and it is not a fully semi automatic ghost gun that weighs as much as 12 moving boxes and fires 300 clips a second. I would recommend you do the same.

I honestly don't care what knife you pick. They will all last through your first encounter with violence and if they break, then they break iff in your assailant. Job well done. Now they are perpetually being stabbed and can't use it against you. Same with firearm. What ever you get be sure you TRAIN with it. Train at the range shooting from a bench. Train while your feet are moving / brain is multi tasking (Check out the Casino Drill). Train in your home (no live ammo). Train in your car (no live ammo). Training is what stops the attackers, not the firearm. Remember YOU are the weapon. The gun is just a tool. I tell people what ever you firearm budget is, spend 1/3 on the gun. 1/3 on the training. 1/3 on ammo for training and practice. You can get excellent used Glocks (the Toyota Tercel of firearms) for $250 to $350 in my state. Probably add $100 for Cali prices. You are looking at $1200ish bucks for the privilege of letting the state severely castrate your magazine capacity, heavily restrict where you go and what you have access to, and then treat you like a second class citizen if you ever need to deploy the firearm or knife. Others might be all gung ho for you to go down this path, but I would urge you to exercise extreme caution because you are taking actions that are not favored by your state and it has immense resources to bring to bear on you if it armchair quarterbacks a predisposition to go against you.

 

@Abominator, @Sprig & @GTGallop ... Thank you for the information. Ill be sure to reach out if any questions I may have.

 

I like the Glock 43x. It's compact for appendix carrying and with Shield's 15 flush mag, it's a slim like G19 substitute

 

I don’t carry often. It’s mostly when we are hiking way out in the boondocks, but we usually carry my Smith 638. With enough practice, it’s accurate enough for squirrels out to 25 yards or so. It’s probably in the 90th percentile as far as round counts for Airweight Smiths, and it’s 100 reliable. Great little gun.

 

G43x w/ shield arms 15 rd clips j/k... magazines

 

If it was good enough for Sam Walker…

 

Yeah you carry that every day?

 

My favorite too. Nothing better than a single action revolver for edc .

 

That you have to carry a powder flask around for too

 

https://youtu.be/OnEkeQF46n8?feature=shared

 

It’s not always practical. I carry my Rogers and Spencer when I need something a little lighter and easier to conceal.

 

Those are really cool pieces but nothing compared to the red shag carpet.

 

Lol! The sweet carpet features in the basement man-cave are the only thing I kept when I renovated my ‘70s condo.

 

The correct Austrian pistol