Everyday Carry Update

For many years, I’ve carried a pocket knife and a flashlight every single day. And not just any. I have gone through countless iterations over the years. When you dive into the EDC world, you’ll find a vast number of opinions singing the praises of one brand/steel/LED/etc. At the end of the day, it’s all personal preference.

The sweet spot for a high-end knife these days is probably in the $300 range. However, most people would be perfectly content with a $30 Victorinox Cadet or something off-the-shelf at a sportman’s store. It really is a whatever-works-for-you thing. But here’s the deal, some people would drop $1,000+ on a grail (to them) folding knife. Does it offer additional utility over the $30 option? No, in fact, you could argue it offers less utility.

The same goes for flashlights. Yes, you can grab a light for $500+. You can also get the same, or similar, function from a $10 Ace Hardware at-the-counter model. We could add in other categories as well. A $10 watch can tell you the time like a $30,000 Rolex. Phones, power tools, vehicles too. Ultimately, it’s all personal preference. Some people pay more because they have a genuine respect for a particular style or quality of craftsmanship. Others pay more for durability. And some will pay extra simply because they like how something looks or feels. We all do this in varying categories. The person who values the $550 knife may have a 6 year old smart phone. The person who gets the latest model iPhone every year might not fathom why someone would carry a flash light at all (my phone has a light, after all).

It’s also an evolving process. For years, I’ve carried a small Zebralight, a Benchmade Bugout sized folding knife (the makes and models have varied), a slim wallet, and an iPhone. Recently though, I’ve found myself needing more than a simple blade. Instead of a simple folding knife, I’ve moved the the excellent Leatherman Arc. It’s a quality multitool in a world of subpar multitools. But I’ve gone beyond more than just the out-of-the-box Arc experience.

Next week, I plan to make a short video detailing my grab-and-carry-on-my-person tool kit. It actually frees up pocket space and has exponentially more utility than anything I’ve carried before. Stay tuned.

Now Reading

I’ve been reading the Richard Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell for the last few weeks. I just started the 5th book in the series and I’ve enjoyed it so far. Cornwell is also the author of the excellent “The Last Kingdom” series. If you’re looking for something to read and don’t mind the commitment required for a series, I highly recommend both of these.

Tip Culture

I’ve seen a lot of people speak about tip culture lately. The whole swing-the-iPad-around thing. I have mixed feelings on a lot of that. There is one thing that does bug me about tipping these days. This is primarily, but not exclusively at restaurants. You’ll get the receipt (or be presenting with buttons) with pre-calculated totals. It’s typically like 18%, 20%, 22% with the totals shows as references.

Lately, I’ve been calculating them myself and I’ve found that those totals are frequently wrong. First, they’re almost always calculated using the full total of the bill (including tax). So by default, you’re tipping on the tax you’re paying as well. Seems odd. But even if you accept that, the totals are often wrong. I’m not sure if the tips are calculated based on full price (even if you’re getting a discount), MSRP (even if you’re paying less), intentional fudging, or just a simple case of bad math. In any case, it’s annoying.