billwear.github.io

My EDC (every‑day carry)

What lives in the pack: equal parts Ubuntu, soup, and common sense.

Updated 2025-09-22

Technology

  • Dell 15‑inch touchscreen laptop running Ubuntu
  • Power adapter
  • 2 TB external backup drive + cable
  • Spare phone + charger
  • Boot/Reload USBs: “red pill” and “blue pill” OS sticks
  • Northern Europe power adapter

Outdoor living

  • Trail soup (four packs) & food tabs (generous stash)
  • Electrolyte tablets
  • Field water filter straws (2)
  • 2 L collapsible bottle; collapsible bowl and cup (with sip lid)
  • Camping spork and table knife
  • Roll of quarters ($10) — laundromats, payphones, plot twists
  • Compact camp shower & emergency poncho
  • Spare underwear, T‑shirt, socks; two hair ties
  • Large tarp (makes a fast tent); 350 lb rope + four 350 lb carabiners
  • Multi‑tool hatchet: small axe, hammer surface, rope cutter, flint & steel, three nut drivers
  • 100 ft orange paracord; waterproof matches; fire‑breather tube
  • Multiple flint‑and‑steel sets (redundancy is a love language)

Emergency

  • Compact first‑aid kit
  • Crank/solar emergency radio:
    • AM/FM/Weather with antenna
    • Large flashlight
    • Solar panel & hand crank
    • Rechargeable batteries; USB output

Field tools

  • Small tube of twine; tight roll of black duct tape
  • Rite‑in‑the‑Rain pens (few) + pocket notebook
  • Small Tasco binoculars; metal‑cased compass
  • Milwaukee 6 ft tape measure
  • Largest Swiss (with pouch) — long & short blades, file/rasp, fish scaler/ruler, scissors, pliers with wire‑cutters/stripper, Phillips, magnifier, large/small flatheads with bottle/can openers, two chisels, line hook, leather awl, corkscrew, jeweler’s driver, sewing pin, toothpick, ink pen, tweezers
  • Fire‑starter cotton; compass with map‑ruler; aluminum foil; pencil; whistle (with storage); signal mirror; two mini sheets of Rite‑in‑the‑Rain; simple knot guide; two band‑aids; pocket survival guide; fishing kit
  • Large Swiss Army knife — large/small blades, scissors, pliers with cutters/stripper, bit driver, large/small flatheads with bottle/can openers, leather awl, line hook, corkscrew, jeweler’s driver, tweezers, toothpick, slots for pen & sewing pin (currently missing)
  • Victorinox SwissCard — small blade, small/large Phillips, small/large flatheads, magnifier, scissors, tweezers, ink pen, sewing pin, LED light
  • Two hand‑powered chain saws
  • Two metal “Monkey Tools” — letter opener, bottle opener ×2, nut driver (sizes), flatheads ×2, Phillips ×2, knife edges ×2, navigation aid, line cutter, saw, assorted mystery holes that will be perfect someday
  • Two small multi‑tools; pocket knife sharpener (in box)

Outdoor guides

  • Tiny Survival Guide (11×14 fold‑out) with magnifier
  • Plastic card sets:
    • Wayfinding
    • Primitive cooking
    • Knots
    • Shelter building
    • First aid
    • Paracord
    • Fire building

Why carry all this?

Comfort is borrowed; preparedness is owned.

This bag isn’t for the apocalypse — it’s for the day the trail is longer than the map, the power is out, or the campsite faucet is decorative. Also, quarter‑powered laundry is civilization.