My Everyday Carry for 2026
I love the Everyday Carry (EDC) Culture. It’s such an obvious, inextricable connection to the physical world — even as more tech permeates what we carry on an everyday basis.
In other words, it’s the perfect collision of my interests, and the mission of this website.
So I thought it would be fun to go through my EDC — what I carry and why it’s important to me. There’s an accompanying video with this article too.
The Bag That Holds It All
First, I’m a bag guy. I have so many backpacks and messenger bags; I generally try to have a use for all of them, but I definitely have my favorites in the rotation.
For my EDC, however, I wanted a new (to me) type of bag: a sling/crossbody bag.
I did a ton of research1 on these types of bags because I wanted to get it right. Plus I was time-constrained. I wanted to take advantage of Black Friday sales without risking returning a bag and then having to pay full retail.
Ultimately I settled on one of my first 3 choices: the Bellroy Transit Sling 5L. I like the size and the number of pockets it has. I think it looks good on my back.
Plus, it fits well in my travel backpack, so I can shove it in there when I fly so it doesn’t count as my personal item2.
The reviews of this bag were nearly universal on its actual capacity being less than 5L, but when I’m not reading a massive book, it’s more than sufficient for my needs.
OK — let’s get to what’s in the bag3. I’ll more or less start on the left of the accompanying image (the same order I go in the video).
Smaller Core Items
My Wallet: The Bellroy Apex Note Sleeve. I like slim wallets that can hold a few cards and some cash. When I looked into a new wallet, the Apex Note Sleeve stood out for a few reasons.
It’s got a magnetic closing mechanism so the whole wallet seals. There are just a few card slots, and there’s a pull tab with a hidden card slot for my ID and a few other cards.
It’s usually in my bag, but when I put it in my back pocket, I don’t feel like I’m sitting on it. My back thanks me for that.
My Phone: The iPhone 17 Pro in Deep Blue (which is a nice navy that matches my brand colors). I like always having the latest phone because of the camera and battery life; I’ve decided to move to the Pro from the Pro Max because I like using my phone with one hand.
I’m also trying to work from my phone less, which was my justification for a bigger screen.
The case is the Bellroy Phone Case INNOVERA Edition; it’s yellow — coincidentally my other brand color.
My Watch: I actually don’t fully touch on this in the video, but I have the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in black, with a Nomad Rocky Point Band in Sol (also yellow).
I like my Apple Watch a lot because it allows me to leave my phone behind and get only crucial notifications; I recently did this for a school event and it was nice that I wasn’t grabbing my phone at any semblance of downtime.
Travel Creator Tools
Skipping around a bit, I wanted to touch on some of the creator tools I always have on me.
Hollyland Lark A1 Mics: I like having these super compact wireless lapel mics on me for a couple of reasons; the first is that I’m talking to my phone more, and having a more reliable mic than the built-in one gets me better transcripts. It also lets me talk to my phone without having to physically hold the phone up to my face.
But aside from that, in a weird way , I’m always “content ready.” This may cut against my credo that when you’re not working you shouldn’t work...but I have a strong governor.
I absolutely hate making obvious content in traditional settings. I would need a very strong reason to just start recording something.
Pens: My brother told me that people always need three things: a lighter, a knife, and a pen. I’m two for three here4. But I will always have a pen on me. Usually more than one, so I picked 3 pens representative of what I’ll keep on me:
A Sharpie S-GEL pen, which represents an easy to acquire store-bought pen.
The Mark One with Clip by Studio Neat. This is pricy for a ballpoint pen (body), but it’s easily my favorite pen. I have 5 different variations of it.
The Platinum Curidas, which is a clickable fountain pen. I love fountain pens, and have a collection of about 15. I won’t always carry a fountain pen on me, but I do try to rotate them out every 1-2 days. I usually use them at my desk.
Field Notes Notebook: Pens are useless without paper, and I always have paper on me too. There’s a Field Notes notebook on me at all times. I like using these for jotting down quick notes or ideas; I love my reMarkable, but pen and paper is still faster.
This is also a perfect analog distraction device for my children when they get bored. I’ll usually let them scribble on the pages; this is another reason they’re great. I don’t have to be precious with them.
reMarkable Paper Pro Move: That said, I always have my new reMarkable on me. It’s compact and fits really nicely in my sling bag, and is prefect for meeting notes or bigger ideas.
You can read my full review here:
Portable Power
I have a (possibly irrational) fear that I will be without power at a time where I really need it. As a result, I carry a number of charging devices on me.
Anker Nano Power Bank: I LOVE this thing. It’s super slim and using Qi2 charging, which is compatible with MagSafe. It sticks right to the back of my phone in a very unintrusive way. And at 5,000 mAh (milliampere-hours), it’s about 1.25x my phone’s battery.
Twelve South PowerBug: Over to the right of the image, you’ll see a puck-shaped device. This is the PowerBug by Twelve South. It’s relatively compact for what it does: it’s a MagSafe changer with a USC-C port on the bottom, and a foldable wall plug on the back.
That means I can plug it into the wall and charge my phone or AirPods with MagSafe, and then another device (like my reMarkable, iPad, or Laptop) with the USB-C port. I also carry a USB-C to USB-C cable on me.
Miscellaneous EDC
The rest is an assortment of more common EDC items:
Sunglasses: These are the Shady Rays Jomboy Media collabs. Great price, and a little hint of Yankee pinstripes, which I love.
AirPods Pro 3: I love listening to music and podcasts, so I never leave home without these.
The James Brand Folsom: I always have a pocket knife on me (places that don’t allow knives notwithstanding). My criteria is that it must be easy to open, sharp, and lightweight. The Folsom ticks all of these boxes and looks beautiful. I love the bone-white handle with black blade.
Whatever book I’m reading: Right now it’s Emily Wilson’s translation of The Iliad. This usually creates the move variability in my EDC as books aren’t all the same size. This one is much bigger than the typical book I’m reading, but I still manage to fit it in my bag!
My Keys (not pictured): I also keep my keys on me. I try to limit those to only what I need so they’re pretty slim.
Airtags: I usually have 2 airtags in the bag as well: one actually on/for the bag, and one that serves as my keyring.
That’s Everything!
That’s it for my EDC. This stuff is pretty much always in the bag and ready to go when I am. It’s nice that I don’t have to go hunting for anything when I’m ready to roll out the door.
What do you think? What’s in your EDC? Do you have any recommendations? Leave a comment and let me know!
If you liked this, let me know that too. I’m thinking about doing my travel recording setup, my backpack, and how I pack for flights too.
OK, not a ton...but more than I’d usually do.
That said, I don’t usually bring much on the plane with me. I always check a bag, I have my backpack, and my CPAP, which apparently doesn’t count as a carry-on because it’s a medical device.
Some of the links contained in this article are affiliate links.
I will have a lighter on me if there’s any chance I’ll smoke a cigar.