First off, I’m not really an “EDC guy”, but do admit to enjoying the subculture. The whole reason I started doing this is because my wife and I both work ancillary to the emergency services but we didn’t actually have any emergency plans or supplies ourselves.
I’ve always carried a bag, but mine had excess capacity so I decided to fill it. My wife just started carrying a “duty bag” with all sorts of emergency goodies so I added a few things. Basically if there is a large event, I wanted to ensure we both would be OK for a day or even two if we tried hard.
We are always told here in Vancouver to expect “the big one” an earthquake that will decimate & paralyze Metro Vancouver and Vancouver island (3-3.5 million people). I’ve attended numerous seminars on this and frankly, it scares the shit out of me.
The three major additions to what I would normally carry anyways are the Helio, Lifestraw and Ghoststrike which were all fairly cheap for the functionality offered.
The Ghoststrike, I chose because I wanted a small, lightweight knife in a very safe holster and the Lifestraw can do 1,000 gallons of water filtration/purification.
The Helio however, which I just retrieved from my US PO Box is really something. Solar panels, a 5,200mAH battery and several light settings allow for a very functional device. If the light is on its lowest setting and the device is fully charged you can get 700+ hours of light without any solar/external power.
The Helio is so well made and functional that I really recommend you check it out if you want a practical/large external battery with more features and a solar panel. I’ve included a walkthrough on the features instead of a slick ad or PR video.