(On a less tongue-in-cheek note, my EDC is obviously dominated by writing instruments and accessories. While these appear redundant, each does serve a specific purpose, as detailed below, for my writing at work and play.)
1. Filson Original Briefcase, tan. Rugged and good looking, like LPP himself. Also like LPP, carries an assortment of useful dry goods that are popular with the hipsters and the creatives and the new urbanists. Acquired at a substantial discount through an authorized (but unexpected) Filson dealer who shall remain nameless, due to the Filson-policy-violating discount at which the briefcase was sold.
2. Field Notes, Shelterwood edition. More detail on why I settled on Field Notes can be found here. This notebook serves as my all-purpose creative writing notebook to jot down anything from a phrase to several paragraphs as it may strike me.
3. Pocket Journal Cover, Sandlot Goods. Also discussed in more detail here. Very happy with it so far, and glad to have supported a KC business in buying it.
4. Moleskine plain notebook - pocket. Although I've moved from moleskine to Field Notes for almost all purposes, I still keep this hard-backed, plain-paper notebook for sketching when I need the hard-back surface for support.
5. iPhone 5s. Planner, DJ, administrative assistant, phone, e-mail terminal, reference librarian, camera, mobile publishing platform.
6. Clear poly snap envelope with blank Hammermill color copy digital paper (28 lb., 100 brightness). Learned this trick on a fountain pen forum: this is an excellent low-cost paper that works very well for writing with a fountain pen. I carry several pages to use for sketches, scratch paper, etc., that won't fit in (or aren't ready for) my notebook.
7. Ray Ban 5150 2034. Disguise/instant cred accessory for spur-of-the-moment visit to the vinyl store, pour-over coffee house, or Buzzard Beach. However, loses cred points for having Rx lenses.
8. TWSBI Mini Classic Fountain Pen -- Fine. I use fountain pens when I'm going to be writing anything of any length, as the motion of writing with a fountain pen fatigues my hand and arm less than if I use a ballpoint pen. The TWSBI is well made and a great value, but I think I would buy with a "M" nib instead of a "F" nib if I were purchasing again--the TWSBI Fine nib is finer than the Lamy Fine nib, which is perfect for the way I write. However, the finer nib of the TWSBI does work better for writing in the narrow rules of the Field Notes notebooks, so it finds quite a bit of use there. The smaller size of the TWSBI as compared to the Lamy also makes it easier to carry in some situations. Filled with Waterman Serenity Blue ink.
9. Lamy Al-Star -- Fine. This Lamy Al-Star and its Lamy Safari cousin are my two favorite pens. Cheap, rugged, dependable, great writers. Each was bought on Amazon for about $26. This is the fountain pen I would recommend. Filled with Sailor Jentle "Grenade" ink, a unique shade that has the added benefit of providing a contrasting shade to the blue in the TWSBI and ballpoints when needed.
10. Parker Jotter ballpoint w/ Schmidt P 900 M purple refill. The Parker Jotter is a classic. Affordable and dependable, and the availability of many refill alternatives means you can customize color and ink type to your heart's content. This Schmidt refill is less purple than dark blue, but the classic ballpoint and ink of the refill is perfect for writing carbon-copy checks or on smudge-prone surfaces.
11. Waxed Canvas Utility Roll, Bradley Mountain. This roll holds two pens/pencils and up to two Field Notes-sized notebooks, making it useful for protecting a spare notebook in the briefcase as well as the bend-prone tip of the Rotring 600. It also serves as a mini-briefcase that can be undocked from the mothership and used when carrying the full briefcase would be unwieldy. Purchased on sale from Huckberry.
12. ACE pocket comb. For taming unruly hair or as a prop for impromptu stagings of "Grease."
13. Field Notes, graph paper. Provides redundancy in the case of power or memory failure of the primary Field Notes unit. (Or may be used for specific projects: currently, a notebook compilation of cocktail recipes.)
14. Rotring 600 mechanical pencil, .5 mm. For sketching or writing when mistakes may be made.
15. Parker Jotter ballpoint w/ Schmidt easyFLOW 9000 M blue refill. This refill is smoother than the P 900 M and more useful for extended or precision writing.
16. Horween Chromexcel #81 flap wallet, Chester Mox. A beautiful wallet bought at a significant discount, but it appears this model is no longer made. Carries an ID in an outside pocket with two additional cards (or more if needed) and cash inside and still presents the slimmest profile of any wallet I've used, about 3/8 of an inch.
17. J. Crew Factory bottle opener key ring. Comes in handy surprisingly often (so many craft brews to open) and doubles as a hook for hanging the keys in convenient locations.
No knife?
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