Best Pocket Tool (1 of 3)
TL;DR A verbose and not especially eloquent but assuredly boring read about my iterative process to find the best pocket tool for EDC. There’s a few pics and lots of links too. 7118 words.
(Part 1: 3000 Words)
I have been on an eternal quest to find the best EDC tool(s) to supplement the typical knife, flashlight, pen, etcetera that fit my specific requirements. For our purposes here, EDC means what is carried on my person and in my pockets, on my belt, in my boot etc. Effectively, it is affixed to me in some way. Supplementing the pocket knife with crap I keep in my bag is very easy, supplementing it with only what’s in my pockets is tough! This search also must be considerate of my carry choices and methods with carry being either strong side or appendix, with speed loaders or a magazine in the pocket. So pocket space is a premium!
Requirement wise, I’m an IT guy, well THE IT guy, who works in a manufacturing company. While I do make my way into the shop when needed, I’m primarily in the office, and I don’t find myself doing as much field surgery these days in the office or shop. That said, it is quite aggravating to find myself at the furthest end of the building from my office, only to discover I need a screwdriver or Torx driver of some specific size and that no one in the machine shop I work in seems to possess such a tool but me. I also occasionally find myself doing some minor spelunking in the walls and ceilings to pull and mend cables, and there is the infrequent surface mount box or receptacle I have to open up. A screwdriver is also of course handy for rack mounted items. Considerations for this EDC outside of work are moot. If I’m doing real work on something that requires real tools, I’m not going to waste time and aggravate myself with pocket tools. I have sets of real tools for this purpose, and if it can break and fuck up my day, then I won’t leave home without the means to repair whatever “it” is. For me, the EDC that fits work requirements is sufficient for play requirements.
The conclusion is that in addition to the knife, flashlight, pen, etcetera, I would like to have a couple of other tools in my pocket with me all the time to save myself a long walk back to my office or from doing a tool scavenger hunt. The screwdriver is the most used tool after the actual knife, or maybe even before, and so my initial requirements developed as follows:
Must have at least a Phillips screwdriver. Multiple sizes are better.
Must have at least one flat head screwdriver. Multiple sizes are a bonus.
Must fit in my pocket, be compact, not be obstructive, and work with gun carry options.
Any additional tools, farkles, and greebles I can fit in the required form factor is a bonus.
These requirements in mind, I came to the following ways to meet these requirements. A bit of testing and experimenting with each category would eventually yield what I have settled on today.
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A multi-tool/Leatherman/Swiss Army Knife of some sort. One thing to do the knifing and tooling in one package.
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A custom made kit built of the tools I want/need to fit the size I want.
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A purpose built tool to meet my requirements.