I like to think of it in terms of levels of EDC. It varies with what clothes I’m wearing (mostly), where I’m going, how long I’ll be out, how far from home I’ll be, etc.
The very minimum I will carry is
- CCW in appendix
- folding knife or multi-tool in front right pocket
- small flashlight in front right coin pocket
- phone in rear right pocket (or dedicated phone pocket in some pants, cargo pocket in other pants)
- wallet in rear left pocket
- keys in front left pocket
2020 made me change a little in that now I almost always have at least 1 spare mag and pepper spray. I have made it a point whenever I shop for pants/shorts to make sure they have those “extra” pockets. Vertx, 5.11, Viktos all have a set of “hip pockets” (not sure what else to call them) that will easily take a magazine, pepper spray, larger flashlight. These let me either spread out more the minimal stuff I’m carrying (more comfort) or add more stuff overall. If I’m wearing one of those pants, spare mag goes in hip pocket and pepper spray get clipped to front left pocket next to keys.
Many times I will have a fanny waist pack (@Gary263 I agree!) which gives room to carry more stuff but its not “in my pockets”. Trauma kit, spare mags, food, other odds and ends that sometimes come in handy. If I have my commuter backpack, well thats just full of goodies. I tell people I know and trust if I ever go down in a disaster to loot my body for survival items.
Here is a pic I posted in another thread. Olight’s Baton series is near perfect IMO for an EDC light, although in winter I will carry one of their larger 18650 powered lights instead.