Articles – Page 5 – everydaycarry-essentials.com

December 30, 2018February 5, 2020

Why Is Your Everyday Carry Gear So Important?

In my “About Larry” page, I touched on a story about my life and what our family went through one July night, and I have had a few people ask for the rest of the story. So I thought I would write a more detailed account so you know where my head is at and why I feel everyday carry (EDC) is so very important.

A Night To Remember

On Monday July 28, 1997 my life changed forever, I will never forget the events that happened and they will always change the way I look at life. We were having some of the heaviest rains I had ever seen in the Colorado Front Range, so everything was very very wet. It was about 10:30 pm and my wife and 18-month-old son were sleeping in our home and I was staying up late working on my computer. As I worked at my desk I heard some funny sounds coming from under the house, but at that point I did not give them a second thought. But as I continued working, those strange sounds from under the house kept occuring, they were weird sounds that were just not right! I got up from my desk and looked out the front room window and all I could see was water. I ran to the backyard window and all I saw was lots of water! It looked like there was at least one foot of water all the way around the house. We lived in an area that had high land all around us so it was filling up just like a swimming pool. At this point my adrenaline was beginning to rise and my stress level began to go up.

I woke my wife to tell her the news and we were not quite sure what we should do next. After a brief discussion we decided to stay in our house and wait it out because it had always been our “safe place” and everything would be fine soon. But we knew we needed to get our cars out of the rising water before they got water damage. I went outside and jumped in my Nissan 4×4 Pickup, got it started and moved it to higher ground, just around the corner. With the high ground clearance the water had not done any damage to it yet. Next I went for my wife’s Toyota Hatchback, it was a two-wheel-drive car with low ground clearance so as I opened the drivers door water began to rush inside the car’s floorboard. I was able to get it started and quickly drove it around the corner next to mine before the engine stalled because of the high water. As I walked back toward the house I noticed the water was up to my knees, which was higher then when I first came out.

Surprisingly, the rains continued to come down hard and the water was rising higher and higher. As we waited in our house we noticed that water was seeping through the floor boards of my son’s bedroom and it was then that we decided to leave our home. We gathered our son, 2 dogs and 2 cats and went out the front door, wading through water that was above our knees to get to our vehicles. We put the dogs and cats in the topper, in my pickup so they would be safe and my wife and I went to the gas station behind our house which was much higher in elevation and the water was not there yet.

The Water Gets Deeper

As my wife stayed at the gas station, I walked back to our home around the corner to get a few valuables and move the TV and stereo to higher shelves so that the water would not damage them. As I walked to the front door to enter, the water was now at my crotch and getting harder to move. Once inside the house the water level inside was about one and a half feet up the walls. I was moving things around in the house when I heard this loud buzzing sound from the back porch where the washer and dryer was located and the hair on my legs began to stand straight out on my legs. That stunned me for a minute until I realized that was the water hitting the 220 outlet on the dryer. With electrical current in the water, I decided to get out of the house as fast as I could. As I opened our front door inwards, more water rushed in the house, but as I tried to push the screen door outward it would not move. I had to push extremely hard to get it to move at all and the harder I pushed the more the water pressure pushed me back. So I decided to try and inch my way through the door, I opened it enough to get my right arm and shoulder out the door, then the water pressure pushed it closed again and pinched me there. I pushed harder and slid up to my chest but again the water was rising and the pressure pushed the door harder on my chest. At this point the water pushed back so hard that I was having a hard time breathing, the harder I pushed, the harder it pushed back and it was getting very scary at that point. So I pushed one last time as hard as I could and was able to slide the door off my chest and then a little more until I got through the screen door. I was very happy at that point to be through that door so I could get back to my family.

The Horror Continued

As I was walking through the waste-deep water toward the gas station, I suddenly heard some loud screams from across the street. Looking at the house directly across from me I saw a door wide open and water rushing into the house. The half block of houses in that short block was about six to ten feet lower in elevation then our house and the water pressure was probably much greater then on our side of the road. My only thought was to try and help those people that were screaming, but as I started moving in their direction the water became deeper with every step due to the lower elevation. Soon the water was up to my neck and I still had about 10 feet to go to get to there front door. At that point I had to make a decision, should I try and help those girls, even though I cannot swim and may possibly drowned or should I turn around and move to safe ground. In my mind there was only one answer, I had to turn around, I had a wife and child to think of. That answer killed me because I felt I needed to help them in any way I could.

The End Is Near

As I walked back across the street to the chest-deep water, the footing under the water was getting very slick. The surface I was walking on was grass and the longer it remained wet the slicker it got. Suddenly I got an idea, if I could not swim to save them, maybe I could help pull them to safety through that wet grass. When I got to the gas station I asked the people there if anyone had a rope but all I could find was an electrical extension cord. By this time some neighbors from the other side of the street were yelling and trying to get to safety. I tied one end of the extension cord to a light post and the other end of the cord around my waist, then I waded out in the deep water so I could grab each person as they waded across and helped pull them across that slick footing. I am not sure how many people I helped out of the water but I do know those girls made it across along with many other neighbors in that block. When all those that needed help were safe, I untied myself and took the extension cord back to the gas station. I found my wife and son and we got in my pickup and drove to a friends house across town, that was about 11:30 pm. We left with just the clothes on our backs, no shoes, no extra clothes, no nothing.

Conclusion

We were not able to get back to our house until Thursday, July 31, 1997, some time in the afternoon, that was 3 days later. When we got into our house, we could see the water marks on the walls, we had 7 1/2 feet of water in our house, that’s a lot of water. Yes all was lost! That was a night I will never forget! They said during the peak of the storm that six inches of water fell during 1 1/2 hours, they called it a 500-year-storm.

Why did I bother telling this event to you? A person never knows what kind of events they will be involve in? Please understand I do not expect many people to go through this kind of situation but you never know. A person should ALWAYS be prepared! My family and I walked out of this situation with nothing but the clothes on our backs, not even a pair of shoes! Why? Because we were not prepared! We did not know this was going to happen to us, who could predict this? If a person or a family just thought about the possibility of something like this really happening to them, it might just change their life. They might think of things they would need and be prepared. That’s why everyday carry gear is so very important. EDC on your person, EDC in your backpack, EDC in a Bug-out-bag (BOB) could save your life. If I would have had a BOB in my pickup or a EDC backpack, etc. it might have helped our family in this situation. Having some of your essentials right there with you would make a difference. This is why I started this company, to give you an opportunity to hear my story and maybe think if it happened to you. Think about your preparation and what you might need. So check out my website, my product pages, my posts, and let me know what you think. Give me some feedback. Let me help you be prepared.

If you ever need some help or have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below and I will be more than happy to get back to you.

All the best,

Larry

October 21, 2018February 5, 2020

My Everyday Carry Items And Why I Carry Concealed

Everyday Carry (EDC) is a broad term that means many things to many people. I have been aware of my EDC for many years and it can change depending on what what I am doing. I have EDC that I carry on my person and then I have EDC that I carry with me on a day to day basis in my Maxpedition Kodiak Gearslinger pack. You may call it my “man-purse” but never the less it goes with me every day, all day, where ever I go. But for the sake of this article, let’s narrow it down to what I carry with me on my person. I will cover my pack in another post.

What Are My Essential EDC Items

What do I carry with me on a daily basis in my pants or attached to my pants. First I start with a good belt, I need one that is stiff enough to carry whatever I need to carry without being too heavy. The EDC gear that goes on my belt consists of my cell phone, an UltraFire CREE flashlight, Next is my key ring in my left front pocket, my Schrade folding pocket knife in my right front pocket and my Maxpedition Micro Wallet that goes in my right hip pocket. Lastly is my Glock 30 (.45 auto) handgun, and yes I have a concealed carry permit, but more on that later.

Why Do I Carry These Items?

The gear I mentioned is what I carry on my person and some may not agree with my choices, but it makes sense to me. That is the important thing, it needs to make sense to the person who is wearing them. The belt I wear these days is leather and I like them. I like the way they feel and smell as compared to the tactical-style belts. I am not talking- down the tactical-style just for me leather is the way to go. They should be two-ply and glued and stitched together or one thick piece of leather for added strength. The belt must hold the weight of everything placed on it and not sag or bend.

A cell phone is pretty much normal these days, we all need them for work and our private lives. I use an iPhone and that works for me, but it may not suit you and your needs. My only comment about about cell phone is they need to be secure so that they will be there when you need it. I am not one to keep it in a pocket because in my opinion they can fall out easily. Whether it is in the case that they come with or one that is purchased, I feel this is the way to go so it will be there when it is needed.

I carry my flashlight on a daily basis too and some people as me why, is it really necessary? I live on a small farm and I am doing many things early in the morning or late in the evening, all of which is in the dark. Now I can go in the shop to grab my large flashlight to use or just pull my little flashlight out of my belt holder to get the job done in a hurry, you can chose what makes better sense to you.

Keyrings are a normal item, as everyone seems to have them. I keep my keys on a Colorado State University keyring (my employer and college) which also contains a short landyard that I made out of paracord. The paracord is a personal accent that is fun to make but also gives me a fast way to pull my keys out of my pocket if needed. Some people do not mind the jingle of keys in their pocket, others need a way to keep them quiet. I will address that in a future post.

In my life a SHARP knife is a necessity! It is hard to believe how much you can use your knife on a daily basis. Sorry but “sharp” is a pet-peeve of mine, what good is having a dull knife! A dull knife that barely cuts anything is better let at home. I have had and used many folding knives throughout my life, some very expensive and others not so much. It always seems like I loose the expensive ones or someone borrows it and forgets to return it. So I now look for knives that are not that expensive but can definately do the job. I have really began to enjoy Schrade knives the last few years, they are nicely put together but do not break the bank. I carry the SCH109, nice wide blade, strongly built and keeps a good edge. More to come in this area too.

Next is my wallet, how many have you had in your lifetime? I used to want to carry everything in my wallet, so much that when I was driving I would have to remove it from my pocket and put it in my glove box, to avoid the sore hip. Then I began wanting to make a change, who needs all that stuff in your wallet? That’s where the “minimalist” thoughts came around. only keep what you absolutely need and get rid of the rest. Maxpedition has a great little wallet, it’s not the smallest around but it is a great step toward very small. It holds your drivers licence, health cards, and maybe 2-3 other cards, some money and a couple of other things and that’s it. It is so small I hardly know its there. Now its a breeze when I drive, I never have to remember where I put my wallet.

My final item is my Glock 30, some people will relate to this and others will not. If you want to get into the WHY do I carry a handgun, that will be addressed in the section below. I like the Glock 30 because it is very compact, accurate and always goes “bang” when I need it to. It may not be the lightest or thinnest handgun available, but it definately works for me. Since I carry a heavier handgun I realize the importance of using a good belt to carry my handgun and using a good holster to help conceal it is a necessity. In a later post I will discuss concealment holsters and why I use what I use.

Why Do I Carry A Handgun

Yes, my EDC gear does include a handgun, and in my opinion, an essential piece to include. I have had my concealed carry permit in Colorado for over 15 years so this has been a steady part of my EDC gear all the time.

It’s not just the fact that it is a constitutional right to carry a gun, but there is much more to it than that. Those of us that have gone through the concealed carry process realize we have gone through a required amount of training and also an FBI background check before we are allowed to have a concealed carry permit.
I feel it is very important to be able to protect myself, my loved ones and others around me if the need arises. Here in Colorado, it is an open carry state, so it is legal to wear a handgun outside your clothes and carry it in public. That being said, The location in which you are doing this dictates how accepted it is. During hunting season, in hunting areas it is tolerated quite well. Walking down main street of a large city (like Denver) might not be tolerated very well. Many people might sat isn’t it enough to carry openly, why do you need to carry concealed? The answer is No that is not enough! Personally I do not like carrying a handgun openly, it seems like most people feel very uneasy around someone that is carrying outside their clothing, like the “Old West” used to do. Plus if the situation comes up that you need to use your handgun, there is no element of surprise, everyone knows you have it.
But if you are wearing your handgun concealed, no one knows that that you are carrying one and if you had to use that firearm, you would surprise the “bad guy” and get the jump on the situation, thus helping to deter the situation.
Carrying a handgun helps you be more careful, more aware of the dangers around you and you practice more gun safety and self defense.
If you get you concealed carry permit then you should carry your firearm with you. Not leave it in your vehicle or keep it in your gun safe. It is better to have it with you and not need it then need it and not have it with you!

I believe it is important to utilize this right that we have but I also realize that it is not for everyone. I have been in some sketchy areas and situations and carrying a concealed handgun made these situations better.

Should EDC Include Concealed Carry

I hope my comments gave some insight on the question, Should a handgun be a part of your essential EDC gear? Not everyone agrees with that statement, but for me, the answer is yes. Each of you needs to ask yourself that question and be clear in your mind what that answer is. Why did I bring that up? Not every EDC Store contains or comments on concealed carry gear and that’s OK. But because I feel so strongly about concealed carry I will continue to provide good information, including concealed carry information in my website. I will not be selling firearms nor will I make reference to where to buy firearms. But I will provide you with good honest information about concealed products along with other EDC items to my readers and where they can be purchased.

If you have any questions about what I have said or would like to leave a comment, please leave it below.

Thanks,

Larry