Seven categories, five picks each
Everyday carry that lasts
The wallet, the bag, the camera, the keys, the bottle, the light and the blade: what goes in a pocket or a sling every day.
Everyday carry is the one kind of gear that gets used until it shows. The picks here can be repaired, refilled or have a cell swapped, and their makers still do the work years later: a wallet that comes apart with a screwdriver, a bag repaired free for life, a light that runs on a battery you can buy anywhere.
Each category below keeps its own page with every pick and the reasoning behind it. The loadouts put four to six of them together for a kind of day, and the themes group them by a fact printed on the product page.
Knife carry laws vary by country, state and city. Blade length, how a knife opens and where it can be carried are all regulated differently from place to place, and some places restrict carrying one at all. Check the rules where you live and where you are travelling before you carry a knife or a multi-tool with a blade.
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Wallet
Cards and cash in a case that is built to be adjusted and repaired, in metal or in leather that settles in.
Sling or small bag
Phone, keys and wallet in one pull-strap bag, so the pockets stay empty.
Camera
Carry for the camera you already own: a clip, a strap and three small lenses.
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Product photograph, Peak DesignPeak DesignPeak Design Capture Camera Clip V3
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Product photograph, Peak DesignPeak DesignPeak Design Slide Lite Camera Strap
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Product photograph, CanonCanonCanon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM
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Product photograph, NikonNikonNikon NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2
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Product photograph, CanonCanonCanon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM
Lenses are mount specific. The 28mm and the 50mm are for Canon RF, the 40mm is for Nikon Z. The clip and the strap suit any camera.
Keychain or fidget
What hangs on the ring: clips and key tools, and a small multi-tool that rides with them.
Water bottle
Bottles small enough to live in a bag side pocket, with lids and gaskets that can be replaced.
Flashlight
Pocket lights on cells you can swap, from a keyring AAA to a pen light.
Knife or multitool
One blade or one tool, backed by a maker that will sharpen it, repair it or replace it.
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Product photograph, KershawKershawKershaw Blur
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Product photograph, LeathermanLeathermanLeatherman Micra
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Product photograph, SpydercoSpydercoSpyderco Tenacious Lightweight
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Product photograph, LeathermanLeathermanLeatherman Rev
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Product photograph, SpydercoSpydercoSpyderco Para 3
Carry law. Knife carry laws vary by country, state and city. Blade length, how a knife opens and where it can be carried are regulated differently from place to place. Check the rules where you live and where you are travelling before you carry a knife or a multi-tool with a blade.
Loadouts
Four to six pieces that work together, with a line on what each one does.
- 6 pieces
Product photograph, SecridCity commuter
Phone, keys and cards in one bag, with a light and a small tool on the ring.
- 6 piecesProduct photograph, Kershaw
Outdoor weekend
A one-hand blade, a brighter light, a bottle and a bag, all built to be left out in the weather.
- 4 pieces
Product photograph, TrayvaxMinimalist pocket
Four things, all in a front pocket, nothing in a bag.
- 5 piecesProduct photograph, Peak Design
Photographer's carry
The camera rides on the strap, the sling holds the rest, and a small light covers the bag.
- 6 pieces
Product photograph, VictorinoxStarter carry
A first loadout where every piece is something you will keep.
- 6 pieces
Product photograph, BellroyTravel day
No knife and nothing loose: cards, keys, a light and a bottle in one sling.
Themes
Each one is defined by a fact on the product page: the material, the warranty, the part you can replace, where it is made.
- 6 picks
Lifetime only
The maker has promised it for life.
- 5 picks
Fix it yourself
If it wears out, you can mend it.
- 6 picks
Nothing to charge
No battery and no app.
- 5 picks
Patina
Carry that looks better worn.
- 5 picks
Heirloom
Carry you could hand down.
- 5 picks
Bare metal
Nothing painted, nothing to chip.
- 4 picks
Made in USA
Made close to where it is repaired.