EDC – Page 14

These zippered pouches were designed by a soldier to organize your EDC gear

How do you carry your favorite EDC gear? Is everything dumped into the bottom of your backpack or messenger bag where it’s hard to find? If you would like to improve your daily gear organization, check out these zippered pouches from Bond Travel Gear. They were designed by a soldier and world traveler, Chris Elfering.

The Bond bags that are made of 1000D ballistic nylon and feature YKK auto locking zippers. There are two bags to choose from. There’s the Dash dopp kit that has been designed to hold your toiletries and other bathroom gear, and the Escapade small gear bag that holds everything else.

The bags are abrasion and water resistant, have double-stitched zippers and double-stitching on stress points. A carabiner is included so you can hang the DASH anywhere.

The Bond pouches are backed by a lifetime guarantee and are priced from $39 for the Escapade and $44 for the Dash. You can find out more at bondtravelgear.com and order from Amazon.

Trayvax Summit Notebook wallet review

I carried a Trayvax Summit minimalist wallet as my everyday wallet for about a year and still consider it one of my favorites. Now Trayvax has added the ability for the Summit wallet to hold important EDC essentials – a pen and a small notepad. Let’s take a look.

What is it?

The Trayvax Summit Notebook wallet is a Summit wallet with a leather wrap that enables it to hold a small notebook and a small Fisher Bullet Space Pen all in one small bundle.

Design and features

The Summit Notebook wallet has a black steel frame with a chestnut colored oiled Latigo leather exterior which is attached to the steel frame by an olive colored webbed strap.

There’s a rectangular cutout on the top of the wallet which is used to slide the cards out with your thumb.

The back of the wallet is plain. I like the color of the leather, but to be perfectly honest, I don’t care for the slick look and feel of this type of leather. I don’t think it looks as rugged as the leather that Trayvax uses on some of their other wallets like their Ascent wallet which I recently reviewed. There’s nothing wrong with the Latigo leather, I just don’t like it as well as the other unoiled leather that Trayvax uses.

The wallet opens like a book to reveal the black steel frame Summit wallet and the Trayvax branded Rite in the Rain 2o page all-weather 3.25″ x 2.125″ notebook.

The steel frame is exactly like the original Trayvax Summit wallet. It can hold several credit cards and there’s a built-in cash holder that can hold 3-4 folded dollars, receipts, or even a house key.

The spine of the wallet holds a Trayvax branded Fisher Bullet Space pen.

The pen slot is a little snug when you first get the new wallet, so sometimes when I would try to pull out the pen by the cap, the cap would come off with the pen still stuck in the slot.

But after several days of use, the slot stretches to allow the pen to be removed more easily.

This wallet can hold 1-8 cards. The addition of the leather cover adds noticeable bulk to the Summit wallet, which detracts from the Summit wallet’s original minimalist design. But, the nice thing is that you can remove the leather cover for those times when you prefer the wallet to be skinnier.

Positives

Made in the USA
Quality materials
Includes a notebook and a Fisher Bullet Space Pen

Negatives

A little bulky

Final thoughts

Trayvax has a great track record for creating rugged wallets with quality materials. The Summit Notebook wallet is a nice update to the original Summit wallet for EDC fans that want to have a way to carry a pen and a small notepad with them in one convenient bundle while also carrying credit cards and cash.

Price: $65.99
Where to buy: Trayvax
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Trayvax.

Trayvax Ascent rugged minimalist wallet review

I’m a firm believer that you get what you pay for. Buy a $5 wallet at Walmart and chances are that it won’t last very long. But buy a wallet made of quality materials with quality craftsmanship and you might never have to buy another. If you like rugged minimalist style wallets, the Trayvax Ascent might be the last wallet you will ever need. Let’s check it out.

What is it?

The Trayvax Ascent is a minimalist wallet that has a stainless steel frame and thick leather sides that are sewn to the steel frame.

The wallet is available in four colors including the canyon red version that you see here.

Design and features

The Ascent is a dual slot wallet that can hold a maximum of 7 credit cards and 5 folded dollar bills. The front of the wallet has the Trayvax logo stamped into it and a long rectangular cutout in the front card slot. This slot is designed to hold your ID cards and it is large enough to hold 2-3 cards.

The cutout is positioned so you can easily use your thumb to slide the top card up and out of the card slot. Removing cards is pretty easy, but it helps if the card on top has raised numbers so there’s something for the pad of your thumb to press against.

The other card slot on the back of the wallet can hold 4-7 cards and to remove them, you just pull the strap to raise the stack of cards so that you can remove the one you want.

The back of the Trayvax Ascent wallet also has a cash slot for folded dollar bills.

The cash slot can hold up to 5 folded bills or paper receipts. A lot of minimalist wallets don’t have a cash slot, so the fact that the Trayvax Ascent has one is a nice selling point.

With cards in both slots and some folded cash, the Trayvax Ascent is not the world’s thinnest wallet, but it is made to stand the test of time and after some use, the leather will form around the cards and lay flat.

What I like

Well made with quality materials and craftsmanship
Cash slot
Card pull tab that makes it easy to remove cards

What needs to be improved

Stainless steel frame makes the wallet heavy

Final thoughts

I’ve been a fan of Trayvax wallets for a few years now and the Ascent is another winner. It looks great and is easy to use. People will see it and want to know where you bought it and I have little doubt that it’s a wallet that will have no problems outlasting the owner.

Price: $54.99
Where to buy: Trayvax and Amazon
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Trayvax.

Keysmart Pro key holder plus Tile finder review

One of the most useful technologies that has come out the past few years has been Tile, that little Bluetooth wafer you attach to anything you are afraid of misplacing. For me, although I liked the concept of using Tile with something like my keys, the extra item hanging from my keychain just wasn’t worth the extra bulk it brought. My keys have constantly been a source of annoyance because no matter how I placed them in my pocket, they were uncomfortable. Especially with those really long key fobs. So when KeySmart, the expert in minimalist key chain design, combined a killer keychain design with a built-in Tile, well, I was more than excited to try it.

What is it?

It’s a minimalist keychain that can hold 8-10 keys comfortably. It has a built-in LED flashlight, powered by a rechargeable internal battery, and it has a Tile Bluetooth locator built-in as well.

Hardware specs

The built-in 40 mAh battery provides, according to KeySmart, about 90 days of juice before it needs to be recharged. (I was only able to get about 60 days of use before it died on me.) It is just a tad under 4 inches long, about ¾ inches wide, and with my 6 keys and spacers between them it is about ¾ inches thick. The more keys you have, the thicker and heavier it gets. It also has a micro-USB port for charging.

What’s in the box?

You get a KeySmart keychain, and a USB charging cable. Included is a bottle opener attachment that also provides an eyelet where you can attach your large key fob. You’ll also get a bunch of round separators that you can put between the keys inside the KeySmart.

Design and features

As far as the design of the product goes, I like it. The ends of the KeySmart are slightly wider than the middle, so it is quite easy to hold in your hand. The ends are also rounded, so no sharp edges to poke or prod you. The integration of the LED flashlight button on top is a nice touch. For the keys on that end of the KeySmart I can press the button to illuminate the keyhole in dark situations like at night. Nice.

There are some keys that I have found won’t work very well with KeySmart. I have one key that has a really big head on it and it sticks out of the KeySmart quite a bit, so I got a copy made with a smaller head that fits much better. I also have an old key to one of our family cars where the head is encased in a thick black plastic. (Both keys are pictured below). That key is just awkward in the KeySmart, so I chose not to add it and I keep it in a drawer at home.

And here is an example of what my keys looked like before and after:

Installation

Getting started with KeySmart is pretty easy. To start using the Tile functionality you download the free Tile app, create an account (if you don’t already have one), attach the KeySmart to your account, and you are ready. As far as getting your keys added, it takes a bit more effort. You use a screwdriver or even a coin to remove the 2 screw posts on the ends of the KeySmart and deatach the 2 halves, add your keys to each end in the order that you desire, put the KeySmart back together, and you are ready to go.

Performance as a keychain

So there are some things I like and don’t like about the KeySmart as far as a keychain. It is an awesome way to organize your keys and keep them in line. I won’t be going back to my old keychain set up, that’s for sure. But I think as a keychain it isn’t perfect. For example, it can be awkward flipping out an individual key from the KeySmart with just one hand. I usually end up flipping out all of the keys and have to rotate back in the keys I don’t want to use. You can adjust the tightness of the screw posts on the ends of the KeySmart, so of course the tighter you have it set the harder it is to flip an individual key out, and of course the looser you have it set the more likely it is that the keys will flop about and negate one of the benefits of the KeySmart which is keeping your keys under control. I suppose I would call this a minor complaint but it is an issue for me because I have to flip out most the keys on a daily basis.

One other issue I have found is that the keys that are on the end of the KeySmart that has my key fob on it are harder to use. Let me try to describe it. My key fob is attached to the bottle opener attachment, which is lined up with the keys on that end of the KeySmart. So when I have to use one of those keys I have to rotate the key fob out of the way, which then causes the can opener to rotate out along with the key I am trying to use. It is just awkward. So I keep my most-used keys on the other end of the KeySmart. Again, this is a little annoyance, and as I said, I won’t stop using the KeySmart just because of this.

Tile features

If you already use any Tile products, you won’t be disappointed because it works great with the KeySmart. Basically, I see 2 common scenarios where the Tile feature is valuable. If you are around your house or office and you can’t find your keys, you simply open the Tile app on your phone and press the button to locate your KeySmart, which will then start playing a little audible tune to help you locate them. And if you can’t find your phone then you press the Tile button on the KeySmart and your phone will start playing a little tune to help you find it, even if your phone is on silent. Really nice.

The other scenario is if you misplace your keys someplace and have no idea where. The Tile app will show you a map of where your keys were last located when they were last near your phone. All you have to do is go back to that vicinity and look for your keys. And when your keys get close to your phone the app will indicate such. An additional Tile feature is that if another Tile user gets close to your KeySmart that has been lost, their Tile app will notify the Tile website that it has been located and will notify you where it is approximately located. Pretty cool.

I should also mention something really important at this point. The only way that this Tile feature works is if you have both Bluetooth and Location Services activated on your phone at all times. The KeySmart connects to your phone via Bluetooth and then Location Services lets the Tile app keep track of where the KeySmart currently is. So if you don’t have those 2 features on at all times, the Tile feature of the KeySmart isn’t really working for you.

One feature I hope that is added to the KeySmart that I currently have in the MYNT Tracker is that when I walk away from KeySmart and get beyond the Bluetooth range I wish my phone would start ringing so that I could simply go back and retrieve my KeySmart instead of realizing later that I left it somewhere and have to go through the motions of finding it using the Tile app. Avoiding that whole scenario up front seems like a great idea.

Positives

Awesome key organizer
Built-in flashlight is very handy
Tile integration works flawlessly

Negatives

Using more than 10 keys could make it too bulky
Using your keys with one hand can be awkward
Some keys will simply be too big or thick for KeySmart

Final thoughts

If you want to organize your keys then this is an excellent solution that will work with most keys. It is clean and easy to carry and you won’t be poked and prodded in your pocket or purse, and the flashlight is pretty handy. The Tile feature works great and just as you would expect, as long as you are willing to keep your Bluetooth and Location Services on at all times and live with the battery hit you will take. I live with the minor annoyances of using the keys with one hand, but they aren’t enough to cause me to give it up. If you often lose your keys are phone, this product is essential for you. For those of you who never lose either of those things, then you’ll still be happy with the KeySmart.

Price: $59.99
Where to buy: KeySmart and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by KeySmart.

Hitch and Timber has the perfect EDC card caddy

Do you like to have the things in your EDC kit collected and contained? This EDC Card Caddy by Hitch and Timber might be perfect for your kit. The Card Caddy has room for up to 6 cards, a back pouch for folded currency, plus pouches on the front that can hold a small pen (like a Fisher Space Pen Bullet) and a small knife or pocket tool. The Caddy is made of Horween Chromexcel-tanned leather that’s hand-cut, stitched, and burnished in the US. It measures 2.75″ x 4.25″, weighs 1.8 ounces, and fits in any pants pocket. The Hitch and Timber EDC Card Caddy is available in chestnut, black, English tan, or brown nut for $54.00 at Gallantry.