My Current Everyday Carry

I thought I would share the small list of items that I carry on a daily basis.

 These items include:

• Mont Blanc Money Clip
• Prada Credit Card/ID Holder
• Keys on a Tod's Leather Key Holder
• Sypderco P'kal Knife
• Leatherman S3 Flashlight
• Leaterman Squirt S4 Multitool
• iPhone 5
• Glasses (not pictured)

There's not much to say about 4 of these items, but I will elaborate on the knife, flashlight and multitool. The multitool is very helpful when opening packages, needing a small screwdriver, etc. Plus, it's small enough that it won't freak anyone out in today's society since even a Swiss Army Tool appears to be frowned upon as a weapon. The flashlight is for when I need a little bit of extra light or for those night time situations where a light could be very helpful.

The knife, which I keep hidden and never show to anyone, is what I call my equalizer. While I like to think that I can take care of myself should the situation arise, I need something just in case I'm confronted by more than a single individual (which is most often the case in an attempted robbery or while being attacked). Of course, there are times when I won't be able to carry the knife, such as when traveling by air or going into government buildings. In those instances, I carry a thick metal pen to use as a jabbing instrument.

Am I paranoid for carrying a knife and flashlight with me? Perhaps, but I rather have it and not need it THAN to need it and not have it.

Review: SureFire E2D LED Defender Flashlight

With financial institutions in a mess and a ton of reward points sitting in my American Express account, I decided to redeem some of those points for a niffty high-end flashlight called the SureFire E2D LED Defender.



It's a compact (personal-size) flashlight that's powered by 2 CR123A lithium batteries...and it is BRIGHT!!! It puts my three D-cell Maglite flashlight to shame.

The E2D LED Defender has 2 light settings - high @ 120 lumens and low @ 5 lumens. It's called the Defender because at 120 lumens you can temporarily blind an aggressor or at least convince him to back off with a strong dose of that intense beam of light. And if that is not enough, the Defender's bezel and tailcap have these sharp teeth (see picture below) that can be used as a weapon for striking or digging into a body part (such as the hand or face).



The E2D LED Defender is made of aerospace-grade aluminum which gives it a nice weight/feel in the hand and will probably last a long long time. Plus, SureFire has an impressive no-hassle guarantee on their products.

My only complaint with the Defender is the placement of the pocket clip. I'm not entirely sure that it's all that useful; and when holding the flashlight, the clip gets in the way of properly gripping it tight in one's fist.

The SureFire E2D LED Defender is certainly not cheap. MSRP is $149 (though you can get if for less at Amazon.com). It's roughly 5 times the cost of the Maglite mentioned above, but is probably worth the price if you need a compact self-defense flashlight.

I'm keeping the Maglite, but the SureFire is an impressive flashlight.