The CrossFit Pittsburgh Podcast
We have been a CrossFit Affiliate since 2006. We are one of the originals. My wife and I opened our doors when I was home between deployments to Iraq. It's been an amazing adventure spanning thousands of miles between us over the course of 12 years deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. We formed amazing bonds. Lost good friends. And learned a lot about ourselves and our community. Throughout the course of this Podcast we will discuss all of that and more. We will talk about the people we have encountered along the way and the lessons we learned.
The CrossFit Pittsburgh Podcast
Everyday Carry Essentials: Practical Insights, Personal Stories, and Mastery
How well do you know your everyday carry (EDC) gear? In this episode, we challenge you to rethink your familiarity with the tools you carry daily. From reliable folding knives to durable sunglasses, we break down the essentials that ensure you’re prepared for any situation. We'll share personal insights into different EDC setups and discuss why moderately priced, functional items often outshine their expensive counterparts. Whether you’re in training shorts with an Osprey Daylight bag or dressed for a formal occasion, knowing your gear inside out can make all the difference.
Join us as we explore the sentimental and practical aspects of EDC items, including a heartfelt story about discovering a father's rosary beads. We cover a wide spectrum of essentials—from wallets and phones to firearms—delving into the nuances of carrying a firearm safely and effectively. Learn about the significance of practicing with your gear until it becomes second nature, and discover the thoughtful preparation required to master your EDC setup. This episode is packed with actionable advice to help you stay ready and safe, no matter what life throws your way.
Good morning. So I'm going to try something a little bit different today. I've been getting some questions from time to time, and there's no short supply of this on the interwebs. So what's your everyday carry? You do a pocket dump. However, you want to progress, but I think it's a valid. I think it's a valid question and I think, you know, with so much information out there, um, there's a lot of commonality and then there's some some differences.
Speaker 1:You know, I've noticed a lot of guys that I follow through social media, through acquaintanceships and so forth. Uh, some of them, their everyday carry is a little bit heavier than others. Some is a more minimalist approach. I mean, it's all personal preference, right, but the biggest thing I can encourage and I believe this is the key point is whatever it is you carry, you better know how to use it. Otherwise, you know I'm not trying to make light or make fun of anyone, but think about this you know you put a piece of gear in your kit and you're not intimately familiar with it During the time you need it the most is not the time to look at the package, read the instructions, the quick start guide, right? That's not that time. You need to be intimately familiar with everything you carry.
Speaker 1:So normally at this point I would do a pocket dump, but I'm wearing training shorts. Actually, you know, I'll share this with you because I'm wearing born primitive training shorts and, as training shorts go, these are some of my favorites. These are awesome, right, they do have a pocket on each side, zip, shut, mesh lined, um, and, you know, perfect for an ip, an iPhone or, you know, cash, whatever. But they're training shorts and nice, slick, probably some of the best, best training shorts I've ever worn. So now, having said that, something like this I would carry, like a little errand bag, I call it right, I'm going to, you know, shoot on out to the store or something like that, and I'm in training clothes. I don't have pockets, I don't have cargo pockets. If I did a little bit different story, some of the things I have in here I would carry in the cargo pockets, but this it's an austry daylight bag, osprey daylight bag. It's a? Um, a sling right, more of a satchel, if you will, and um, it's nice, I mean padded on the back side, um, excuse me. So, essentially, this contains what I would have on myself if I were in jeans cargo pants, cargo shorts. You know anything other than PT gear, all right, but back up a notch, the always haves right. The always haves Sunglasses, sunglasses, right, sunglasses, right, potentially for eye protection.
Speaker 1:But over the years I noticed my sensitivity to light has gotten more and more. So sunglasses, you know, user preference dictates. I'm kind of fond of the wraparounds. These are actually gaiters and that's my second pair. It's only my second pair because the first pair was a slightly different style. They were the Raptors, a little bit more rounded and a little bit smaller for my face. So I gave them to a friend of mine. I didn't need a second pair because I needed a second pair. I got a second pair because I gave the first ones to a friend. Gaiters are probably some of the best eyewear I've ever worn, durable, and you know good to go.
Speaker 1:Always have some type of folding knife, all right. Knives run the spectrum of extremely cheap you pick them up on the counter at a local hardware store, right All the way up to hundreds of dollars, fine craftsmanship. I've got to be honest with you. I'm kind of in the middle. All right, I'm kind of in the middle. I've spent money on knives I've lost. Throughout my career I have lost more expensive knives than I could tell you. The only good news was my employer paid for those. All right, good old uncle, he paid for those. So, uh, spring assist, stiletto blades, you name it. Um, I lost them never, you know, never actually broke a knife, which is probably good news, never actually broke a knife. But I've, I've lost my share or they've, they've, uh, they've gone missing.
Speaker 1:Okay, but always have some type of of. This is just a little kershaw, nice and sharp drop point, little little drop point, tanto combo. But, um, you know, a little bit of a philosophy for me is, um, uh, certain knives, I mean, you know it's a bladed weapon, that's it. It's potentially a bladed weapon, but, that that being the case, if that's your mindset, again, don't just carry it, don't just have it, don't just collect it, Stick it in your pocket, stick it in your pants, appendix, carry it Pocket, carry it Whatever, and then think that all of a sudden, in the event that you need to use it, you will know how. You won't, you won't, Okay. So practice, practice, practice.
Speaker 1:But also, I would suggest that if you have your everyday knife, your little folder, and I use this to open mail, I use it to open packages, cut cardboard tape. You know a 550 cord, so you know that's kind of a work tool, all right. So your folder I kind of keep as a work tool. If I were to carry a fixed blade, that's a different story, right, fixed blade is a fixed blade. You keep it sharp, you keep it for work, okay. So I've got my share of an assortment of fixed blades here. A lot of them I kind of like, and again, I mean it can go from extremely expensive and it's all user preference, extremely expensive to moderate. And I've got to be honest, I stick more to the moderate side on account of I have and when I say lost, I don't mean like I set it down in a public restroom and I left it there, I don't mean it like that.
Speaker 1:But you know, sometimes over the years they do go missing. They end up in a gearbox somewhere. You know you do a house renovation and you pack your stuff and you put it in storage and that kind of thing. But your key gear, your your a-line items gear, you know they should be close to you. So this, this little guy, right, it came with a kydex clip that was bigger. So I replaced the kydex clip with a little little pocket clip which is kind of nice, so it'll sit inside the front pocket of your jeans and decent drop point blade, short, right, nice, grippy handle and, uh, it'll do what you need it to do.
Speaker 1:So, one of my, one of my favorite fixed blades, all right. Um, ashamed to say it, my cheaters. I find myself, uh, stashing those more and more in in inconspicuous places, just in case I need them. Otherwise, I'm not that far along yet, but if I had to read something for you, I'd probably be doing this right. So cheaters are not a bad thing to have either. I'm going to put those anywhere, primarily. First and foremost I neglected to mention this my rosary All right, this is cool, I've got.
Speaker 1:I'm a Catholic, probably a better Christian than I am a Catholic. But you know, we each make our own decisions. But you know, I look at my religion like I look at my patriotism, right. Are there things wrong with the church? There are. Are there things wrong with our country? There are. But if you look at it, every one of those things that's wrong with either church or country, it stemmed from a human element. Right, there was a person behind that divergence off the path. Okay, that's up to you and me to get it back there. It's up to you to stay on that course, right, stay on the path, okay.
Speaker 1:So me, personally, I got, uh, rosary beads with me because if you don't think, if you don't think, regardless of your, your, uh, your religious beliefs, if you don't think that you're under some type of spiritual attack 24, 7 or that you're vulnerable to spiritual attack, 24, 7, you know it's. It's not funny and I'm not making. I keep saying this, right, I'm not making light of this, right, but everybody wants the cool weapon, everybody wants the cool. Hey, did you see the new Sig? Did you see the new Glock? Did you see the new Makatsu? All right, but here's the thing right edged weapon. Do you have fixture? Do you have a folding? How about this? Before you think about getting into physical combat, all right, you better protect yourself from spiritual warfare because, brother, it's out there, all right.
Speaker 1:So, rosary beads, they're not trinkets, all right, it's a tool, it's a weapon and it's a strong weapon, all right. For me personally, this is very special to me because my middle daughter, emily, was going through some of my mother's effects yesterday and she found a small, small, clear ziplock bag inside one of my mom's old jewelry boxes with some of my dad's effects in it, and this was among them. All right, so these are my father's rosary beads. I couldn't tell you or a set of a set of them, couldn't tell you how old they are. All right, may go all the way back to having been with him in korea, may go all the way back to having been with him as a city of pittsburgh police officer, but, um, really glad that we found those, my daughter found those and um, so I added that to my, uh, to my arsenal, right, but usually, um, always have them, always have them on, all right, in a pocket close by.
Speaker 1:So got this gear or some combination of it. If I'm wearing jeans, if I'm wearing cargo pants, if I'm wearing cargo shorts, all right. If I'm in PT gear, if I'm in light, you know, gym shorts, something like that that's not conducive to carry. I would go to something like this quick run to the grocery store, quick run wherever you take. A quick run, the Osprey Daylight all right, it's a decent like satchel pack. You throw it over the front is preferable because then you can access everything right there. If you had to sling it around and over your back. You do that too. You just have to pull it around to get to it.
Speaker 1:So it has got a front pocket, largely in the front pocket. It's empty now, but in the front pocket I would keep my wallet and, yes, which I also have every day, right, wallet phone, a phone in the front pocket. I mean that's fine. That's fine depending on your comfort level with it, with the shorts you're wearing, but, like I said, with these, these born-primitive shorts pockets, perfect for an iPhone, you know. Or you could keep it here. All right.
Speaker 1:Interior pocket it's a very simple bag, not a lot to it. Interior all right. In here I've got glock three, I'm sorry. Uh, sig sauer 365 xl. Okay. Um, running a sig romeo zero. Uh, red dot on it. Um, love it, I'm just nice, it's compact. Um, I do not have an extended magazine in here. I have the original factory mag.
Speaker 1:12 round Brings up another talking point and I do get this a lot. Hey, you know what. When do you carry? You know when do you carry. When do you carry? When is your auto insurance active? When is your homeowner's insurance active? When is your health insurance active? Hopefully, all the time right. So when do you carry At the risk of sounding paranoid most all of the time and I don't say most all of the time, and I don't say most all of the time. I probably said that just to be. You know, all the time, and some variation or other all right all the time. So the big deal for me is this, though, all right.
Speaker 1:Next question what condition do you carry a weapon in? Do you carry around in the chamber and that is also a very good question, especially for someone who's uh, who's like learning the, learning the craft? Okay, what configuration, what condition is your weapon in? So, um, here's my simple rule of thumb, very, very simple. If I've got this pistol holstered, attached directly to me, whether it's appendix carry, whether it's, you know, inside the waistband, outside the waistband, on the hip, whatever if it's attached to me, there's a round in the chamber, all right. If it is removed from me, from my body, by one degree by one degree, that would in a, in a satchel, in a fanny pack Well, that would depend on condition, wouldn't it? That would depend on condition, where am I going? If this is just an extension, then in that moment where I decide to throw this on and go into a shopping mall or something like that. Then, yeah, boom, boom, right Round in the chamber because it's still, at that moment, attached to me. If the bag is not attached to me, then I'm going to clear that weapon. I'm going to have a loaded magazine inserted safely in the bag. So, by degree, by that one degree of separation, right, it's as safe as it needs to be in that moment.
Speaker 1:Um, what else? A couple spare magazines for the pistola, uh, these, the spare mags, I do have the extenders to go to a 15 round capacity, so original 12 in the pistol. And then the two spare magazines with the extenders to make them 15s, all right, so I got those in here. And at the very bottom of the bag I've got a spare battery for the optic, because you, you never know the Sig Sauer optics, I do like them. I do like them.
Speaker 1:The Romeo Zero, the Romeo Pro, they do have a technology, shake Awake, all right. So you want to be mindful of that, because that means every time you jostle that weapon, so you pick up your bag, you throw it over your shoulder, that means that, uh, that red dot awakens, all right. And they do have really good battery life, really good. But at the same time. You know you keep moving that again you don't want to. And you, you know you should have worked that pistol and that optic over and over and over to the point that if the optic is batteries dead, that we shouldn't be battery. You know, you should know that.
Speaker 1:But, um, if it did, I uh at one point had an eotech. Um, when I was, when I was uh working grs, I had an eotech that got um, I don't know how it broke, but the only thing I do know is this was during a mission and, uh, I wasn't looking through it at the time because I'm still here talking to you, but the lens was frayed out. Right, shot out, frayed out, lens was gone and, believe it or not, the red dot still worked. Okay, but it's, it hadn't. There's a malfunction and you can't. You can see through the glass but you can't pick up the red dot. You should still be able to pick up your front sight and engage, but regardless, spare battery never hurts. It's out of the way. Also, because there's enough room, I got my black point tactical right. I got my black point tactical in here because, in case in case, right in case, the scenario evolves that it'd be better for me to put this on my hip.
Speaker 1:Spare magazines are in a mag pouch, right, dual mag pouch that I could also don if I had to. You're not going to do that in the midst of oh crap, it's happening now, but in a tactical pause. If you needed to put these from the bag on, you have them and they're, they're super convenient, right. Also, um, light, I stream light, pen light. These things are awesome. They're durable, they last forever and and something else too, if you can, you can see this. It's compartmentalized, all right. So your spare mags, like so pistol, like so light, like so, I mean you shouldn't, shouldn't, reach in like to, uh, like it's grandma's purse, right, and you got like butterscotch candy all around there with like other other stuff.
Speaker 1:Okay, um, this should be simple, very, very simple. Got a uh, compression bandage right sealed, ready to go, compression bandage, good for everything, and a rats tourniquet. All right, rats tourniquet, bags open, ziplock is sealed, that thing will tear right open and the rats tourniquet. If you haven't seen it, this is the stuff, man, this is. This is stuff. It is slick, it is super easy and it's virtually a foolproof. All right, there, I've carried other larger. You can't see my tactical gear from here, but I've carried larger tourniquets um in in med kits and blowout kits on my rig over the years.
Speaker 1:But the rats tourniquet is compact, very, very user friendly and um, we'll hit another maybe uh, how to shorty video on that at some point. But that is my, what I would consider my a-line gear, my everyday gear, my always have gear and um, you know it's pretty easy, pretty easy to configure this stuff. But just think it through. You know, think it through. I mean don't want to get all philosophical on you, but you know, on the one hand, less is more on the get all philosophical on you, but you know, on the one hand, less is more, on the other hand, you know you need what you need. There's certainly a minimum.
Speaker 1:So you know, like I said, you know before, without this out of the house jeans, cargo pants, cargo shorts right, I'm going to have my phone, I'm going to have my well rosary beads go without saying. Right, I'm going to have my spiritual warfare right there with me. I'm going to have my wallet I don't know any old school Catholics might remember this when you're really little and you're learning how to give your sign of the spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch, right, I told my little boy that when he was just a kid he laughed his ass off. But your A-line gear, right, got my wallet. Oh, got my watch.
Speaker 1:I don't know, most people today don't wear watches because you know, you got your phone attached to you all the time and you know there's the time, there's the calendar, there's the date, but should anything happen at all that disables that technology, a watch is, you know, watch is pretty fundamental, all right, so, apologies, I neglected that watch. Um, spectacles, yeah, my cheaters most. You're probably too young to need those, but you'll get there. And um, you know, nice, compact, put them on when. So, rosary, watch, phone, wallet, pistola, folding blade for every day, folding blade for every day, and it's a tool. Right, the folder is a tool. Okay, um, fixed blade, if you, if you wanted to, you know, escalate that a bit, elevate that a bit. And um, spare mags. You know, sometimes, you know, have I gone light without spares? Yeah, sure, absolutely. But you also want to think about this too? Okay, um, and I, I believe this. You know, you can go light and light should be avoidance of contact. You know, avoidance of contact.
Speaker 1:You don't necessarily carry spare magazines because you think you're going to get into a protracted gunfight, you carry a spare magazine or two, um, in case you have a malfunction, right, in the event that you have to go. And I hate to say this, but it is the world we live in, right? I've thought about this ever since I had children, ever since I had a wife right, ever since I can't remember when I didn't. I never, ever want to be that person in a scenario where there's an active shooter. Be that person in a scenario where there's an active shooter a movie theater, restaurant, place of worship and it happens. Unfortunately, it happens, right. I never want to be that person in one of those scenarios where the only defense I have for my loved ones or the people around me is the hope that I could knock them to the floor, throw myself on top of them and hope that the hope is not a strategy, right. And so you knock them to the floor, throw myself on top of them and hope that the hope is not a strategy, right. And so you knock them to the floor, you cover them with yourself and hope that they pass you by. Oh, no, no, I, that's not in the cards. All right, so it's. But, but above all, above all else, no matter how much, how little you choose, just make sure you're good with it, make sure you are proficient with it.
Speaker 1:You know, I made a comment the other day and I didn't mean this against the young person in question, but by now probably all of you have seen the travesty of the video the attempted assassination of a former US president. Right, I personally don't care what side of the aisle you sit on, I don't care, I don't care. All right, it's an attempted assassination of a former US president, right, like him or not, things like this happen, that we are not a third world banana republic. All right, don't like the opposition, I'll send a goon squad out there to eliminate them, right, eliminate their entire line, so they can't run against you again. That's not us, that's not us. If you think it is, you're part of the problem, okay? So, uh, seriously, all right, you got that one young person secret service and uh, it looks like a deer in the headlights pulls her pistol. Look, looked to me like she pulled it because she didn't know what else to do and somebody might have told her to. And then she's realizing like or she just did it out of not knowing what else to do, and in that moment it was time to holster it. Poor thing couldn't find the holster. Okay, that's not the place to be in.
Speaker 1:If you carry a weapon on a day-to-day, you need to get to it, know where it is, feel it. It needs to become a part of you, like um I, I. I got one for you. Look at everybody nowadays out in public. 99% of our population has their face buried in their phone and I'll tell you what they use those phones like a Jedi master uses his lightsaber right. That's how intimately familiar you need to be with a weapon if you intend to carry one right. Anytime anyway daylight, nighttime, on my feet on my back, upside down underwater I need to be able to find that weapon, deploy that weapon and then holster that weapon in any of those scenarios I just described. If not, then you shouldn't be carrying one. You should leave it in the box, locked up, with no ammunition, maybe take it to the range once in a while. All right, okay, listen, kids class is getting ready to go upstairs. Crossfit 9am is ready to go downstairs. So that's all I've got for you today.
Speaker 1:This was supposed to be short, but I don't do short, I guess. So, again, a little bit of a mash about, you know, everyday carry right, whether it's on your person or your, your quick go-to, uh, and, like I said, I just kind of like the over the shoulder. A little bit better variation now, just as a caveat. Um, I do go to fanny pack. This is fine too for that.
Speaker 1:But if, um, if I'm out on a ruck, or, uh, my wife and I, uh, every so often, a couple times a year, we'll do like a 50-mile ruck or 100-mile ruck over the course of a month to benefit veteran services, right, and sometimes you're out there, literally in the wee-wee hours of the morning, zero, dark 30, if you will, wee wee hours of the morning, uh, zero dark 30, if you will. And, um, you know you're, you're burdened with a ruck. You're out there, you're getting after it and it's pitch dark and that's when the vampires come out, right, so, uh, fanny pack. For me personally, fanny pack's a good option. You stick my little Glock 43X in there, right, surefire light, and you're ready to go, quick deployment and it doesn't impede your ruck, all right.
Speaker 1:So, anyway, if you're going to do it, do it right, think it through and practice, practice, practice, practice. I can't say that enough. All right, all right, have a great weekend and we'll do a little bit deeper dive on this. Um, sometime in the near future we'll go up to like the next level, like a backpack configuration. Right, all right, have a good one.
