GeekDad Everyday Carry: A Look at Our Most Necessary Possessions

I’m a watch guy and, of late, I’ve been wearing the Panerai Radiomir Composite Black Seal 3 Day Automatic. Because I have an older phone, I rely on this Justin battery charger and really great Nomad Carabiner Clip that pops out a USB cable and Lightning connector. To keep track of my activity, I’ve been wearing the Garmin Vivosmart and don these Kaenon Burnet sunglasses on sunny days. I try to keep a thin wallet, so I use this Money Clip Card Wallet from J.W. Hulme. I always carry a USB stick, a die (sometimes a D6, sometimes a D20), and some lip balm, along with my wedding band and keys. I carry my car key separate from home and office. The Boy Scout in me always carries a knife and I end up using this CRKT Ken Onion Lightweight Eros knife daily. My iPhone 5S still looks good in this Element Ronin II case. I always have a pack of 5 Gum and a book of Field Notes and a nifty Sharpie fine point in stainless steel for taking notes. Finally, I carry my Bose SoundSport earbuds for going to the gym (they’re sweatproof) or just killing time between meetings.

I spend my lunch hours walking the streets of Denver. It’s great exercise, and I get to see and capture the life of the city. In my AmazonBasics Backpack is, of course, my camera (Nikon D5100 (Discontinued, link is to new model 5500)), on which I ditched the neck strap and added an Opteka Professional Wrist Grip Strap. When I get tired of holding it, I can attach it securely to my belt strap with the Peak Design CapturePRO Camera Clip. My walking around lens is the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom Lens, but sometimes, I feel inspired to get right up in the action with my prime Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR Lens. I use the 72MM Altura Photo Neutral Density Professional Photography Filter Set (ND2 ND4 ND8) when I want to slow down the shutter speed to do panning, and the Hoya 72mm Polarizer Glass Filter to reduce glare and reflections (perfect for shots of people through glass). Keeping your gear clean is essential, which is why my EDC includes a lint free cloth, Giottos AA1900 Rocket Air Blaster Large, and LensPen NLP-1. A Spare Battery, External Flash, and a couple of Class 10 Micro SDHC Memory Cards round off my photography gear.

When I’m not taking photos, I’m writing. At work, it’s computer code, where my WD My Passport 2TB Portable External USB 3.0 Hard Drive in its AmazonBasics Hard Carrying Case serves as an off-site backup of my current projects and most frequently used tools and templates, and my Gunnar Optiks Epoch Semi-Rimless Computer Glasses help reduce eye strain. On the train, my writing is more personal. I use my iPad Mini, tethered to my LG Nexus 5 Android Smartphone, 16GB, Black to write articles for GeekDad, personal thoughts, and, on the rare occasion when the muse is active, my own fiction. In a bag full of electronics, it’s important that I make sure everything is charged before I leave the house and office, but if I forget, the Opteka Solar Powered High Capacity (4000mAh) Backup Battery and Charger is a lifesaver for supplying the extra juice I may need. Finally, slipped innocuously into my coin pocket, is a SOG Micron Knife, the best pocket knife I’ve owned. If you frequently work or visit places where a 4″ blade clipped onto your belt might draw unwanted attention, but still want the utility of a pocket knife, this little SOG is perfect.

Inside my Bag of Holding – Con Edition you’ll find my iPad Air 128GB Wifi+LTE–snug inside its OtterBox Case System. My primary phone is an iPhone 5s from AT&T often in an OtterBox Resurgence Case. I have a separate New Trent iPhone 5S case for more rugged use. For notes, I keep a Hobbit Moleskin and a Sharpie Fine Point Pen, as well as my Adonit Script Stylus for use with iPad and iPhone. I wear Google Glass as my primary prescription glasses, so I also carry a glasses repair kit and lens cleaning solution from my optometrist. To keep everything charged and connected, I have an Anker 15000 mAh battery pack, a 3ft HDMI Cable, a 3ft Lightning Cable, a 3ft Micro USB cable, an Apple 12W Wall Transformer, and an Apple Lightning HDMI Adapter. For video or audio recording moments that crop up, I have a Sony Stereo Lapel Mic, a unidirectional phone mic, the Pocket Spotlight for Cell, and an Apple Lightning SD Card Adapter to transfer it all to my iPad. For the Doctor Specific items (though anyone could get them, I suppose) I have my Littman Cardiology III Stethoscope, travel packs of Ibuprofen 20mg & Benadryl 25mg/Cetirizine 10mg, an iPhone Microscope with case modified to fit iPhone 5S, a Coleman LED Flashlight, and 5-0 Prolene Suture. I keep odds and ends like Paracord, Aviator Playing Cards, a folding fan, Ice Breakers Mints, and my check book in the front pocket just in case. On my belt is my Gerber Flik multi-tool and in my pocket I keep a Gerber Shard, just in case. Last but not least, I wear a Pebble (not pictured), which I got during their first Kickstarter.

Being a writer, I get off pretty easy when it comes to what I have to carry to get my job done. I’m never without my Space Gray iPhone 6; the official black leather case was a necessity, due to the protruding camera lens. For slinging words, I like a laptop that doesn’t get in my way. My ancient 11.6-inch 2010 MacBook Air (it gets the job done without tempting me with games) is kept safe in a slim Moshi Muse softcase. I keep the Constanza-wallets at bay with my Saddleback Leather wallet sleeve (guaranteed for 100 years, and I believe them, this thing is bulletproof). The Timex Weekender with a splurge-worthy button-stud leather band from Form Function Form keeps me on schedule. On my keyring, I make sure I’m ready for anything with a pen close at hand, the extendible Inka pen/stylus, and my trusty Leatherman Micra Multi-tool (a gift to the groomsmen at my wedding).