Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature one member of the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.
From the city of angels, Oscar’s (@officesurvival) interest in EDC was first piqued when he started exploring the outdoors as a way to escape the mundane office 9 to 5. As a professional photo retoucher, Oscar’s carry is a beautiful balance of everyday functionality and cutting-edge technology. Read on to learn all about Oscar’s wonderfully curated choice of gear.
Featured Tools:
- Knife: Kershaw Chill
The Kershaw Chill is a great value folding knife that I love for its lightweight and slim profile. It has served me well while crocodile hunting or fighting off zombies. But I may have to upgrade it soon.
- Flashlight: Olight M2T
Olight is my favorite brand of flashlights at the moment. I’m aware of other brands that have more interesting designs and brighter outputs but I love the Olight brand for their functionality, variety, price points and the powerful outputs of their lights.
The Olight M2T is my favorite tactical light when I’m away from the city and the Olight S1R is my favorite mini torch as a typical pocket carry. I only wish they offered that little 900 lumen monster in different finishes as they do for their S mini series of lights.
- Mini Flashlight: Ultratac K18
My K18 has been my all-time favorite AAA flashlight at 360 Lumens. I use it with a 10440 battery for the brighter performance. This little light has a BRIGHT cool white beam with a great light spill. It’s insanely bright for a light of this size and it looks great. I usually have it attached to a Victorinox Classic Swiss army knife.
- Pen: Fisher Space Pen
The Fisher Space pen is a great pen. I’m sure you all are aware of its versatility with being able to write on almost any surface including being able to write upside down. Can’t say I’ve tried that but hey it’s good to know.
- Nail Clippers: Victorinox Stainless Steel Nail Clippers
My Victorinox nail clippers need no explanation other than they work much better than any other nail clippers I’ve used.
- Pill Fobs: Gus Micro and Gus Mini
My Gus made mini pill fobs come in handy for my supplements or any small item I choose to carry such as waterproof matches. Sometimes I stick them in a bug out bag with a $20 bill stashed inside. And that has come in very handy when I’ve been out on the road when ATM’s aren’t accessible. I chose the Gus made brand because their machining and product quality are unparalleled.
- USB drive: Transcend Mini 32GB USB drive
As a photo retoucher and photographer, I’m always ready for large file exchanges with my mini Transcend 32GB JetFlash USB drive. Never leave home without it.
- Wallet: Clarks Slim Wallet with Mini Moleskine Notebook
I like carrying a slim wallet with minimal clutter because I hate fat "Costanza” looking wallets that are unnecessarily huge. I also have my mini Moleskin writing pad with me that’s also useful for quickly sketching out ideas for photos or art projects.
- Mobile Phone: iPhone 6 with Wooden Aztec Calendar Case
My cell phone is probably the EDC item I use the most. I’m a photographer and freelance photo retoucher and my phone is my mobile office most of the time. I love editing photos on the road and posting them online. It’s truly amazing what we can do with our pocket sized super computers these days.
- Coins: Italian Vitruvian Man and Egyptian Pharaoh coins
I sometimes carry my favorite coins. I’m not a collector but I appreciate them for their visual appeal and they add to my EDC photos :)
- Lighter: Chrome Zippo Lighter with Blazer Dual Torch Flame insert
Last but not least, my Zippo lighter with Torch flame insert is bad ass. It’s super wind resistant more so than the standard Zippo lighter. Makes lighting a camp fire in windy conditions so much easier.
Background:
My name is Oscar Rodriguez and I live in Los Angeles, CA. I’m a freelance photo retoucher and have been in the publishing industry for about 12 years.
My hobbies are outdoor activities like hiking, camping, and landscape photography. I first got into EDC around the time I started getting fed up with working full time office jobs. I had it in mind that I needed to start getting out more often. I needed to get out of the city like I’d always wanted and go on road trips and do what I’m passionate about which is photography.
The photo here is a typical EDC for me. I always make sure to have a flashlight (bigger depending on whether I’m driving out of the city for landscape photography), lighter, a knife, and or a multi tool, pen and notepad, and the obvious items like a wallet & phone.
Favorite EDC Tool:
I see EDC gear as an extension of ourselves. I think it’s great to be able to have powerful technology and small functional tools on us at any time. I would say my favorite item to carry is a flashlight because it can be used in so many situations. I think it’s definitely my most used EDC item right before a small blade.
What's On Your Gear Radar:
I have my eyes set on a custom SAK. That’ll be my next purchase. I’ve been eyeballing the custom works by @sakcustom58mm and @robertjlessard. Both amazing craftsmen.
