Showcase #41: Strategic Communicator from Toronto, Canada

Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature one member from our community and the gear they rely on everyday. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.



This week, we are delighted to get a hold of a Scott (@persco_) from Toronto, Canada. Scott is a strategic communicator by profession and a wanderer by nature. He has travelled all over the world, and is renowned throughout the gear community for his refined taste. Read on for the full details of Scott's polished daily carry!

Featured Tools:

• Knife: Chris Reeve Small Sebenza Insingo
  This knife is pretty close to perfect. It has been with me through China, Tibet (including Everest base camp), all over Asia and India. It never gets off-centre, has a perfect lock-up. The insingo blade profile is just super useful. I own many other beautiful knives but the Sebenza was my first mid-tech/custom. And it's the one I'll never be able to part with. 
  
  
• SAK: Custom Swiss Army Knife by Bob Lessard
  An SAK is my favourite type of multi-tool. I carried a Leatherman Ti on my last long sabbatical overseas. It was useless on the road because of its bulk and heft. I started bugging Bob Lessard a few of years back to make me tumbled Ti scales with inlaid copper Swiss cross and a custom titanium mag glass. He didn't have the capacity to do everything I wanted, so I waited until he could do it. Now he churns them out by the dozen! His work is really beautiful and this custom SAK is just perfect.
  

• Light: Muyshondt Titanium Aeon MKIII
  This is the best flashlight I've ever owned. Over the years, I’ve had many custom titanium flashlights. Ranging from Mac's Customs, McGizmos, etc. I've loved them all, but the Aeon MKIII from Enrique is just amazing. I've ordered a copper Maus, too. Hopefully Enrique will someday make an 18350 light. That would be the perfect power compliment to my smaller pocket lights. When that happens I can die a happy flashaholic.

• Watch: Rolex Submariner 14060M
  This is probably my favorite watch. It edges out the Omega Speedmaster by a very slight margin. It's just such an iconic design and has influenced so much of subsequent watch designs. I like the 14060 better than the newer ones. This is the last of the really classic Sub. The modern ones are beautiful (and the bracelets are the bomb), but this is the design that feels so historically consistent with the Subs of previous decades. Yet, it has a very modern movement. It gets a ton of wrist time.
  
  
• Pocket Tool: Atwood Shutterbug
  This is my last remaining Atwood pocket tool. I love them even though they’re not really useful in real life for me. I got a Shutterbug because I enjoy photography.
  

• Notebook: Midori Traveler's Notebook
  I just discovered the Midori Traveler's Notebook system. It's amazingly simple and so flexible as a system. My cover is a beautiful undyed Hermann Oak leather. I can't wait for it to age and develop a patina.
  

• Wallet: Tanner Goods Utility Bifold
  This showed up in my mailbox almost white in color. It's made of undyed, natural vegetable tanned leather. With use, it has acquired this beautiful patina.
  
  
• Pen: Titanium Maxmadco
  This is the best pen I've tried. I bugged Jim for years to make a titanium version of his stainless bolt action pen. He was reluctant, but eventually gave in when so many people kept asking. It's light, but really substantial. And the bolt action is super smooth. I've owned many many custom titanium pens, but this one I kept because I love it.

• Lip Balm: Cogent Titanium Container
  It's just indulgent to have a titanium lip balm container. But I wanted one. It fits an entire stick of Burt's Bees and it’s perfect in every way.
  

• Keychain Carry: Assorted items and brands
  I'm obsessed with customizing my keychain with copper and brass items. Copper skull, brass hook, Dhamma Chakra dog tag, Muyshondt Titanium Maus (prototype for testing) and LaCie 16GB drive.
  

Background:

In 2007, I was living in the Indian Himalayas (Himachal Pradesh) where it's pitch black at night. I had a Mag Light Mini with me. One night we had to help a woman get back to her guesthouse in the dark. It was unsafe at night, especially for women.

We were walking her down a long, steep set of stairs that ran down the side of a mountain into a valley where her guest house was. And then the light totally failed. It was on fresh batteries, and it still kept flickering and fading out before dying completely. It was really difficult finding our way back up the stairs, through the forest and back to our cottage. I was so pissed.

When I got back to Canada and we were planning another trip, I started looking for a reliable and high-quality flashlight. That led me to EDC-related websites, which in turn introduced me to the world of custom titanium lights and titanium frame-locks. It's been an expensive and fascinating journey since.

But I have always been interested in pocket gadgets since I was a child. As a kid, I carried a slip joint around with me. I also owned an old giant Bowie knife. I was obsessed with watches too as a kid and I desperately wanted a Star Wars digital watch. It was 1977. I had seen Star Wars 9 times in three countries. I even watched it with Spanish subtitles in Mexico City. The watch was a Texas Instruments or something, the one with red LED numbers. My mother refused to buy it for me because I couldn't yet tell time on a face watch. So I learned and that began a lifelong obsession with wrist watches.

I've owned many watches. But my current collection includes a Rolex Submariner, Omega Speedmaster 3590.50 tritium dial, Omega Speedmaster Mitsukoshi panda dial, Seiko Marine Master 300, Seiko 6309 kanji dial (which my wife has more or less permanently commandeered).

Favorite EDC Tool:

The things you see in the photo are essentially all my favorites. If I could somehow get my hands on one of Ray Laconico's new Slim EDCs, I would sell my Hinderer XM-18 and Grayman Dua. However, my Sebenza will always remain.