When you find the right groove with your EDC kit, I can understand why you’d want to lock in and not make any changes. Consistency is, after all, the mother of proficiency!
But there are times when change is good. You should always optimize your EDC loadout to better fit your lifestyle, your activities, and your anticipated problems. One of the best times to do this is during the changing of the seasons.
Different weather means different troubles and also new possibilities. Keep reading, and I’ll tell you about some clever seasonal adjustments you should make to your EDC…
Choose Slimmer Alternatives to Accommodate Your Warm Weather Wardrobe
Whatever kind of gear you are carrying, it’s a lot easier to carry, keep concealed, and still look presentable when you’re wearing multiple layers or thicker clothing. Thin, breezy summertime fabrics and garments necessitate that you streamline your loadout unless you want to suffer from puffy pocket syndrome.
Consider picking smaller pocket knives, flashlights, wallets, multi-tools, and other gear to maintain capability while minimizing bulk after the weather warms up.
Pick Quick-Cooling Handkerchiefs for Summer Versatility
Handkerchiefs are one of my must-have EDC items, and you should be carrying one too. They are supremely versatile and come in handy for all sorts of tasks.
Traditional cotton is fine most of the time, but I like to switch to a cooling synthetic blend fabric in the summer: if you get caught out in the heat, wetting one of these before wrapping it around your head or neck can help stave off heat exhaustion.
In the meantime, it can still do the usual jobs you’d demand of any other hanky, from wiping off your hands to making a bindle.
Carry a Longer-Lasting Flashlight in the Winter
No matter the situation or your lifestyle, darkness makes everything more difficult. Your best defense against it happens to be the humble flashlight. But as the mercury drops, nights get longer, and that means you should carry a better and longer-lasting one.
This could be one with greater battery capacity or switchable output that lets you conserve the power supply. Whatever model and type, make sure it can get you through the long, cold winter nights.
A Pair of Handwarmers Are a Must in Cold Weather
Here is a chronically neglected item in many cold weather EDC loadouts. Handwarmers aren’t just a nicety or something for the “softer” folks. Your body’s extremities, and that certainly includes your fingers, will chill the quickest in cold weather, losing feeling and dexterity quickly when you’re exposed.
When that happens, all kinds of survival tasks become much harder, maybe even impossible. Being able to keep your hands warm on demand is priceless, and that’s why you should carry a pair of oxygen-activated hand warmers or even a battery-operated one as part of your winter EDC.
Insulated Bottles Can Keep Water Liquid Longer in the Winter
Easily forgotten, this simple switch makes a big difference when you need a drink, need to cook something, or just wash away a mess. An insulated thermos, or something like a Stanley bottle will keep your water from freezing anytime it isn’t carried next to your body or kept in a warm vehicle.
Take another tip from me: fill this insulated bottle with warm water before you leave the house, and it’ll stay liquid and usable for hours on end, even when exposed to the coldest temperatures.
Carry a Packable Poncho for the Rainy Season
You should never leave your house without an umbrella if there’s even a remote possibility of rain, but an umbrella won’t protect you from a torrential downpour or keep you dry whenever you need both hands free to handle some essential task.
A lightweight, easily packable poncho does a much better job under the circumstances. Add one to your rotation so you can be better prepared for the worst weather.
Check Gear for Smooth Function in Winter
Intense cold causes many machines and other devices to malfunction. Lubrication becomes gummy, frost can make metal stick, batteries lose charge much quicker, and other problems abound.
Don’t be complacent: always function-check your gear while it is cold to make sure it will work when you need it for real. If it doesn’t, make adjustments or swap it out.
Watch for Rust on Gear in the Summer
On a similar note, you’ve got to double your preventive maintenance efforts in warm weather. Higher temperatures mean you’ll be sweating a lot more often and often dealing with higher humidity to boot.
This sets the stage for rust, and for whatever reason, some folks have a body chemistry that is borderline caustic to metal. Keep your stuff inspected, cleaned, and lubricated.
Refine Your Vehicle EDC for Seasonal Challenges
If you have a car EDC kit, add or take away according to seasonal demands. This means stuff like an ice scraper, salt, or sand and similar winter survival gear as you move through fall and into winter. In the summer, add a jug of coolant, potable water, and so forth.
Daylight Savings Change? Check and Change Your Batteries!
Trying to keep up with regular battery changes according to your usage schedule or other arbitrary factors is basically a part-time job.
Skip the stress and do what I do: whenever the clock changes for the beginning or end of daylight savings time, swap out your batteries in EDC gear whether they need it or not. That way, you can count on them being charged when you need them.
Tom Marlowe practically grew up with a gun in his hand, and has held all kinds of jobs in the gun industry: range safety, sales, instruction and consulting, Tom has the experience to help civilian shooters figure out what will work best for them.