EDCs are the living embodiment of “big things come in small packages”. EDCs are the kind of smart little tools that are always great to have in your backpack or tool kit. You never know when one of them could come to your rescue, helping you out of the trickiest situation, or to even pop open a bottle of beer, when you need to unwind after work. These little superheroes can make a world of difference while completing tasks – whether big or small. And, we’ve curated the best EDC designs we’ve seen in a while! From a fully-functioning balisong-style pocket knife to a 10-in-1 Titanium Multitool EDC – these are the EDC designs you definitely need by your side.
I know the term ‘forever’ can get thrown around a little loosely while discussing EDC durability, but it’s precisely what designer EDC Monster had in mind while designing the Titanium Multi-Function Pry Bar. Crafted from Gr5 Titanium, this pocket-friendly tool is lightweight, versatile, and ridiculously durable.
Why is it noteworthy?
It sports 10 different tools that cover every scenario from fixing your bicycle to escaping your car, and from cracking open a bottle of beer to writing a letter… all of which encapsulate that ‘forever’ aspect, including the last bit, thanks to the fact that the Titanium Multi-Function Pry Bar comes with its own Forever Pen – a special metallic writing instrument that can write forever, without using ink or graphite.
What we like
- The Titanium Multi-Function Pry Bar has the unique distinction of having tools that can be used indoors and outdoors, and in casual settings or emergencies
What we dislike
- The Pry Bar and Tritium capsules are shipped differently
2. The Bali-T
The fully-functional Invictus Bali-Ti is a knife that deserves to be a part of your EDC arsenal! What makes this knife distinctive are its Terrain 365 branding and of course its construction. The sleek pocket knife features 6AL-4V titanium handles & a pocket clip and has a blade made from rustproof Terravantium. The Invictus Bali-Ti is a beautifully crafted, high-performance tool built to last in the wilderness!
Why is it noteworthy?
A Balisong aka a butterfly knife is a type of folding knife that originated in the Philippines. It has penetrated into other markets, including the US, where Terrain 365 is perfecting its design for everyday use. The Balisong has the potential to be used as a threatening weapon, which means its use is illegal in certain countries. Thankfully, there is nothing so illegal about the Invictus Bali-Ti, which draws its design cues from the Invictus folder. It measures 8.125 inches when fully deployed and folds down to roughly half that size to 4.125 inches when closed.
What we like
- Made from rustproof terravantium blade
What we dislike
- Hefty price tag
3. The Microtech Exocet Dagger
With a tiny 1.94-inch blade, the Microtech Exocet Dagger is actually legal to carry in most states, making it the perfect EDC to have on you at all times. The dagger features an OTF-style (out-the-front) drop-point blade made from CTS 204P steel that’s perfect for piercing and carving outdoors and doing things like opening boxes indoors.
Why is it noteworthy?
The blade retracts into the Exocet’s rather comfortably compact aircraft-grade aluminum handle, which also has a pocket clip on one side that doubles up as a money clip, letting you carry your cards and cash with you. I imagine taking out your money for a mugger would be a pretty interesting event, given that your de facto wallet also doubles as a blade!
What we like
- It’s also the relatively wide pocket clip on its side, which Microtech designed to also double as a money clip, giving you a safe and secure place to store your Benjamins
What we dislike
- We wish it had at least one additional function to make a outdoor-friendly or urban-friendly EDC
4. The Provoke EDC
Inspired by the hinge detail on their popular Provoke Karambit line, the Provoke EDC by Joe Caswell for CRKT brings the same opening mechanism to the traditional spear-point pocket knife. The knife features an aluminum handle with an anodized finish, a D2 steel blade, and CRKT’s signature Kinematic™ opening style that makes the Provoke such an object of beauty.
Why is it noteworthy?
The Provoke’s all-metal design instantly gives it a sense of rugged reliability. Hold it in your hand and play around with it for a bit and you soon realize it’s a highly-capable serious piece of EDC that’s designed to function really well under even demanding conditions. The Kinematic™ mechanism lets you deploy the knife with a single thumb, revealing the 2.5-inch satin-finish D2 blade that has remarkably high resistance to wear and tear.
What we like
- Perfect for both indoors and outdoors
- The pointed tip makes it great for piercing bags, tearing through sealed boxes, or cutting into harder materials like wood
What we dislike
- Not economically priced
5. The Mbacco Wallet
In a world that’s still somehow stuck to the boring bifold or the cramped MagSafe wallet, the Mbacco Wallet offers a fun alternative. It’s compact, but still has enough space to store cards, cash, and keys… and comes with a lively accordion-inspired design that does a great job of organizing your cards and other belongings by priority or category.
Why is it noteworthy?
Although designed to hold cards, the Mbacco Wallet doesn’t have any strict rules – it’ll hold cash, keys, memory cards, and pretty much anything that’s up to 2.6mm thick and about the size of a credit card. The wallet’s fun accordion-inspired design holds anywhere from 5 to 9 cards, although it can be pushed to the limit to store as many as 12 cards without really breaking a sweat or becoming bulky like the kind of wallet George Costanza carries around.
What we like
- Perfect blend of tradition and modernity
- It stores them the way a book ‘stores’ pages
- Has a secret hidden compartment
What we dislike
- Even when lightly filled, the wallet looks thicker than many modern wallets
6. The Bolt Carabiner V-II
How often have you found yourself running late to work or school only to notice, you don’t have the keys on you? Struggling at the last minute, in and out of the rooms, you realize the keys were hiding deep within your pant or jacket’s pocket. This is essentially why carabiners make attractive keychains to let you hang the keys at home and carry them safely in the loop of your plants.
Why is it noteworthy?
For the benefit of Gen Z, which fancies modern and trendy equipment, the new version of the Bolt Carabiner V-II begs gawk. Designed by EDC Apparatus, the Bolt is not an ordinary auto-locking or twist-locking carabiner; this one instead has a trigger on the opening side, which you slide down to open the gate. The rugged carabiner also sways from the regular D shape carabiners, it features a Question mark form factor, with an opening in the bottom to hold the keys for you.
What we like
- Capable of hanging various accessories, the carabiner is wear- and rust-resistant
What we dislike
- We are not sure of its load-bearing capacity
7. Grenade
Called Grenade, this interestingly-shaped EDC functions as an alarm clock, an outdoor lamp for camping, and a productivity-enhancing gadget. The term ‘Grenade’ may set off certain alarms in our nervous system in today’s day and age, but this truly handy EDC has much more to it than simply its problematic name. You can carry this nifty design in your backpack, and we promise you it’ll come in handy in a variety of situations – anytime during your daily routine or during your outdoor adventures.
Why is it noteworthy?
Alright, coming straight on to the Grenade outdoor lamp designed for Claymore by Wonjun Jo – it is a small package with big features. The timer on the gadget can be used for setting morning alarms, scheduling tasks, setting up goals, or simply setting up countdown timers for cooking food. The alarm function is quite unique as you go on turning the middle section of the grenade to set the timer limit. The chick accessory can be hung onto wires or any tether to provide ambient lighting inside the tent, in outdoor space, or even for your work-from-home desk setup.
What we like
- Attractive casing in stainless steel finish to carry along safely
- Designed in a way to hang by the pin
What we dislike
- It’s still a concept!
8. The Transform Pocket Blade
The Titanium Transforming Pocket Blade is a fully functional pocket blade through and through, in a sleek and compact form! In fact, it’s small enough to share space with your keys and has been blessed with some dashing good looks.
Why is it noteworthy?
This cutting tool is laser-focused on delivering the precision, quality, and safety required for something that could cut both ways while still hiding a few tricks up its sleeves for good measure. And like all other multi-functional tools from Smart & Savior Designs, it still boasts of that hardened titanium body that will stand the test of time.
What we like
- The Transform Pocket Blade uses a threaded locking mechanism and double o-rings to transform the small blade into a longer blade that you can handle with more ease and comfort
What we dislike
- Might be difficult to use on larger items
9. The Gerber Stake Out
The Gerber Stake Out is a nifty multitool that’s perfect for all the outdoor adventures you undertake! It measures just 4.5 inches in the closed position and a maximum of 6.6 inches when the knife is being used. The super cool multi-tool conceals 11 tools and helps you with almost everything – from setting up a campfire to cooking a meal in the wilderness. The Scandi grind blade features a bottle opener, awl, Ferro rod striker, saw, file, and a pair of scissors.
Why is it noteworthy?
There’s a tent stake puller for packing and getting the gear ready after setting camp during the nighttime. This is a very useful tool for campers as they can pack up tents in a way quicker time than normal. So, in a way, this utility is the USP of this multitool without any question. Add to the mix a ruler and pop-out tweezers, and you’ve got an all-purpose multitool convenient enough to carry with you all the time.
What we like
- 11 tools concealed in 1 multi-tool
- Economically priced
What we dislike
- Made from Graphite, we would love to see more material options in this multitool
10. The Grouper Utility Knife
Looking like a prop from a sci-fi movie, the Grouper utility knife comes with a stunning design featuring a titanium construction, a parallel-linkage opening mechanism with ball-bearing pivots, and should you choose, an absolutely breathtaking rainbow finish.
Why is it noteworthy?
The knife, which measures a mere 4.3 inches (110mm) when closed, comes with a carabiner clip on one end, and a tungsten carbide glass breaker on the other end. Open it out, and the now 6.2-inch-long knife reveals its TAJIMA V-REX II blade on the inside, perfect for opening boxes, slicing envelopes, or doing more rogue cyberpunk-worthy stuff like slicing wires and cutting seatbelts.
What we like
- The Grouper sports a titanium alloy body that’s more than impervious to rough use
- A nifty locking clip on the top keeps the knife’s blade intact until you’re done and ready to close your Grouper
What we dislike
- Not the most compactly-sized EDC