Whenever I think of EDC, I think about those people posing on Instagram with a bevy of items they’re never going to need as they shuffle between home and car and car and office. Knives big enough to help conquer the Anglo-Saxons, decorative hammered pewter flasks, flashlights larger than a squirrel, knife-sharpeners, tiny hatchets (seriously). I could go on and on.

The list of EDC things I carry every day is small, and the items are also literally small. The best EDC gear does its job when needed while being hardly noticeable the other 98% of the time. Here’s what I carry around with me all the time. All of it I ended up using much more often than I’d have thought.

a slim, front-pocket wallet alternative

I’ve always hated carrying a bulky wallet. The thrill of being a grown-up teenager with a real wallet wore off after a day of lugging that thick tri-fold in my front pocket. Putting it in my back pocket like most people was a non-starter. It’s so uncomfortable when it comes time to sit.

For the past three or four years—I can’t remember—I’ve been carrying around a black Bellroy Leather Card Sleeve in my front pocket. Made of real leather, there’s room for eight credit cards, debit cards, or ID cards. I keep seven in mine with room to spare.

Standing it apart from other card sleeves, there’s a small leather flap that you can pull to pop the cards out. Presented to you like that, it’s easy to remove them from the sleeve. There’s also a small pocket on each side for carrying cash. They’re slim, so don’t expect each to hold more than one business card or five dollar bills. But they’re handy. Except for a stitch that I popped because I crammed too many dollar bills into it (1’s, that is), it’s held up beautifully. I expect many more years out of it.

tiny, super bright keychain flashlight

I’ve had friends who’ve tried to buy my Olight iUltra Mini off me when I break it out at a convenient moment, usually looking for something somebody dropped in a dark bar or movie theater (after the picture ends; I’m not a psychopath).

I raved about this diminutive keychain LED flashlight back in May. It spits out 80 lumens of piercing light, which is way brighter than my iPhone’s flashlight. The barrel is held to the base magnetically. When it’s attached, it’s off. When you pull it hard enough (it’s a firm, secure magnet), the key ring stays attached to your keychain, and the light comes free and turns on. Simple. No buttons.

Olight went to a much more convenient USB-C connector for recharging; the previous model’s USB-A was a pox in a time of USB-C’s ascendancy over USB-A. For $30, it’s been a no-brainer for me.

little swiss army multi-tool

Victorinox is one of the two original manufacturers of the Swiss Army Knife. The other was Wenger, which Victorinox absorbed a few years ago. Still made in Switzerland and with excellent fit and finish, the Swiss Army Mini Champ is Victorinox’s best small-format Swiss Army Knife, with 18 tools built into a tool the literal size of my pinky finger. There’s even a retractable ballpoint pen (I never have a pen on me).

The first day on which I popped the Mini Champ into my pocket, I had reservations. Was carrying this just a conceit? Then, as I was picking up an ebike for review (I wear many hats), the elastic rear cargo net popped off and wrapped itself around the rear wheel’s gears. I fumbled with this hopeless tangle for 10 minutes before I remembered I’d put the Mini Champ in my pocket not an hour ago. I cut the netting free in half a minute.

Since then I’ve used it to slice open an orange for a friend who brought one as a movie theater snack, remove splinters with the tweezers, sign legal papers, open packages, and a whole lot more. While I prefer Leathermans for full-sized multi-tools, the Mini Champ is my favorite tiny multi-tool. While there’s a key ring to attach it to your key chain, I just let it ride around loose in my pocket. Unlike larger Swiss Army knives and multi-tools, I literally cannot even tell it’s in there as I walk around during the day.

keychain clip

This one is so invisible in my pocket that I almost missed it. I don’t even think of it as EDC because it blends right into the background, but that’s the common thread with most of these things I’ve highlighted. They just work without my noticing. The TEC Keychain Clip slips over the edge of your front pocket, suspending your keys “in the air” inside your pocket.

Why do you need this, you ask? I love mine because it keeps my keys from bunching up in a bulky ball at the bottom of my pocket, where it rides around all day like an uncomfortable lump. On the TEC clip, I don’t even notice my keys in my pocket. Since I got mine, TEC has added a tiny carabiner to make clipping other keyrings to it easier and quicker.

Other pocket-sized gear I recommend

These little Apple AirTag trackers are lifesavers. I keep one in every bag that leaves the house with me, just in case I lose it (or it gets nicked by a thief).

It probably won’t fit in your pocket, but if you have a long day ahead of you and don’t want to run out of phone charge, tuck an Anker Nano Power Bank into your purse or backpack. It makes an appearance as a recommendation in our guide to the Best Power Banks.

Not ready to ditch your smartphone for a dumbphone? You can use turn your smartphone into a dumbphone by pairing it with an Unpluq Tag. When the tag is far from your phone, your attention-stealing apps are locked away and you can’t use them. That could be Instagram, TikTok, or your browser.

Find yourself somewhere that only has a headphone jack for wired earbuds, but you only have your wireless Bluetooth ‘buds or headphones? This Twelve South AirFly Pro 2 Deluxe adapter plugs into the headphone jack and connects to your wireless earbuds and headphones via Bluetooth.

Too often I find myself at a friend’s show and the band is deafening me. Like, literally. It pays to have a pair of ear plugs, and the Loop Experience 2 are the best ones that I’ve owned. These are also a secret weapon when it comes to beating jet lag.