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Welcome Wednesday: What's the Holy Grail of your every-day carry kit?

Dave LIAO

👋 Happy Wednesday, Atlassian Community peeps, hope everyone's been well. (And yes, it's Wednesday in Australia right now!)

It's time for another Welcome Wednesday (see past posts), a chance to opine on topics every Wednesday. For this week, we're chatting about every-day carry musts.

Ever heard of an every-day carry (EDC)? An EDC is a collection of things you carry when out and about. For some, that'd be a wallet. For others, a keyring. And so on.

Is there a single item in your EDC you'd recommend to folks on Community?

For me, it's a coiled USB C cable (photo below). Why?

It's a wee cable!
It's easy to find the cable while rummaging in a pouch/bag (no looking needed)
⚡️ I can connect different USB devices to my power bank while on the go

What's a must have item in your EDC? Sound off in the comments!

Above: My curly cable! And ducks.

Comments

Barbara Szczesniak

Nice ducks, @Dave LIAO! And the cable too, I suppose. 😀

I work from home and don't travel for work at all, so my EDC may be different than others. The item I carry and use most often is a pair of reading glasses—in case I need to:

read a menu in a restaurant
read a label on a food package or find and decipher the sell-by date stamped (somewhere) on a loaf of bread
keep score while playing cards
write down the answers at trivia
etc.

Anne Saunders

That's a super-handy cable! In ye olden days, I had a short lightning-to-usb cable that was meant to be worn as a bracelet for similar reasons.

I think the least common item in it is a glass nail file. My nails only seem to break and be ragged when I don't have one handy.

Matt Doar _Adaptavist_

Right pocket: phone with cards, handkerchief
Left pocket: lipsil, cough drops, medication tablets, ear protectors, eye glasses, car keys

Maybe I should balance the load a bit better

Henry Collins

For me it’s a small power bank. It’s saved me too many times when I’m out and my phone or earbuds are about to die. Simple, light, and basically removes that “low battery stress” completely.

Wendy Farmer

I love this chat - brightened my day for sure... especially your picture Dave of your wee cord and little duckies.

I work at a sit/stand desk in an office cubical so my EDC is simple. It contains my metal water bottle along with my lunch. I don't leave home without my water bottle. It's so handy.... It fits in a car cup holder. It's metal so it's easy to clean. And, it was inexpensive too!

Best part.... it's gingham pink and white and covered in stickers!

John D Patton

Great question, Dave — and the wee cable plus ducks made me smile.

My EDC answer is probably less romantic but very real: AirPods Pro. They’re the thing I notice immediately if I forget them.

Calls, quick voice notes, focus time, walking the dogs, waiting rooms, travel — they turn all the odd little gaps in the day into usable time. I have even forgot to switch to my over-the-ear headphones on flights as the AirPods just worked so well.

Back in the day, though, I had a really nice woven USB cable with a leather strap — very much in the spirit of your coiled cable. It felt like the rare tech accessory that was practical and had a bit of character. I miss when cables felt a little less disposable.

So my official answer is AirPods Pro, but my sentimental EDC vote goes to the “nice cable era.” Dave may have just brought that back.

Also: strong bonus points for the ducks glamor shot

Varsha Joshi

Depends on the destination :-) but most of the time they are : my phone, sunglasses, water bottle and coffee.

Jimmy Seddon

I love this question @Dave LIAO!

My answer depends if I'm heading out with the kids or not.

With kids, wet wipes, because they will need them.

Without the kids, wallet, phone, sunglasses & ball cap.

Dave LIAO

Haha the glasses and keys being in one pocket make me nervous

Dave LIAO

My EDC should include earphones, occasionally I do forget them when I leave my home

I take public transit a lot, so it's a bit annoying to be forced to "enjoy" the sounds of other peoples's phones 🥲

Arkadiusz Wroblewski

@Dave LIAO

I like this duck. 🦆

A power bank is part of my EDC. Without it, I feel like I left the house unprepared for civilization.🙂

Sadly, we are no longer living in the glorious Nokia 3310 era, where you could charge your phone once, survive for three days, drop it from the third floor, pick it up, and continue like nothing happened.

Barbara Szczesniak

btw, happy Canada Day, @Jimmy Seddon (and any other Canadians here)!

Jimmy Seddon

Thank you @Barbara Szczesniak

Martin Runge

If you ask my wife, she would say my EDC is a leftover hex key from an IKEA desk I assembled three years ago. She would suppose I would carry it everywhere in my personal one-shoulder bag. I probably no longer know what it actually fits, but I am convinced that on the day I leave it at home, a crucial piece of infrastructure nearby will fail completely.

But do not tell her: I am a tech Sorcerer! It is my smartwatch My everyday carry is 100% with me because it's literally strapped to my body. Leaving the house with only a watch, I feel a sense of digital freedom, knowing I can buy groceries, access my data, and control my home AI. Whispering commands into my wrist to communicate with my home AI makes me feel like a secret agent operating in 2026.

Dave LIAO

Let's say you leave your home for groceries - an EDC isn't just for work! Is there something invaluable you can't leave home without?

Back in the day, my travel EDC included a piece of folded paper and a pen. I would scribble random reminders and notes on it. 😊

Dave LIAO

A glass nail file? I didn't even know they came in that material!

You reminded me that I'm overdue for a manicure, it's been ages... 🥲

Dave LIAO

What brand/model power bank do you carry? Like it enough to mention it here? 🙏

Dave LIAO

Glad we could add a little joy to your day! 🪿

I love my water bottle - my main one is a plastic LEGO-branded one, the screw top is a faux LEGO piece 🙌🏻

Dave LIAO

Coffee is a MUST. ☕️

Barbara Szczesniak

My grocery store EDC always includes a list. During covid, I became the grocery shopper for our household, so my parents were safer. My mom would make a list of what she wanted me to get. This is still the pattern, and I've found that, if she tells me something on my way out the door, but it's not on the list, I generally forget to buy it.

zoltanersek _outpostlabs_dev_

I can't go anywhere without my airpods

Dave LIAO

@Martin Runge - I had a smartwatch with a cellular plan a few years ago. I went out on a run, and ONLY had my watch. Someone called me, and I answered from my watch! I felt like Dick Tracy. 😄

Dave LIAO

Some newer phones are lasting longer than we would expect, but none of them have the same "run over it with a vehicle and it'll still work" type of hardiness right now. 🥲

Dave LIAO

Yeah, it's how I maintain my calm when traveling!

Dave LIAO

Right? What doesn't get tracked generally doesn't get done bought. 😄

Amanda Barber

Quick outings where my husband is driving - just my phone.

Quick outings where I'm driving - phone, keys, wallet.

Longer outings - I guess I'll bring my purse, haha. Phone, keys, wallet, hand sanitizer, chapstick, and sunscreen in the summer!

Dave LIAO

Phone, keys, wallet, gum 😁

Do you have different wallets? I've got a band I use when I'm on runs, and a minimalist wallet for all other times...

I wonder if anyone else on Community has a wallet system 🤣 Future Welcome Wednesday, maybe 🤔

Amanda Barber

If I'm running or something, I just stash my ID/card (if needed) in my shorts/waistband. I switched to a minimalist wallet, but still have my slightly larger one I haven't quite committed to putting fully away. There are cards in there I rarely need but it's an easy way to keep organized, but it's been at least 2 months since I've used it!

Henry Collins

Yeah sure, It’s a Anker 10,000mAh (PowerCore series). Nothing fancy but super reliable for everyday use. What about you Sir?

Dave LIAO

Most of the time I just use my laptop! It has a chonky battery, and that's been enough to top off my phone if needed.

On longer trips I sometimes carry a 5,000mAh pack - I like mine. It's an Anker (hey!) Nano so it's very svelte.

Dave LIAO

Good idea! My spare wallet sits in a box doing nothing, so I'll put my "kind of important, but don't always need" cards in that wallet 💳

Trudy P Claspill

Yay, ducks!!

Fun topic, @Dave LIAO !

I almost always carry a bag of some sort, so I have many things in my EDC. There are certain things I must always have with me if I choose to not carry my purse for some reason, and those include (besides ID, money, and phone); ibuprofen/naproxen, sunglasses, lip balm.

The slightly more unusual thing I always have is a small flashlight.

Dave LIAO

I rarely have money with me; the times when I've needed cash, there's an ATM nearby...

Back when I had a car - and before there were more "express payment" systems, I would always have a glut of quarters (!!) to pay for parking or a bridge toll. Nowadays a handful of quarters isn't enough to pay for any of that 🥲

Dave LIAO

@Trudy P Claspill - Thanks for lighting our way! 🔦

Katie Lai - Seibert

In this dry Southern California heat, I can't go anywhere without lip balm. And my absolute favorite (which I own in several colors, lol) is the EADAM lip balm. It's so hydrating without being sticky and it last for HOURS. Plus the applicator is metal so it feels cold and soothing which is great for extremely dry lips. One even sits on my desk so I can use it at all times xD

Amanda Barber

Ooh, @Katie Lai - Seibert - I've got to check this one out!

Anwesha Pan

This is a great topic @Dave LIAO and I must agree with all about your cute ducky and the cable🔌

I am laughing at myself imagining what's my EDC... it's my Diaper Bag 🤣 so you can imagine what all we carry in there. But for myself I just have a lipstick (which 99% of the times I forget that I carry it in the bag). This also which works wonder as lip balm as well 😉

Beside that, for any trip - my minimalist wallet with just cards and ID and phone in my pocket.

Dave LIAO

@Anwesha Pan - What kind of minimalist wallet do you have?

I love mine - it's this make and model, in case you're curious! (I made sure to not mention its name so I don't overtly advertise the company.) 😂

Anwesha Pan

Mine is also close to yours 😍 @Dave LIAO

I use this one but in red with both sides having card slots. I agree with you on advertising 😂

Martin Runge

Welcome to the secret agent club, Detective Dave! 🕵️ Dick Tracy had the original wrist communicator, and everyone thought it was pure science fiction. Now we casually take calls from our arm and act like it is nothing.

The only plot twist nobody warned us about is that our futuristic spy gadget still begs for a charge every single night. James Bond never had to hunt for a cable before a mission. 😄