To Streamline Your EDC Loadout, Ditch This Thing First

Everyone has a different idea as to what qualifies as everyday carry. For some, it’s little more than your phone, keys and wallet. Others might not leave the house without survival gear like a fixed-blade knife, compass and first-aid kit. But that’s kind of the point: to figure out a collection of gear that suits your needs best.

With that in mind, sometimes you have to whittle down what you want in your loadout to better match what you need — cutting out the fat, so to speak. And one thing most people can do without is an EDC flashlight. Here is why.

Your phone already has a flashlight

Just about every modern smartphone have flashlight functionality. And while the illumination isn’t remarkably bright or focused — typically an output of 50 lumens, about the same as a lit candle — it’s usually enough to help you find your way (or whatever it is you dropped) in the dark.

EDC is largely about using the tools you have at your disposal but the one you actually use are often the first ones that come to mind. Since most of us have our smartphones practically attached to us, like cyborgs with built-in supercomputers, that flashlight is an easy go-to.

Batteries are wasteful

According to the EPA, millions of both single-use and rechargeable batteries are either thrown away or recycled each year. That means a fair chunk of them end up in landfills, which is pretty wasteful.

A lot of flashlights — including household, emergency and EDC varieties — use these batteries as their source of power. That means it’s actually less wasteful and more environmentally friendly to use your phone flashlight as opposed to a secondary, standalone flashlight.

In the outdoors, headlamps are more practical

Most flashlights require the use of at least one of your hands, leaving you at a disadvantage if you need to perform any manual tasks, like tying down your tent, fending off wildlife or steadying yourself on rocky terrain. In these situations, a headlamp might serve you much better. These devices point the light directly where you’re looking, allowing you to illuminate that area, completely hands-free.

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Sure, you could pop the flashlight into your mouth but then you can’t really talk. And yes, some flashlights come with clips or magnets to turn them into hands-free devices. But I’d still argue a headlamp is better. Go for a jog with a headlamp and then another with a magnetic or clip-on flashlight and you’ll see what I mean.

USB flashlights require frequent charging

Plenty of flashlights have onboard USB charging, where you can just plug a cable directly into the unit. That makes a dedicated flashlight a lot more convenient. But here’s the problem: you have to remember to charge it.

Worse, most USB flashlights don’t have a power indicator — meaning it’s anyone’s guess how much juice they have. So you have to charge them frequently, and, should you forget, you may end up with a dead flashlight when you need it most.

You should have dedicated emergency flashlights that aren’t EDC

Especially after night falls, we humans rely pretty heavily on electricity for illumination. So what happens if that fails? We usually grab a flashlight — a handheld means of creating illumination that doesn’t rely entirely on a power grid. This seems like the perfect time for an EDC flashlight. However, it might not be.

Typical EDC flashlights aren’t the most powerful in regards to light output (aka lumens), usually ranging between 50 and a few hundred. (For reference, a lit candle is about 50 lumens, whereas daylight is around 6,000 to 10,000 lumens.) They’re useful for basic tasks like finding a thing you dropped or putting your key into its respective keyhole. But in a real emergency you’ll want something more powerful.

That’s why I’d recommend keeping larger, brighter flashlights on hand — 1,000+ lumens is a good place to start — stashed in the places you spend a lot of time like your home, office and car. Something that doesn’t rely on batteries, like a crank light, is even better.

Having dedicated emergency flashlights means you’ll know where to find them when you need them most, and you can worry less about whether they have power available (especially if they run on a manual crank). Some also have other benefits, like a lantern mode or a striker bezel (for self-defense).

Flashlights take up valuable EDC space

Most folks are already carrying around a phone, keys and wallet. And then there are other dedicated tools, like pocket knives. How much more room does that leave for other EDC gear? Not much unless you’re hauling a bag around every day.

If you want to keep your pockets uncluttered, you’ll want to start excising the gear that’s redundant or unnecessary. Since you’re not ditching your phone (which almost definitely has a flashlight function), a dedicated EDC flashlight, even a keychain one, might fall into that category.

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