General Discussion

Water. I drink it. I'm very hydrated. You're welcome.

I guess the most unusual of the every day items is a headlamp. Much handier than a flashlight in a lot of situations. If you ever have to change a tire or diagnose a car engine in pitch black it helps to have light always exactly where you’re looking.

Phones are pretty neat. I bring mine nearly everywhere.

I always keep jumper cables in my car. Mainly in case of my own emergency, but I have used them to help others.

There's a community devoted to this very question!

[email protected]

At one point I had what we called the commuter chain saw. Battery operated with a 6in bar. Kept it in the side trunk pocket. Only need it once or twice a year, but it beats hiking to the house and carrying a full one back. Especially since trees don't fall across the road during nice weather.

My keychain has a small knife on it, a small phillips and flathead screwdriver, a guitar pick, a handcuff key, a sim tool and a little metal pill holder! They're all pretty handy to have! I also carry a regular pocket knife and a small flashlight clipped to my pocket

I have a Swiss Army Card, it has a scissors, small knife and other tiny gadgets.
Oh, and a Light Saber! [pushes button and humming sound starts]

Leatherman Juice Pro. I've used it nearly every day for 17 years and have done tonnes of house and auto repair with it. Also a cotton bandanna. Those things come in handy for cleaning, cooling, tying, bagging, you name it.

Hand sanitizer and a small bar towel for if anything needs a light cleaning.

A EDC thread!

Utility key with integrated bottle opener knife scissors etc on my keyring.

In my purse: power bank, USB cable, gaffer tape, face masks, alcohol, paracord, glasses, hat, headphone, screw top pen.

Nice to have medication: a few anti-diarrheal pills: and anti-inflammatory: and some fun pills

Lockpicks and earplugs. I've had to use both far more often than I'd like.

Multi tools are great for a a lot of purposes. A more oddball one that has gotten me many thanks is a high quality, 20a, 10ft extension cord with 3 outlets. Not a power strip or anything, just 3 outlets. Used it in airports many times to split the power at rare outlets. Helped friends running a stand at a a farmers market when there were literally 1 ft short of being able to plug in. It’s been useful enough times it just lives in my backpack.

Aspirin for random headaches, a small sunscreen bottle to reapply throughout the day (I live in Ecuador at 3k altitude, skin cancer is a real concern), a charger with a usb c cable, a micro b cable, a mini b cable and a lightning cable cause you never know. A Bluetooth gamepad for my phone to play gamecube games when in have some time to kill. Scotch tape, silicone glue. Usb c otg, micro usb otg. An external 500gb hard drive, a waterproof poncho because I alwayd misplace umbrellas. A powebank, 2l bottle of water for the whole day. Those are some of the things I always carry on my backpack

Nail clippers. I'm prone to hangnails, so it saves me a lot of pain keeping them handy, but they're also good for cutting small things in a pinch (tags, loose threads, etc). I keep lots of pretty standard stuff in my bag/car, but the nail clippers get used the most for sure.

Band-aids. They fit easily into your wallet, taking almost no space. You'd be surprised how often you use one, either for yourself or someone else.

Sheath knife around neck. Originally for self defense, but way useful for other things.

EDC:

Keys, wallet, phone.

Utility multi-tool.

Small note pad and pen.

Leatherman Wave. Solid multitool.

Tampon.

Snapblade 18mm razor, sharpie, blistex (superior to balm/stick in every way), bandages and alcohol prep wipes and triple antibiotic, Sawyer mini filter and a vacuum insulated bottle, and a towel - you never know when you'll need a towel.

Oh also an extra mask, couple napkins, some new folded up tissues, and earplugs.