The Importance of a Flashlight in Your EDC

 My EDC gear. My usual light is the Fenix LD12, pictured far left.

 EDC, or Every Day Carry, is the practice of carrying on one's person items and tools of common usefulness. There are endless variations of tools to include in one's EDC based on personal preference and need; however, one of the most basic and most useful tool is the flashlight.

A flashlight's main purpose is obvious: to provide light when needed. Although this isn't the only task a flashlight can perform, it is the most common and most useful. For those who begin to carry a flashlight on a daily basis, the need to have one at all times becomes quickly apparent.

Of course the most frequent time to use a flashlight is at night. The uses are almost endless dependent on environment. In a city setting, a source of light can be a tool of safety, illuminating dangers that may be easily hidden in the urban landscape. In a more rural setting, one may find a flashlight even more valuable in the absence of streetlights and other sources of artificial light. They can be used from the simplest task of keeping one's footing in the dark to looking for something dropped in the night.

But the obvious usefulness of a flashlight at night shouldn't overshadow it's other functions. In the day it can be used in low lighting indoors: locating items under furniture or navigating basements, attics or other unlit rooms.

One final thing to note about flashlights is that in some models, providing light isn't the only function. Various features can include strobe, laser pointers, UV, SOS and more, making a flashlight a vital everyday tool to keep on one's person.


By: Nicole Halterman