New Everyday Carry for February 2023

And we’re back with another edition of What We’re Carrying This Month!

This time, we’re easing ourselves into the new year (and out of winter) with a neat selection of a uniquely shaped bottle opener made from stonewashed titanium, a flat and extra bright flashlight that fits perfectly in your pocket, a unique pen/multi-tool combo that’s really cool for the price, and two more practical everyday carry tools.

So if your Christmas wish list was filled and you’re looking for new gear to keep your EDC fresh, we’ve got the goods for you right here.

Beer Bomb

We’ve been following the guys over at Notorious EDC for about a year now, and we’re continually impressed with their aesthetic blend of modern design and traditional function. And if you want to grab something from their lineup of sleek everyday carry tools, you’ll want to sign up for their email list — because most of their gear is either pre order only or on a wait list.

From what we’ve checked out from Notorious EDC though, their products are top notch. They really don’t cut any corners in their design or materials, and every piece they offer has a lot to admire. 

Take their Beer Bomb, for example: Made from titanium and given a stonewash finish, it weighs in at just 1.38 ounces. And despite its quarter-inch thickness, its leverage is on point for prying off bottle tops. And it’s all but indisputable that they make some of the most unique looking bottle openers on the market.

OLight Arkfeld

The traditional round flashlight design has a lot going for it, with a proven track record as a useful tool for everyday carry from the office to the backcountry. But after checking out OLight’s Arkfeld, we might be converts to the “square and flat” flashlight club.

Two things about this shape set the Arkfeld apart from your usual flashlight. First, it won’t roll around if you drop it on the ground. But second and more importantly, it’s a much more natural fit in your pockets. And its deep carry pocket clip only emphasizes this easy carryability.

Behind the unique shape though, the Arkfeld is a powerful flashlight with a maximum output of 1,000 lumens. That’s more than enough to light your way on a moonless night, and the Arkfeld’s lower power modes are great for finding that loose screw you dropped under the couch.

And last but not least: The Arkfeld is also equipped with a magnetic back end, so you can attach it to any nearby metal surface for hands-free lighting. Pretty neat.

ATech Pen

If you’ve been reading the Carry Lounge for any amount of time, you already know that we’re big fans of EDC pens. There’s just such a great variety to choose from these days, that we’re pretty spoiled when it comes to writing implements.

ATech’s Pen is in a slightly different category from our usual go-to everyday carry pens, though. Advertised as a 7-in-1 tool with a pen, stylus (if you unscrew it all the way), bottle opener, mini-flathead and phillips screwdrivers, metric and imperial rulers, and a phone stand, it has a lot going on.

NutSac co-owner Matt David has this to say about the ATech Pen:

“There’s a lot to this pen, with a lot of different tools to choose from. I recently moved into a new house and there were a number of times I wished I had something like this to quickly measure, mark, or level something on the wall.”

That said, it’s not exactly the pen you’d want to carry with you for writing in your journal.

“I see this as more of a tool not a pen I’d want to write with everyday,” says Matt. “Its parts don’t make it easy to carry, and I can’t say it’s particularly easy to write with – but that’s not to say it’s without a purpose. And for about $20 it’s not like it’s going to set you back very much. So it might make a great little gift for the right person.”

Keybar

Here’s a material you should know more about when it comes to everyday carry gear: G-10. Also known as garolite, it’s a high-pressure fiberglass composite made by soaking multiple layers of woven fiberglass cloth in epoxy resin. In plain terms: It’s a cost-effective way to create  a lightweight, durable handle with a great grip.

G10 is the bread and butter of the Keybar, a new take on the keyholder style made with a titanium pocket clip that comes in three sizes. With all of its materials being so lightweight, the Keybar weighs in at less than two ounces, and can hold up to a dozen keys without having to make additional modifications to it.

If you’re not a fan of your keys jangling around in your pocket or your bag, something like the Keybar is a great solution. There are multiple options in this category for styles and materials (like Bellroy’s ever-popular Key Covers), so check out a few and see whether the lightweight and durable Keybar is the best fit for your EDC style.

Nomad Charger

The exact power block that you choose to charge your phone and laptop with can make or break your efficiency. Go for a cheap one from the corner store after you lose your factory-made version, and you’ll likely be looking at significantly slower charging speeds; but even the charging blocks included with your devices can slow your recharging to a snail’s pace once they get old enough.

Nomad Goods’ new Power Adapter can fix that problem in no time. Compact and portable, it comes in a range of charging capacities: 20 Watt, 30 Watt, and 65 Watt.

The 30W version is our favorite, thanks to its finely tuned combination of a tightly compressed design, excellent charging power, reasonable price, and ability to charge a MacBook Air. For comparison, it’s about as large as the original Apple charger — but offers six times the charging power.

So while it’s not exactly an exciting product to look at, the Nomad Charger is a great way to squeeze quite a bit of extra efficiency out of your devices.