Every Day Carry Dad

Note: I found out after purchasing the G4Free that it is loosely based on the Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack, but rather than a price tag of $80, the G4Free cost a little over $20.

I decided to get a larger Tactical Messenger Bag after four months with the Condor MA26 Gadget Pouch mainly for the reason that even though it was bigger than the Condor iPhone pouch, it still wasn’t big enough for what I really want to carry on a daily basis. It also lacks a good way to carry it. It’s too big (and got too heavy) to carry on the belt, and there was no shoulder strap. It was meant to be strapped to a tactical backpack, I believe, so I was using it a little outside what it was designed for.

I take my Every Day Carry (EDC) seriously, and while the MA26 is sufficient to hold the necessities, it lacks the room for creature comfort items (gum, snacks, other stuff), and as I said above, no really good way to always carry it so it isn’t a burden or getting in the way.

I got the G4Free Tactical Messenger Bag off of Amazon a month ago, and I’ve been putting it through it’s paces. For just over $20, it really wasn’t a bad deal at all, so when I found it, I decided it was time to change up for something bigger than the MA26 Gadget pouch.

G4 Free Tactical Messenger Bag (Stock Photo)

How I Use The G4Free Tactical Messenger Bag

The G4Free Shoulder Bag is my Everyday Carry (EDC) bag. An EDC is simply a collection of items that one carries with them every day. Women generally use purses to carry their EDC, so in a way, this could be considered a Tactical Man-purse (ROTFL – I carry a purse!!!).

Having three young kids (plus a daughter in college), you learn to carry things that the family needs often. For the wife and daughters, I carry black elastic hair ties, bobby pins, and yes, Maxi-pads for wife and oldest daughter. There’s always a first aid kit, tactical flashlights (at least two) plus spare batteries, notebooks and pens, lighter for sure fire, ibuprofen, allergy meds, bug spray (summertime / handwarmers in the winter) and many other items. You’ll find the current bag dump at the bottom of this review.

There’s nothing worse than just not having something that your son or daughter needs, from bandaids for scraped knees, to headache meds when you take the kids to Chucky Cheese, it’s just better when you have what you need right there, and carrying everything around in a tactical sling, molle pouch doesn’t retract from the “manliness” at all… In fact, it’s actually pretty impressive to women-folk if you have something that they or the kids need, when they need it!

Tour and Review:

At first glance, the bag definitely has room for a lot of different items, and can even carry a 7″ tablet if you have one. There’s pockets all over the bag, plus plenty of loops to hang your carabiner or stuff pens, flashlights, knives and other stuff.

Molle Shoulder Strap

I really like this shoulder strap. It’s wide, has a clasp for easy release and has a padded area for your shoulder. On the pad, there’s straps running vertically as well as horizontally to affix items you need to get without opening your bag (like a compass or pen).

Back Zipper Pocket

The zipper pocket that’s located right at the top runs the full depth and width of the bag. It’s where I’d put the tablet and/or medium notebook. The only gripe I have is there’s no firm board between the front of the pocket and the main pouch, so if you put something in the main pouch that has a hard corner, and your tablet is facing the main pouch, you potentially could crack the tablet screen. I solved this by cutting the hard backing on an old notebook and putting it in the rear pouch in addition to placing the tablet with the back towards the main pouch, just in case.

On the Cover Flap

The cover flap also comes well equipped to handle your EDC needs as it has two individual zippered pouches. One pouch sits on the top of the cover, over the main pouch. This pouch is the perfect size for either a Samsung S5, S6 or an iPhone 5/6 (not the big screen phablets though). There’s three sets of loops on top of the pouch to secure clippable objects making this a really useful pouch. There’s the other zipper pouch on the front top of the cover flap, right below the cell phone top pouch. It’s as big as the front flap, so you have plenty of room for thin objects (license, credit cards, cash, etc…). There’s also another velcro panel right across the flap, so you can attach other items there. The whole flap attaches by a locking snap that also has a triangular hanger for a carabiner to loop through.

Side Pouches

On the left side (from front of bag) there’s a mesh pouch, perfect for a water bottle. It has a drawstring strap, so you can actually close off the top in case you’re carrying something smaller that needs to be closed in, such as a GPS. On the right side, there’s two pouches. Most obviously, there’s a zipper pouch that is about 1 1/2 times as wide as a pack of cards, and just a bit taller than the pack. There’s a small inner pocket inside the zipper pocket, good for small items as well. On the outside of the side pouch, there’s more loops to attach clippable items.

Right behind the zipper pouch, there’s a taller sleeve pouch, good for long notepads, maps and such. there’s no strap or anything to close off this pouch, so things could fall out if the back was inverted entirely.

Also on the right, at the base of the shoulder strap, there’s another small pouch that’s perfect for a multi-tool and two pens. On the left side at the base of the strap, there’s more loops to attach things.

The Main Pocket

The main pouch has a drawstring top, fully enclosing the contents when needed, but I find it cumbersome to open and shut this all the time, so I’ve left it open for now. The main pocket can hold a lot more things that you might think, and is bigger than it looks from the outside. I easily could fit two 20oz bottles of pop, and still have room to spare.

There’s a secondary mesh pouch on the back of the main pouch, and this is where the neosporin, bug spray and first aid items sit.

Front Pouches

There are two front pouches that hang right off the front of the main pouch. On the outermost side, there is a sleeve, again good for thin items like notepads and maps. Right behind this, the zipper pouch also has an interior mesh sleeve that holds small items, while the rest of the zipper pouch can hold two decks of cards side by side, plus two more on top.

Loop on Back

There’s a loop on the back of the bag, against where it sits against your body for some apparent reason. Still haven’t figured out what this is there for, and it’s unused on my bag. It’s not intrusive, but just a curious placement. Right now, that is holding my tactical flashlight (Ultrafire WF502B) since I can’t think of anything else to use it for.

What I Don’t Like

All of the zipper pouches only have one zipper. For the front and right side pouch, if you don’t get the zipper all the way down, things can fall out. I prefer to have two zippers so I can lock them together with a small S-Clip. In comparison, the Maxpedition Verispack only has one zipper as well, so G4Free wasn’t cost cutting when they only put one zipper on.

If you’re caught in the rain, Water could collect and pool in the drawstring enclosure over the main pouch, eventually draining right into the main pouch if the cover sags. Not a very good design there. I would have rather seen a waterproof zipper to close off the main pouch, but then again, it’s a $20 bag and the Verispack has the same drawstring.

No loops or clasps on the main part of the strap at chest level. Now, I know that for everyone, this might be at a different height, but I liked having the rings on my swissgear bag to hang things from.

Day To Day Use

In the end, I only spent $20 on the bag, so I never expected as much as I got. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I’ve been using this bag every day when I go out. It’s been with me to the grocery store, road trips to Chicago and Cleveland, hiking with the kids, dinner with friends and even to that most scary of places, the mall! The Tactical bag does it’s job well, and I have absolutely no complaints. Everything my family has needed during day trips and longer road trips has been provided out of this bag. From hair ties to snacks, I’ve had it.

I don’t carry this bag to work, however. I have a completely separate EDC for work, and I’ll bag dump that one in an upcoming post, but for now, here’s the complete list of what’s in the EDC:

Picture #1

First Aid Supplies – Bandaids of various sizes, Gauze Bandages, bandage tape Personal Hygine – Deodarant, Dental floss, Nail clippers, Disposable toothbrushes (not shown) Medicine – Ibuprofen, Asprin (headache & pain), Mucinex (kids powder), antihistamine Rite in the Rain Notebook #945T 2x Knives – Unbranded Gerber Suspension P51 Can Opener Electronics – Charger cable, 2 wall USB plugs, 2 USB drives (16GB & 1TB), Yubikey, Headphones and computer mike/ear jack converter, 4 port USB hub Old Nikon Coolpix camera 2x Zip Ties, 4x Ziplock brand sandwich bags 2015 Michigan map

Picture #2

Solar Charger w/1800mAH battery, AAA Outback Kelpie (35 lumens) +1 Batt, Streamlight Micro + 4x 10440 cells (45 lumens on AAA/ 150 lumens on 10440), Assorted Pens and Sharpies 2x 18650 Cells and universal charger (3.7V for 18650 & 10440’s) Ultrafire WF502B – 400 Lumens est. Ultrafire E17 Projector – 400 Lumens est. Plastic hooks and paracord Sawyer Mini + extra bags Emergency Poncho, Emergency Blanket Wet Ones wipes (great for after stops at the ice cream shop!) Tuna, fork, Lipton dry chicken soup, Quaker oatmeal, Mesh bag, wet nap Visine Black Work gloves, 2 sets of blue surgical gloves (non-sterile)

Picture #3

SOL Emergency Bivvy (single person, 2 person) Antibiotic ointment, OFF bug spray (98% DEET), hand sanitizer Sawyer Mini 32OZ Squeeze Bag (one from a 3 pack) + Red pull top from kid’s “Bug Juice” (universal fit) 25FT 7 Strand 550 Paracord, 16FT Paracord bracelet (custom made) with firestriker in clip Bic Lighter, “5” Gum, Emergen-C 1000mg Vitamin C drink

Image Galleries

My Bag & Bag Dump

Note: on the interior shots, I added Refletix bubble insulation to the bottom of the compartments to help hold shape.

Stock Photos

I’ve been carrying an EDC now for about four months, and one of the biggest parts of my EDC is the snacks. Whether it’s a weekend with the family, or at my 9 to 5, I have found that having a supply of snacks goes a long way for comforts while out. I carry a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack as my EDC now.

This post is a list of what I carry on weekends for the family as we’re out and about, not on long trips or anything, mind you, but just around town, to church and other activities in the area.

This is NOT Emergency Rations, per se…

First of all, the snacks in my EDC are not in any way designed for emergencies, but if you’re a parent, you might consider a hungry child as an emergency. I’m talking about a serious emergency where you need to rely on your existing resources to survive. Some of these items will keep for quite a while anyway.

These snacks are meant to just satisfy a craving when we’re out for the day, or if I’m dragging at work so don’t expect any more than that. With three or four kids with me at any given time, the hunger alarm goes off often, and when it does, I have to be ready to meet the need, or it may be a very long outing (with lots of complaining).

Beef Jerky Snacks ($1.49 when bought by the box)

The first thing I pack are Jacks Links beef jerky snacks (12ct). I usually pick up a bunch of them when I’m at the store, and then keep anywhere between three and six in my bag at any given time. They won’t satisfy the hunger completely, but they do provide some quick energy when needed.

“Cliff” Bars (Energy and Nutrition – $1.18 each when bought by the 24ct box)

Cliff bars (24ct) are really good for fending off hunger, and when I give the kids one of these, the complaints actually do go away for quite a while. I carry the “chocolate chip peanut butter” bars and the “chocolate mint” bars as that’s what everyone in our family likes to eat. I usually have three to five in the bag at all times as well.

Peanuts ($0.28 bags)

Planters Peanuts (144ct) also don’t quench hunger by themselves, but when put with the beef jerky, the kids do stop complaining. You can usually find these in gas stations, but buying a 144 count box for $40 is well worth the investment for parents. The additional benefits are that they are heat resistant, so you can keep them in the car (along with some beef jerky) and in your EDC. I usually carry three to five at a time in my EDC.

Water Pouches ($0.64 each when bought by the box)

Emergency water pouches aren’t something you can just pick up at the grocery store. I order the Datrex 64 count box of 4.2oz water pouches on Amazon as they have a 5 year shelf life. It costs about $27 for a 64 count box, and I keep at least 10 in the car, 10 at work, 3 in my bag (for the kids only – I also have a Sawyer mini water purifier and 32oz bag for wifey and I). Generally speaking, when we’re out, I’d rather find a gas station and buy bottled water than use the mini bags. Much more cost efficient.

The Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack Bag:

Streamlight Microstream with 10440 Cells – 150 Lumens

I love flashlights. Just ask my wife. I have a growing collection of both general use and tactical flashlights (and to my wife’s dismay, they’re littered around the house). While most people are familiar with standard battery sizes (AAAA, AAA, AA, C, D, etc…), most people don’t know that higher end flashlights sometimes have a stepped voltage regulator, and there’s a feature that’s not published…

I’ve seen a lot of people on candlepower forums talking about these super-cheap Chinese made tactical lights, and how good or bad they are, so I really wanted to see for myself how good they are. 

The Ultrafire WF-502B has a 6061T Aluminum housing that really feels good in the hand. It feels sturdy enough, and it’s weight is about right. There are three points on the housing where the body is etched for grip, and I don’t have a problem grabbing the light out of my pocket with and without gloves on. Mounted to the housing, there’s an aluminum pocket clip. I put mine back on while I took pictures, but it’s pretty flimsy, and doesn’t hold the light inside my backpack or attached to my hat very well, so under regular use, I have the clip removed.

At the business end of the WF-502B, there’s your ubiquitous crenellated strike bezel (I’ve seen these even on non-tactical lights, LOL) which I have to say, I’ve never used on any light. The light uses a CREE XM-L T6 Emitter (5mmX5mm) that offers 1040 lumens at 10 watts (3amp). Doesn’t mean much to me other than it’s a pretty bright cool white light. The product listing says that the WF-502B puts out 1000 lumens, but I seriously doubt that. When I was doing beamshot comparisons, I found that it was was more like 200 lumens. I don’t know how these companies test their lights to arrive at the lumen ratings, but in the real world, it performs about as well as a Streamlight Microstream with a 10440 cell. In other words, in urban darkness (some light from porches, street lights and so on, you have a usable distance of about 60-70 yards, and you can still identify a motorcycle at about 120.

Just a side note, but when I first got the light, the spring inside the P60 insert (LED Housing inside the bezel) fell right off from a cold solider. I had to sit down and resolider it before use. This might have only been on this light, but I don’t think that there’s good quality control coming out of China for small stuff like this.

The tailcap houses a rubber “clicky” five mode switch that allows you to change modes with only a slight depress. Sometimes annoying when I accidentally touch the button a bit too hard. It has five modes which are:

High – full power, around 200 lumens

Medium – probably around 150 lumens

Low – around 100 lumens, I’m guessing

Strobe – I’ve actually used strobe mode when I got into a car accident on the highway. VERY useful when needed

SOS Mode – Never needed to use this, but it’s there

While the flashlight is water resistant, it is not water proof. I did drop it in the 6 foot pool to see if it actually was waterproof and burned out one of my 18650 cells in the process. I’d say it would withstand normal rain, but definitely not submersion.

Some say that the WF-502B can run two CR123 or RCR123 Cells, but many, including me, have found that it will not and burn out almost immediately. Stick to the 18650 cells. Period.

I used the WF-502B over the July 4 holiday weekend while at a bonfire and fireworks show at a friend’s house. He lives right by a lake where we can sit on his backyard lawn and watch the fireworks being shot off about 150 yards away from a barge in the lake. I was getting about an hour runtime at full power from the first two Trustfire 18650 cells, and about an hour and 20 minutes from the second two cells on low power. I am guessing that the strobe would last roughly around three to five hours given what kind of run times I’m seeing from the high power mode.

The Ultrafire WF-502B In The Real World

After two weeks of carrying this light in the EDC, using it regularly and also using it constantly during July 4th, I would have to say that this is one of the better of the cheaper “tactical” lights you could buy. It works well, and is less than $10. I’d have to say it would work well for the following:

General Purpose – If you just need something around the house or in the car, this would work well

Camping – Limited use: The 18650s won’t give you much more than an hour, even on low brightness, so I’d be careful in taking this along for camping. I would much prefer to take something with a three or four hour run time per cell.

Emergency/SHTF – Probably don’t want to use this unless you have no other options. You’ll want something that is waterproof, more durable and longer run time if it all really does go down.

Bike Light – Perfect for every day use, not for extended rides

Gun Light – Works well for urban environments, but then again, would you really want to strap a $10 light to your Glock? Didn’t think so.

Ultrafire WF-502B with 2 18650 Cells and Charger $12.95 Flashlight ONLY – $8.17

I do carry the MA45 on my backpack along with the MA26 for day hikes and going to work every day. At work, the MA45 comes with me at lunch and the MA26 comes along for short 1/2 day runs to client locations. I very rarely will take the full backpack and both pouches for any work related run, unless I’m working on location for an entire day or more.

Back to the MA45, though… I set this up, as you can see to be more of a medical kit than anything else because there’s usually not much that you’d really need when you’re only going around the block, to church or what have you. Anyway, I’m only gone from my EDC for a half hour perhaps, and i also do have the Get Home bag in the car if needed.

MA45 Pouch Dump 04302015 – more pics below

Starting at the Top Left and working across:

20 post it notes

Large adhesive bandages

2x Gauze pads

Matches

Fisher Space Pen refill used as a regular pen

Outback Ripper AAA Flashlight

Condor MA45 i-Pouch

1″ Adhesive bandages

Neosporin single use

Medical tape (for gauze pads)

Bic Lighter

Triple Antibiotic Ointment

P38 Can Opener

Pill bottles (Ibuprofen, Claritin & Dayquil)

Spare AAA battery

2 bobby pins

Flat knife

Sharpie pen

.75″ adhesive bandages

Hand wipes

Toothpick

The Condor MA45 Gadget Pouch, fully assembled

I used to carry the MA45 i-Pouch, but it just didn’t have the carry capacity that I really wanted, being a little bigger than my iPhone 4s, so I turned that bag into a short range pack (for walks around the block and such) and now, this MA26 as my EDC.

I decided to dump the contents to show you what exactly I’m carrying today since I have a half hour to spare. 

MA26 Pouch Dump 04302015 – more pics below

Starting at the Top Left and working across:

P51 Can Opener

Bic Lighter

Nail Clippers

MicroSD Card Adaptor

Sharpie Mini Pen

Outback Ripper AAA light

Folding Knife

Zebra F-301 (bold) Pen

2x Zip Ties

Emergen-C drink mix

Adhesive Bandages and Band Aids

10ft 550 Paracord on Carabiner

2 extra spring paracord stops

Emergency Whistle

Matches

Superglue

Toothpick

Chapstick

3ft Duct Tape (white)

2x TUMS

1X Halls

4x AAA Batteries

1x X-ACTO #11 blade in battery carrier

Condor MA26 Gadget Pouch

Field Notebook

Rain Poncho

Solar Phone Battery (with LED flashlight) charger/ adaptors

Kleenex pack

Gerber Suspension Multi Tool

3 Ziploc Sandwich bags

2 elastic hair ties (for wife and daughters)

The Condor MA26 Gadget Pouch, fully assembled

There’s nothing worse than being stranded at work without a lunch. Likewise, it’s just as bad to be still slaving away at work without dinner.

That’s the situation I found myself in about two months ago when we were working at a client location trying to get them back online by the end of the day.

Things weren't working well, and no one felt it right to leave until the job got done.

Long story short, it was 11 at night in a podunk town where nothing was open when we were done. 

The MREs saved us from certain starvation

Ok, so that’s a bit of a tall tale, but life was definitely better because I’d had the forethought to pack MREs in the car’s Get Home Bag for the family. Well, since they were safe at home, and myself and the two installers needed food, we pulled over at a local park, popped open the trunk and pulled out three MREs that also came with heaters for some good, hot grub.

At almost $10 an MRE, these are NOT cheap eats. Rather, they are more

What is an MRE?

“The Meal, Ready-to-Eat – commonly known as the MRE – is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available.” - Meal, Ready To Eat, Wikipedia

How to Prepare an MRE by Kiwi Dude (youtube)

Note: The cutest part is when he shares his MRE with his daughter at the end.

How to heat an MRE with the included heater

#EDC #Snacks Every #Dad Should Pack #Preparedness #Survival

Snacks Are Just As Important as EDC Gear

As a father of four, I’ve found out over the years just how important snacks are to your family and self. There’s nothing as frustrating as having hungry kids and being 50 miles from nowhere close to get food on a road trip. I have made it a habit to carry snacks at all times, both for work and off time if the trip away from home is two hours or more and:

If I Could Only Carry Three Things #PersonalCarry #Preparedness #Gerber #Tactical #Lights

Ever ask yourself the question “If there were only three things that I wish I could have…”?

For me, those three things aren’t complicated. If there was ever a situation where I could only have three things on my person, I would make a very decisive choice in what I would want to have. I’ve said all along that I’m not a survivalist, but in the context of living in the “Urban Jungle”, I would (and…