EDC GEAR JAPAN

Bag Dump This 34-year-old Japanese female was kind enough to vomit the contents of her bag onto my sofa. Current occupation: Mother, with a capital M. TWO マイコールカイロ (small self-warming pouches) ONE Cath Kidston face towel ONE Italian leather wallet (brand immediately unidentifiable) TWO サラサーティ cotton pads TWO face masks TWO cotton swabs TWO small plastic zipper storage bags ONE pack of Kleenex pocket tissue ONE sanitized wet towel (to right of tissue) ONE Blistex Gentle Sense Hypo-allergenic Lip Moisturizer ONE Mitsubishi EXCEED dual 0.4 mm mechanical pencil + 0.5 mm pen TWO cheap "not for climbing" carabiners ONE house key ONE Fabric's pocket tissue case w/zipper pouch (top center) ONE handmade cotton+hemp bag (far left) There is also the large zipper storage bag that housed the masks and self-warming pouches. Note to self: zipper storage bags rock.

For Japanese residents, both products were ordered from kanterado.com, the Japanese distributor for TEC Accessories (among other companies), a name certain to ring bells in the EDC community. The service was swift and pleasant and I'll definitely be ordering from them again in the future.

For everyone in Japan, the Leatherman products were got on amazon.co.jp, and the CountyComm products were ordered online, sent to a U.S. address, and then forwarded to Japan. If you don't have a U.S. address or credit card for ordering on the CountyComm website, there is a byzantine way to employ a third-party company to pay for your product, give you a U.S. address, and then forward you the merchandise. The question is "Who gots the money for all them shenanigans?" Bottom-line advice: Forget about it. The CountyComm stuff ain't worth the price, time, or effort. There are plenty of Japanese-made tools to satisfy your urban-survivalist needs. So stick around and we'll work this out together.

Warning: This torch has apparently been discontinued. If you are genuinely interested in purchasing one, amazon.co.jp has a few for around ¥2500 (about 25USD). Other options also appear available. At only 48 grams, battery included, you can't go wrong with this EDC necessity.

The outer fabric is...who the hell knows. The website is outdated (2011) incomplete (pics of many products do not exist) and flawed (links to multiple pages are defunct, a classic example being http://www.tactix.com.my/product.php?page=15&nstart=1&pid=p1633840).   That's nasty advertising and PR. Regardless, the bags are durable, flexible, and multifunctional. I also like the metal lanyard hooks on all three (the largest comes with a cheapo carabiner). I'm guessing they are made of a nylon outer and rubber inner = great for sharp tools. I have since found only one website that advertises these bags and refers to them as "Extension of TACTIX 3PC metal zipper tool bag oxford waterproof multifunction repair kit." WTF does that mean? The same sales website fails to list product specifications or customer reviews, despite having links for them. I bought my set at Joyful Honda. If you like them, best of luck.

These two beefy beauties are Mokuba flat cold chisels (A-1平タガネ) by the Koyama-Hamono Corporation (小山刃物製作所). The company, established in Hyogo Prefecture in 1933, currently has around 29 employees and produces cutlery tools for carpenters and construction workers: hand chisels, machine chisels, flat-head and cat's-claw prise bars, shears, and other such tools. The two chisels pictured above were just a few bucks a piece and fit quite nicely into my Maxpedition pocket organizer. I started with the larger 10 x 140 cm and then later swapped it out for the smaller 7 x 120 cm to conserve space and reduce weight. "Why the hell do you need a chisel in your EDC pack?" you may be asking. I don't! But it's a sweet hunk of metal and, believe it or not, I've unexpectedly had to use it. Aside from their primary use, they're effective at prising, pounding, and cutting (dangerously sharp!). The body (painted red and yellow) is octagonal, the metal carbon steel, and size options range from 7 x 120 cm up to 32 x 230 cm in three-centimeter increments. Most hardware shops in Japan carry them, as does amazon.co.jp. Japanese homepage: http://www.mokuba-tools.co.jp

Pocket Dump This is actually a bag dump. Believe it or not, this 45-year-old British male living in Japan had nothing but lint in his pockets. Occupation: Education. TWO Moleskine notebooks ONE Hobonichi Planner 2014 ONE Dunhill wallett ONE pack of MINTIA COLDSMASH breath mints ONE iPhone 5S ONE brand-less handkerchief ONE Hobonichi Uni 3 color pen ONE Mentholatum Deep Moist lip balm ONE set of keys with mini LED light ONE Bic 4 Colours pen

This is the Gentos Patorio GP-6BK (BK for black, SV for silver). The Gentos company was established in Japan in 1978 as the Saint Gentleman Co., Ltd., with the release of the world's thinnest gas lighter, the Millibron. Awesome debut! The company then concentrated its efforts on clocks, calculators, and import/export until 2001 when it entered the LED light business, for which Gentos is seemingly most well-known today. Two more interesting company facts: in 1992 it became the Japan distributor for Mag-Lite, and in 1997 it became the Japan distributor for Gerber (knife and multi-tool products, not baby foods...I assume). That's pretty impressive for a company with only 79 employees. I got my first Gentos flashlight in 2011 the day after the March earthquake and tsunami that wreaked havoc on the northeast coast of Japan. I was searching for batteries in the hoarding crowds when I spotted the SuperFire SF-123 and thought it a good idea to buy yet another flashlight under the circumstances. I'm not sure of the specs on that apparently discontinued torch, but it's bright and heavy with a stiff tail-cap switch. It now sits on a shelf in the entryway and comes in handy when we blow a fuse. Only recently did I ponder the latest line and decide yet again that one can never own too many flashlights. And I'm happy with my irrational male tool-frenzy decision. The GP-6 is light, bright, waterproof, and easy on the thumb tips. It weighs 61 grams and puts out 26 lumens, which is a decent amount of light for most everyday, non-tactical, civilian activities. It's also affordable at around ¥1000 (about ten bucks) and runs a whopping ten hours on one AA battery. My kids love it too and I don't have to worry about melted retinas or charred flesh. Bonus! More GP-6 Specs: http://www.gentos.jp/en/products/flashlight/gentos/GP-6/ Gentos Company History: http://www.gentos.jp/en/company/history/

Check out this newfound Stanley Takagi Gisuke (高儀・GISUKE) 4-in-1 pen-style driver from Japan. It comes with two double-sided magnetized bits, caps with viewing holes, a pocket clip, and a rubberized mid-section for better grip, all in a hard-plastic pen-sized black-n-yellow casing. What the?! Yep! Just like the Stanley! I also swapped the bits and caps between the two and--surprise!--they all fit, just like a little pocket driver family. The pictures tell the whole story...almost. There are some subtle non-visual differences: 1) The Gisuke has slightly smaller slot-head bit tips (metric -3 and -4). The Phillips head bits are the same +0 and +1. 2) The Gisuke has more rubber around the mid-section. 3) The Gisuke bits are made of polished iron (according to the odd conversation I had with the Takagi head of 4-in-1-pen-style-driver production who admitted he had no documentation, i.e. proof, of what he was telling me). The Stanley bits are made of S2 carbon steel with a zinc phosphate coating. 4) The Gisuke is one-tenth the price of the Stanley in Japan (one-fifth the cheapest U.S. price) at ¥100 (about one buck). Nice price! I bought the Gisuke at Homac (HOMe Amenity Center) but it could probably be found at most hardware/home centers in Japan. They used to sell it on Rakuten Global, but it has since been removed, which is probably for the best when factoring in shipping costs: Consider that amazon.co.jp sells the driver for ¥100 with an added shipping cost of ¥480. If you're in Japan, the Gisuke certainly seems the bargain pocket driver for your EDC kit, as long as the bits don't rust out (the Stanley bits are honestly so much nicer, though). Happy screwing.

The ratchet driver by the Anex Mfg Corporation of Japan is just one of the various driver systems this company has developed for auto mechanics, cyclists, and machinists looking to access nuts and bolts in tight places. The nice part is that the weight and slender dimensions also make it the perfect EDC item for your none-of-the-above inner urban survivalist. The ratchet handle comes to a sarcastically whopping 57 g and the bits (with plastic case) an added 17 g, making the whole set a grand total of 74 g. A comparable weight would be 15 U.S. nickels, 75 paper clips, or 30 sheets of paper. I know: those comparisons mean nothing to me either. The ratchet itself is 110 mm long, 17 mm across at its widest point, and 21 mm thick when housing a driver bit (10 mm when not). The ratchet pictured here has a 15-degree angle with the bit opening on the obtuse side, but an acute-side opening is also available, as is a flat handle. All handles are made of iron and plastic, the bits of a chrome-molybdenum alloy steel. By the way, these four driver bits are +1, +2, +3, and -6. The Anex ratchet system also offers hex, torx, and socket bits with an adaptor, sold separately or in different combo packages. The ratchet and bits together cost around ¥1000 yen, the equivalent of approximately ten U. S. dollars. They were purchased at the local Joyful Honda mega DIY shop, but can be got through amazon.co.jp as well, if not elsewhere. As a final note, the company name of Anex comes from the slogan 'Action: nice & excellent' (colon, ampersand, and awkwardness all included in the original). Here's the website URL: anextool.co.jp.