Do you remember Arnie in the latest Terminator? Old, not obsolete. The same goes for pens. In the present time when more and more technologies come into our life, the things as watch and pen and paper are becoming old fashioned and unnecessary. Or most people would think so and therefore don’t include these items into their everyday carry gear. But carrying a pen can be a valuable addition to EDC, even if you smartphone is full of note taking apps. Just try carrying it around and soon you will see that you need it more than you thought. Once you include it into your EDC, you will find many situations when a simple pen comes handy. All the small ideas that pop up in your head during the day can be written down and of course, something that the phones never can replace - doodling.
It is much more convenient write things down on a paper, rather than trying to quickly type it into the phone. You might argue, that you are used to using your phone for notes and numbers, but what do you do in case, that you are out of battery? You won’t need someone’s email or number if you want to just leave him a short message. Even more, if you are not close with the person and you don’t know his email address. If you want to get somebody’s number or address, do you feel comfortable handing your phone over to them to type it in? Or you would feel more secure if you just hand them a pen and a paper? With a pen and a piece of paper in your EDC kit, you will be always prepared to write down emergency information in a situations as car accidents or medical situations. In such situations, your phone can easily fall out of your pocket or yours hands and break into pieces.Than you will gladly take out the pen out of the pocket.
And pens have also another side to them. They are small, thin and pointy. And while most of you carry a gun around for self defense, you never know when a pen can become a stabbing weapon. The rule to follow is to have a metal pen all the time. Plastic pens are good but metal is more tough and in cas when everything else fails, you can stab more times with a metal pen than a plastic pen.
But let’s think of pens as just nice and neat EDC things. But carry a metal one. Just in case.