Arc’teryx Blade24 EDC Backpack Loadout
What you carry on your person everyday (or at least accessible close to you) may dictate the success or the failure of a difficult situation.
Whether it is a medical, practical or defensive scenario carrying basic or advance equipment is really important.
If you live in an urban environment and you are not always close to your vehicle it’s suggested to build an EDC kit in a backpack or a sling-bag.
In our opinion your self defense tools and equipment should be at all times on your person. We only use our backpack to store extra mags, but not our primary firearm. If the situation does not allow us to reach for our EDC backpack we sill have a concealed-carry handgun with mounted light and extra mag, a folding blade, a smartphone, a wallet, a tactical flashlight and a tourniquet. Keeping our EDC defensive tool in the same location will also provide efficiency and accuracy to the situation.
We like to divide by priority and importance our daily-carry equipment into different levels.
Level 1: the EDC items carried on your belt and pant’s pockets.
Level 2: items in your bag directly accessible from the outside.
Level 3: items organized in pouches and dividers inside the bag.
About the backpack:
One of the key features that we really like of the Blade’s design is its side-access. This allows us to open and extract the content without dropping the bag or revealing what’s inside. Arc’teryx has padded this bag like a tank, it is comfortable, light and extremely protective towards electronics or fragile items.
The Blade has many pockets, some visible and some hidden. On the top, next to the handle, there are two pockets: one specifically designed for eye wear and one for GP items. On the side there are three pockets: the admin pocket (with stitched organizers for admin tools), the main compartment and the laptop (or even ballistic plates) compartment. All the internal parts of the bag are made of hi-viz nylon for better efficiency. The hidden pocket is located on the lower back close to the body, and it is intended for documents, extra cash, copy of conceal carry permit or passport.
Even on the road this backpack is really handy, in case of an accident (especially at night) you can grab it, exit the vehicle and move towards a safe location without keeping any valuables in the car. In the admin pocket we have placed two S&S Precision V-Lites and a Manta strobe to mark our presence to other drivers or the authorities until we have access to roadside flares.
This backpack is efficient and feature-rich without screaming “tactical”. We like the adaptability of PALs webbing and we like Camo but in most urban environments it just stands out too much. The clean design of the Blade 24 allows to be “undetected” or just not to stand out too much.
Bag, Pouches and Cases:
Arc’teryx Blade 24
Maxpedition Fatty Organizer
Maxpedition Mini Organizer
Salewa Med Pouch (With personal kit)
6×6 Pals Multicam Pouch
Thule 13″ Laptop Case
Items directly accessible:
Outdoor Research Helium II Jacket
Outdoor Research Halberd Sensor Tactical Gloves
Princeton Tec Remix MPLS Headlamp in Multicam
AKG Headphones
Boker VAT tool
Princeton Tec Switch light
S&S Precision V-lite Green
S&S Precision V-lite Blue
S&S Precision Manta Strobe
Gerber Impromptu Tactical Pen
Space Pen
Oakley SI Ballistic DetCord in Cerakote
Surefire E2D Defender Ultra
Pick Lock Kit with Tecnora and Kevlar Strings
Vapur 0.7 Water bottle
Items stored in pouches:
Pelican 1010 Case
Samsung 250gb T1 SDD
Storacell 123 Battery holder
Gerber MP1 Multiplier
550 Paracord
Gerber Shard Multitool
Surefire EP-1 C Ear Pro
Bic Lighter
Steiner T824 Compact Binoculars
Altoids Tin with basic Survival kit
Inforce 6vx backup Flashlight
Rite in the Rain notepad
Cyalume 6″ green
Samsung 13000mAh Battery Bank
Sharpie
Chargers for electronics
Med Kit:
1 x QuikClot Combat Gauze
2 x Gauze Pad (4″x 4″)
1 x Elastic Bandage
1 x Tourniquet
3 x Pharmaderm Antibiotic wipes
3 x BurnFree Gel
10 x Normal Band Aids
8 x Special Shape Band Aids
3 x 3M Steri-Strips
1 x Aluderm Gauze Pad (8″x 8″)
2 x Aluderm Gauze Pad (4″x 4″)
1 x 3M Micropore Tape
1 x Surgical Tape
2 x Sterilized Gloves Nitrile
2 x Ketoprofen
10 x Ioperamide
2 x Paracetamole
2 x Amoxilline (antibiotics)
4 x Aspirin
4 x Iburofen
1 x Fine-Point Metal Tweezers
1 x Space Blaket
Inside Altoids Tin:
3 x 3M Steristrips
2 x Bandaids
2 x Iboprufen
4 x Antihistamine
4 x Water tabs
1 x 3M Ear Pro Backup
1 x Pencil w/ 1ft of tape and 20 ft of floss
4 x Stormproof matches
1 x Exotac firestarter
1 x Clip Compass
2 x BurnFree gel
1 x Alchool wipes
SureFire E2D Defender Ultra
SureFire is the leader in military-grade illumination tools. One of their most versatile products is the E2D Defender Ultra flashlight. This light is made in the United States and is designed to meet the standards of the military professionals.
The E2D Defender Ultra is a 500 Lumen compact multipurpose light designed both for everyday carry and tactical operations.
Like most other SureFire lights it also feature a lockout tail cap, which prevents accidental activation during storage or transport.
With a maximum output of 500 Lumens, the virtually indestructible high-performance LED and the Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lens provide a level of light than can be effectively utilized to overwhelm an aggressor or identify a threat. In an outdoor environment this light can be effective for hundreds of yards. The TIR Lenses are designed to with versatility in mind. The 500 lumens LED combined with the lenses allow this flashlight to be effective both during tactical operations (for example entering a dark room) and for long-range urban/rural tasks or engagements. The light has both a very good throw and spill; the central hot beam has a very good range while still maintaining an optimal peripheral vision. 500 Lumens seem also a very good compromise between close quarters and long range engagements. You really don’t want to have more than that for CQB operations while still maintaining a punch for the great outdoors.
Light beam at 90 yards
Light beam at 25 yards
The flashlight has two output levels: 500 lumens high for maximum light and 5 lumens low for extended runtime and for admin tasks. This allows the E2D Ultra to be effective even in everyday outdoor applications. The low output setting is just enough to be able to see in the close proximity without interfering with our night vision.
The light is built with heavy duty in mind. The E2D is made of aircraft grade anodized aluminium which feels solid and tough as soon as you grab it. Because of its aggressive design, the bezel can be used as a striking tool or even to brake glass, in case things go very south. The light is also provided with a built in two-way clip, for easier carry when a sheath is not available.
For the pure tactical application (CQB, even weapon mounted) we prefer to have a momentary only switch. But this product still does a very good job for personal defense scenarios. In all these months that we have been using this product (and we didn’t treat is very well) we have never experienced a failure of any kind. We have accidentally dropped this light for quite some distance and everything was fine, and even underwater it worked magnificently.
We recommend this light for its adaptability, and as soon as the sun goes down this light is in our pockets. The E2D Defender Ultra’s adaptability and versatility make it a tool you must have. The fact that you can utilize this light for personal defense, search and rescue and general outdoor/tactical applications definitely make this flashlight probably the best we have ever owned.
We really think that if you are a professional or an enthusiast of the defense/tactical industry you must own at least one SureFire, and we think this could be the one. In the past years we have owned many SureFire flashlights; they are just the toughest! But even if they break don’t worry they are covered by a lifetime warranty.
This flashlight is made in the USA, MSRP $265. This is probably the best multiple-purpose illumination tool you can find on the market, but if you don’t want to pay this amount for a flashlight Surefire also makes some really interesting less expensive simpler models .
For more information please visit the SureFire website: surefire.com/
Gear Review | Gerber MP1
The multi-tool is the most versatile and useful piece of equipment that can be carried, whether you’re in a urban area or out in the country you should never leave the house without one. The multiplier is the updated and more complex version of this tool and it’s usually equipped with a set of wire cutters and needle nose pliers.
