Concrete Jungle: The Best Urban EDC Essentials

Though most evident in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo, most major metropolitan areas have developed their own unique culture and styles — most of which tend to favor sleeker, more modern designs, fashion-forward forms, and dark colorways. As a result, for many individuals residing in these densely-populated locales, it’s not only their outfit that needs to be aesthetically considered, but also their kit, carry solutions, and gear. And while there’s no shortage of beautifully-designed EDC gear, it out there, it can still admittedly be tricky to find the items that successfully merge form and function. Well aware of this reality, we’ve scoured the tech, accessories, and everyday carry segments in order to deliver this curated guide to the best urban EDC essentials.

Bellroy Tokyo Totepack

The Bellroy Tokyo Totepack offers the immense versatility and quick-access nature of a tote bag with the organizational amenities, storage space, and back-strap design from traditional backpacks. Offering 20 liters of storage space while weighing in at just under 2lbs, the Tokyo Totepack is made from a combination of ethically and sustainably-sourced water-resistant recycled fabric, and premium, eco-tanned leather. Backed by a multi-year warranty, this cleverly-designed carry solution comes loaded with a bevy of internal pockets, dividers, and slips, plus a hidden Apple AirTag pocket, quick-access vertical front pockets, padded tuck-away shoulder straps, a soft nylon webbing grab handle, a padded laptop sleeve able to fit notebooks of up to 15”, and a pair of external pop pockets for housing water bottles or umbrellas. 

NOMAD ChargeKey

With our tech and devices becoming increasingly integral parts of our lives, carrying an electronics charger is arguably more essential now than ever before. The NOMAD ChargeKey offers an ultra-compact solution to keeping your devices juiced up while on-the-go, with a pocketable USB-C-to-USB-C charger that’s small enough to carry on a keychain. Despite its diminutive size, the ChargeKey is constructed from premium materials and is comprised of a braided nylon cable with electroplated zinc cable housings and magnetically-coupling cable tips. Also offered in a Lightning-to-USB-C version, the ChargeKey supports a myriad of charging configurations and can juice up phones at speeds of up to 20W.

PGYTECH CreateMate High-Speed SD Card Reader

Quality everyday carry gear is all about affording ample utility and preparedness in a compact and durable package. As such, one could argue that the PGYTECH CreateMate High-Speed SD Card Reader is one of the ultimate EDC tech and photography accessories, as this gadget boasts a bevy of storage for a slew of different TF and SD cards while also doubling as a high-speed card reader with transfer rates of up to 312MB/S. IP54-rated for water-resistance and dust, the entire thing comes in an aluminum alloy housing that’s been further fortified via an outer bumper case made from silica gel. A must-have for digital photographers, the entire thing tips the scales at under 5oz and measures just 4.5” x 2.3” x 0.98” too. 

Purist Mover 18oz

Though it may sound like a bold claim, we’d argue that the Purist Mover 18oz is unequivocally one of, if not the nicest EDC water bottle that money can buy. Benefitting from excellent craftsmanship and quality control, this double-wall vacuum-insulated bottle features a surgical-grade stainless steel inner construction and a glass-like interior layer made from silicon dioxide. Offering the best of both worlds from metal and glass bottles, the Purist Mover can keep hot drinks hot for 12 hours and keep cold drinks cold for up to 24. In fact, in our recent best water bottles test, this model revealed itself to have some of the best ice-retention of any of the bottles we tested. Purist also offers its stellar bottles in a trio of sizes, with three different tops, and in over half-a-dozen color options. 

The James Brand The Mehlville

In theory, you can use practically any carabiner for securing your keychain to a belt loop. Having said that, The James Brand’s The Mehlville is objectively a far superior option to almost any other “everyday carry-biner” on the market. For starters, the entire thing is machined from a block of 0.25-inch-thick aircraft-grade 6063 aluminum billet — though is also available in an even more premium version that’s milled from titanium billet. Fortified via a color-anodized finish, The Mehlville sports a clever spring-loaded dual-gate design that practically guarantees that you’ll never lose your keys. It doesn’t end there, however, as this carabiner also features an integrated bottle opener crafted from 304 stainless steel.

Bellroy Tech Kit Carryology Essentials Edition

While you could opt to keep your keychain, wallet, knife, flashlight, pen, notebook, lighter, phone, and other everyday carry items in your pant pockets, quickly finding and removing a piece of gear starts to get tricky when your pockets are so loaded. As such, we recommend organizing your EDC essentials with a dedicated everyday carry pouch like the Bellroy Tech Kit Carryology Essentials Edition. Born out of a collaboration between the Aussie carry solution company and the EDC experts at Carryology, this more premium version of the Tech Kit features weather-resistant coated YKK zippers that zip out, providing complete unobstructed access to its interior — an interior which contains a high-visibility lining, a magnetic slip pocket sized to fit a power bank, a bevy of stretch mesh pockets, and a floating wall with elastic cable loops. The EDC pouch also comes decked out with embossed leather accents in a unique Auxikko pattern — a hybrid of the ancient hexagonal Japanese Kikkō pattern, which was used in armor and engineered to grow stronger under stress.

Quiet Carry Q3 Key Organizer

The Quiet Carry Q3 combines EDC key organizers and pocket knives into a single package. Weighing in at just 2.2oz, the Q3 is composed of grade 5 titanium and offers storage for up to eight standard keys. Able to be carried on a keyring or via its removable pocket clip, this EDC key organizer and knife combo also has a frame-locking 2.35” AUS 8 clip-point blade that can be removed — leaving just the TSA-approved key organizer. In addition to its clip point blade, the Q3 can instead be optioned with a frame-locking multi-tool with a strap-cutter, a hex opening, and a bottle-opener — an excellent choice for those that still want to carry their regular EDC knife but are also interested in upgrading their key storage setup. 

Olight Baton 4 Premium

The Olight Baton 3 Premium Edition was already widely considered to be one of the very best EDC flashlights that money could buy. Despite this, the company opted to return to the drawing board in order to deliver an even more capable and high-tech version of its already-stellar EDC torch. The new Olight Baton 4 Premium now boasts up to 1,300 lumens and a more than 550’ throw, all while maintaining its predecessor’s 2.48” length, 0.83” diameter, and rugged IPX8 rating. On top of gaining a trio of battery level indicator lights, a trio of brightness indicator lights, and a new alloy button, the Premium 4 model also comes with a 5,000-mAh wireless charging case that’s not only compatible with the Baton 4 and several other Olight models — like the Baton 3 and Perun 2 Mini headlamp — but is also able to serve as a wireless power bank for your other tech and devices. 

G-SHOCK DW5600BCE-1

The G-SHOCK DW5600BCE-1 is a more fashion-forward, outdoor-inspired take on one of the Casio-owned outfit’s most popular digital timepieces. Powered by a single CR2016 battery that provides half-a-decade of life, the watch is constructed around a 48.9mm x 42.8mm resin case with a digital display sitting beneath a mineral glass lens. Accurate to within 15+/- seconds per month, the thing comes loaded with a stopwatch, timer, a multi-function alarm with flash and buzz alerts, Super Illuminator LED backlighting, and a full auto calendar. It’s also water resistant down to 660’ and heavily-resistant to shocks and impacts. Rather than being paired with one of G-SHOCK’s signature resin bands, this particular variant comes mated to a rugged CORDURA Eco Fabric textile strap.

Bellroy Apex Slim Sleeve

The design of the vast majority of men’s wallets have changed very little over the last century. With that said, the Bellroy Apex Slim Sleeve isn’t most wallets. Crafted from environmentally certified leather sourced from gold-rated tanneries in the Netherlands, the Apex Slim Sleeve benefits from a pre-molded construction, a snappy magnetic snap closure, and a pull-tab card access system. Using a stitchless construction, this thoroughly modern wallet design also offers room for six-to-eight cards while still having space left over to stash a handful of paper bills. If that wasn’t enough, the thing is also incredibly durable, plus boasts RFID protection. 

Tactile Turn Side Click Pen Zirconium Standard

Equipped with a fidget-friendly click deployment, the Tactile Turn Side Click Pen Zirconium is an ultra-premium take on a modern EDC writing instrument. Meticulously manufactured in Texas, each pen is precision-milled from a solid block of Zirconium — with the pen’s machining pattern left on full display, thereby adding grip-bolstering texturing along with a few style points. Alongside the option to upgrade the pen’s pocket clip to a Timascus (titanium Damascus) unit, the Side Click Pen is also available with optional custom engraving. It’s also probably worth mentioning that Tactile Turn also produces this pen in more affordable — yet still decidedly premium — copper, bronze, and titanium construction variants. It’s also sold in three different lengths. With its immense durability and top-notch craftsmanship, the Side Click Pen is able to offer a lifetime of use before being passed on to future generations — a notion that’s practically guaranteed thanks to the pen’s included lifetime warranty. 

Master & Dynamic MW75

Winner of a prestigious Red Dot Design Award, the Master & Dynamic MW75 is a luxury pair of over-ear wireless headphones that look and feel as good as they sound. Offering 32 hours of battery life, the MW75 is crafted around a set of anodized aluminum arms that have been paired with tempered glass details and replaceable magnetic memory foam ear cups trimmed in super-soft lambskin leather. Armed with a set of custom-tuned 40mm beryllium drivers, the MW75 also features super advanced adaptive active noise cancelation and ambient listening thanks to a best-in-class quad beamforming microphone setup. In addition to Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, these over-ear cans are also voice assistant compatible and they can pair with the M&D Connect app for custom EQ adjustments. And, while we’re partial to the gunmetal and black leather version seen here, these wireless ANC headphones are offered in seven different colorways, plus are made in several limited edition versions including a Mercedes-AMG spec, a Bugatti variant, and a Lamborghini model. 

Leica Q2

The Leica Q2 is a newly developed digital camera that boasts best-in-class image quality — alongside a laundry list of other highlights. Utilizing a state-of-the-art 47.3 MP full frame sensor, the Q2 features multiple built-in crop modes, a 3″ TFT LCD monitor, a fixed Summilux 28mm f/1.7 ASPH lens, a new processor from the Maestro II family, and both 4K UHD and Cine4K video recording capabilities. The entire camera comes in a lightweight magnesium alloy housing that’s fully weather-sealed — making it a great option for daily-use whether in or out of the city. In typical Leica fashion, this camera is offered with a wide range of optional accessories — plus boasts the brand’s usual world-class construction, build quality, and performance. 

The Best High-End Luxury EDC Essentials

Another selection of great everyday carry gear for use in the city is the more premium tech, gear, and bags — the latest and greatest of which can be found in our hand-picked guide to the best high-end luxury EDC essentials.