When I’m sat at my desk and not stuck in back-to-back meetings, I usually let YouTube autoplay in the background while I tinker with code, documents or whatever else I’m working on.

The algorithm definitely has its phases. Lately, it’s pulled me away from my usual EV content into luxury travel (hour-long videos of Maldives resorts are surprisingly relaxing, even if wildly out of reach). Somehow, it’s also decided I need to know about “Every Day Carry” bags.

Apparently an EDC, as the videos keep telling me, is a hyper-organised bag of kit designed to get you through everything from extreme video production to, presumably, a small civil war.

Needless to say, I don’t carry even 20% of what these YouTubers seem to think is essential. But it did make me realise there are a few things I never leave home without.

First and most important: tea. I’m no connoisseur; as long as it’s hot and milky, I’m happy as long as I have a lot of it. I used to lose or break reusable cups at an alarming rate, but I’ve finally settled on this Joseph Joseph travel mug. It does the only job that matters: holds a drink without leaking and doesn’t cost a fortune.

On the tech front, I’ve been an Apple user for years, so I’m never far from my iPhone (15 Pro Max), iPad mini (7th gen), or M3 MacBook Air. And for those calls, if it’s quick then I’ll use my AirPods Pro, but for longer calls I find a Jabra Evolve 65 Mono headset suits me far better

My kids claim I carry too many cables. I call it being prepared. Either way, there’s always a little pouch in my bag with USB-C, USB-A, Lightning and HDMI cables. For power, I rely on a Ugreen GaN charger and, because I’m a fan of Anker gear, a hefty power bank that can charge multiple devices at once.

I didn’t think I carried that much… but looking at the list, maybe I do. Still, it’s a lot less than I used to lug around. Over-prepared? Under-prepared? Who knows. It works for me.

So now I’m curious – what’s in your EDC?