Esquire USA - 11.2019

34 November 2019_Esquire photograph: Jeffrey Westbrook

the Code: Pack Smarter

THE WORLD’S

MOST

INTERESTING

CARRY-ON

How many miles
do I travel per
year? It’s enough that,
honestly, I don’t know.
And it’s enough that
my everyday carry
(EDC) has outgrown
my pockets and is now
a bag I bring every-
where, from lunch
meetings to the plane.
It’s not for a lack of
discipline. I’m a light
packer. But as crazy
as some of these things
are, I feel a little bet-
ter having what I need,
and even some stuff I
probably never will,
always at hand.

SUREFIRE

E2D LED

DEFENDER

ULTRA

This torch makes

finding all ephemera

in the black hole of my

bag possible and

is bright enough to

temporarily stun

would-be muggers.

I ’ v e u s e d t h i s f e a t u r e

and can say it works.

$199; surefire.com

VERTELLIS

CHAPTERS

JOURNAL

I journal daily and am

a fan of the Vertellis

Chapters guided journal

to help organize my

thoughts and intentions.

My goal is the Japanese

concept of shokunin—

the way of the artisan.

And I’m getting a little bit

better every day.

$25; vertellis.com

THE WINSTON 2

WALLET

I always want pen and

paper handy, and I

worked with my pal Mark

Cho of the Armoury to

develop what I think is

the perfect wallet, which

includes a small dispos-

able ballpoint as well

as an easily replaceable

Moleskine notepad. I’ve

had smaller versions

with proprietary pen and

paper, and I even have

one with waterproof

paper and a pencil for

tropical climes, but

the goal with the Winston

Wallet was to have

inexpensive and easily

sourced inserts to

make refills easy. $615;

thearmoury.com

ACR RESQLINK

PERSONAL

LOCATOR BEACON

The ResQLink personal

locator beacon

relays your position to

search-and-rescue

teams. I also hope to

never use this.

$290; acrartex.com

MICHAEL’S FAT BOY PEN

I swapped my Sailor fountain pen and traveling

inkwell for an aluminum pen designed

by Michael’s Pens in Bremen, Indiana. It’s

beefy and smooth, and much more sane

than traveling with a fountain pen and ink.

$250; michaelspens.com

SWISS SAFE COMPRESSION

EMERGENCY BANDAGE

If I sever a limb, a Band-Aid won’t help.

I’d rather be prepared for catastrophe. Still,

I hope I never need to use the emergency

bandage that a Navy SEAL friend recommended

I carry. $18 for two; amazon.com

illustration

: Louise Pomero

y

PETZL ZIPKA

HEADLAMP

Though this is de rigueur

at the campsite, you’ll

look like a kook wearing

the Petzl headlamp—

until you’re stuck in

a staircase in a blackout,

which has happened

to me. $30; petzl.com

Become a truly

worldly man and the

contents of your

bag will reflect that.

Here’s what’s in

Facebook exec MATT

JACOBSON’s bag.