Urban Adventurer EDC and Backpack Mods

If you're anything like me, and you find yourself out and about most of the time, you'll know that your EDC

(EveryDayCarry) is your lifeline.

I keep a very specific and limited amount in my pockets, phone, keys, wallet, travel pass and multi tool.

For everything else I rely on my backpack, so here are a few of the small mods I made to mine for extra convenience and my EDC for my urban adventures.

In 2012 the movie The Amazing Spider-Man was released and I saw a backpack mod that blew my mind.

Peter Parker had added straps to the outside of his bag to carry his skateboard, I had seen skate-bags made for this before but this low tech home mod struck a cord with me as a really suitable way for me to carry my camera tripod to and from college with ease.

I also found that when the weather got hot it was great for rolling up my jacket and clipping it to my bag without wasting carry space inside.

There are a bunch of ways to approach this, with anything from 25-40mm nylon webbing, or old leather belts. Single side release buckles, double buckles, metal or plastic clips, tri-glide adjusters all it takes is a little ingenuity.

I have done this a number of ways on several of my EDC bags, but my personal favorite is the 3-way buckle on 25mm webbing much like in the film, these can be a pain to find but usually show up pretty cheap on ebay and amazon, or off a baby/child car seat from a thrift shop.

It takes a little sewing skill to un-stitch three points of the bag and resew the seams with the nylon webbing in place but I have found this to be very practical for a small and easy modification.

Another great mod I have made is mounting a USB connection on the outside of my bag so I don't have to stuff my power bank in my pocket if I want to use my phone on the move.

You can buy these extension cables and cover very cheaply online, so just by cutting a small hole in my bag and gluing down the rubber housing for the cable I added the port for easy connecting.

I considered mounting small solar panels from a solar Powerbank on the front of my backpack to charge while i'm on the go, and may well do this in the future, however for now just connecting my pre-charged Powerbank inside my bag and running my charging cable to the handy port is fantastic for keeping my bag closed and secure while charging on the move.

I am pretty meticulous about what I carry around with me everywhere. Weight needs to be low so I'm not bogged down hauling my whole life around with me.

However you never know what is going to happen and I always feel better being prepared when I'm off out doing whatever it is I do!

Obviously everyones needs are going to differ, medications, asthma inhaler and the like should be a priority no matter where you're going, but put into consideration what you like to do when you're out.

Photography? Street art? account for these things when planning your EDC.

About my person I like to always carry:

• An Altoids tin to carry various charging cables, adapters, SD cards and a memory stick in case I need to move digital information around or charge my devices.

• A Crankable phone charger, I found this online and while I like to stay charged up wherever I am, I dread being caught stranded without power with no means to call for help so it seems to me a great device for preventing that.

• A pocket sewing kit. Rarely used for myself, I've saved a few friends with torn sleeves and popped buttons on occasion.

• Medi-kit, I'm not a paramedic but its always handy to have the tools to fix yourself up after a spill, just the basics: plasters, bandage, disinfectant, bite cream, eye drops and some pain killers is plenty to get you fixed up if you get a nasty cut or scrape on your travels.

There are a few things I like to have on me, not out of necessity but convenience, here's a short list of them to hopefully get you inspired.

• In the lid of the altoids tin i use for my charging cables I have some Emergency phone numbers in case i even find myself without my phone. Taxi services, Your significant other, Your Doctor or N.O.K are all very handy numbers to have if youre anything like me and cant remember phone numbers to save your life

• Deodorant, wet wipes and hand sanitizer have all saved my from some sticky situations...sometimes literally when you unwittingly put your hand in someones discarded gum, BLEGH.

• A paperclip, A foldback clip, some fishing wire, a zip tie. You might not even remember you have them, but you'll be glad you do when you're desperate to hold something in place or perform some emergency repairs on something. Trust me.

• I also usually have a multi tool on me but this should really vary depending on where you live. Most multi tools have knives and that breaks the law in plenty of places, so be sure before you go carrying one that you wont get into trouble.

• A pen, it might seem obvious but I get so sick of finding myself without a pen over and over again.

• Precision screwdrivers, Unfortunately I now have a reputation among family and Friends as someone who fixes things, so everywhere i go somebody wants me to take a look at a console or microwave or laptop or any number of broken appliances, after I had to fix an x-box with a fork I thought this might be more practical.

If you have any edits on any of my mods or EDC or any great ideas for more backpack mods leave a comment and let me know, Thanks for reading!