So, I watched Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist last night.

Yeah, I know, weird way to start an EDC discussion but it’s what sparked this train of thought and I believe in listing my sources.

I was thinking about what I normally carry in my pockets when out and about, and then thinking about what happened in the film and how it would have played out for me given my EDC. And the main point it came to is that while I carry my kit securely, it’s not always comfortable.

I usually wear (99.99% of the time) Craghoppers walking trousers. Either the lined winter version or the thinner summer model. They’re great. Two back pockets, inner and outer front pockets (the inners are zipped) and a thigh pocket. But using the activities in the film as a guide, they’re actually not perfect for EDC.

I’m basically judging gear retention and comfort during four activities: Running, Sitting in a diner, Sitting in a car and sprawling on a couch with Kat Dennings.

For running and Diner chair use, my Craghoppers are fine. Everything is retained, comfortable, working well. But once we move on to cars and couches things become a little tricky. I’ve found things falling out of my pockets in cars far too often and I can only assume that sprawling would be worse. Not to mention you’d have to empty your pockets before sprawling commenced to avoid keys or a torch digging in to a hip.

For reference, my EDC is a wallet (Not a low-profile one but not huge either), a key fold, a lighter, a torch (18650 for size reference), an iPhone 5c, a pocket knife and car keys plus a couple of linen handkerchiefs. The knife and car keys usually take rear pockets, with the wallet and phone in opposite inner pockets and the keys and torch in opposite outers. The lighter goes in with the phone. I try to make the wallet and phone act as padding for the hard, metal items but it doesn’t really work. They tend to slip beneath them.

Now I had considered belt pouches for making it all more secure and less likely to fall out, but a lot of them have large profiles and make the Car, Diner and Sprawling criteria more difficult. There are some nice, leather pouches out there which are quite flat but I’m not sure if they’re any good.

I also tried a tailor’s waistcoat but items tend to fall out of the pockets when I bend forward.

So I ask the community – Are there any other good suggestions for carrying a basic EDC spread that allows you maximum mobility, security and comfort in your daily activities without breaking the bank or making you look like a mall-ninja?