Wayfinder Ali: every day carry

If you know me at all, you know how obsessed I am with tiny things, and how I pride myself on being ready for anything at a moment's notice. I've got quite the collection of tiny things for travel and EDC, a collection which would be terribly incomplete without a useful variety of knives. Here are my favorites.

These are wonderful blades for every-day use and survival, but should be noted that tipped blades (blades with points) should NEVER be used during rescues.

Gerber GDC Zip Blade $15

This knife is a game changer and the ultimate in tiny. Can you believe such a tiny knife both folds and locks? It attaches to a zipper pull and is easily accessed via a quick release buckle.

It's one of my favorite purchases and a knife I use almost every day. I use it frequently to open boxes, cut string and for other small tasks.

At a price point of right around $15, there's no reason not to have several.
Weight: 0.32 ounce
Closed length: 1.7"
Blade Length: .68"

CRKT Rsk MK5 $14.50

I keep this knife in my 'go anywhere' survival kit because it is so slim, short and light. While it is too small to tackle large survival demands, it comes razor sharp right out of the box and is perfectly capable of cutting rope, slicing meat and shaving twigs for kindling. I have even cut heavy weight leather with it. I found the sheath it came with too clunky for such a tiny knife, so I made a leather one for mine.

Weight: less than 1 ounce
Length: 3.8"
Blade type: 1.75" fixed drop point

SOG Snarl $32.50

The Snarl is a large scale production version of a knife designed by Jason Brous. It is a badass little tactical self-defense blade that comes in a nylon sheath designed to be worn in a wide variety of ways. Finger holes not only improve grip, but also keep the user from dropping the knife should they open their hands when defending themselves from attack. Jimping for the thumb also improves grip and reduces slip. I've worn mine on my belt, on my pack, hung around my neck, and clipped to my bra beneath my clothes. Eventually, I'll stonewash it so it isn't so bright.

Length: 4.3"

Blade: 2.3" fixed wharncliffe
Weight: 3.4 oz

CRKT Minimalist $18.95

The minimalist is available in five blade types: bowie, tanto, drop point, keramin, and wharncliffe to suit anyone's purpose or fighting style. It is designed to be worn as a neck knife and comes in a secure nylon sheath that comes with both a paracord for neck wear and a clip for wear on the hip. Finger grooves keep this small knife securely in the hand.
Length: 5" to 6.6"
Weight: around 1.5 ounces

Leatherman Squirt Multitool $29.95

This is the smallest, most useful multi-tool I own. It lives in my EDC adventure bag that moves from dry bag, to day pack, to handbag as I move through activities and locations. It's actually pretty cute, although I do wish it had tweezers. If you're looking for a multi-tool to take on a backpacking trip, this is it.
Weight: 1.92 ounces
Length: 3"
Tools: spring pliers, wire cutter, knife, file, scissors, flat head, Phillips head, pry bar

Gerber Dime Travel Multi-Tool - Bladeless $14

This bladeless multi-tool is TSA approved, so you can still have the basics even while traveling. I like this tool because it gives me what I use often- pliers, tweezers and scissors- in a compact, travel friendly package. And its only 14 bucks.
Weight: 1.5 ounces
Length: 4"
Tools: spring loaded pliers, wire cutter, file, flat head, Phillips head, zipper pull, tweezers, scissors, bottle opener

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Make it easy for someone to return your lost phone or contact your family in an emergency by putting your emergency contacts' information on the lock screen of your phone. I believe that 95% of people are good, honest people and will return your phone if they can. You can also add pertinent medical information like any allergies you have or medications you are taking. There are several ways to do this, and I'll walk you through them.

This post is written for iPhones but I assume there are similar apps and options on Android devices.

The easiest, fastest method: Using the Notes App

Open the 'Notes' app on your phone.
Hit the return key until you are almost halfway down the page
Type in your information, making sure to bold the most important items and using the space bar to center your text
Take a screen shot by pushing the round home button on the bottom of your phone at the same time you push the lock.on/off button on the top of your phone
Exit the 'Notes' app and open the Settings app.
Scroll down to 'wallpaper' and click 'choose new wallpaper'
Find the screenshot of your notes page, turn perspective zoom off and move the image until the lettering is just below the middle of the screen and hit save.

The prettiest method: Using the 'Word Swag' app

Go to the App Store and download the 'Word Swag' app ($3.99)
Pick a pretty photo from your camera roll that was taken vertically and select 'don't crop' or go online and google pretty photos like clouds or stars and save the image to your photos by holding down on the image until 'save image' appears.
Type your text into the custom text area, making sure that the 'auto line breaks on' button is slid to the left to turn it off
Use the return key to separate the lines of text
Once you have your text typed in, click 'save & close'
Now you can play with the style, color and size of the text. Remember your phone will zoom in so you want some room on either side of your text and your text to begin just below center of the screen.
Click 'Done'
Go to your 'Settings' app and scroll down to 'wallpaper'
Select the photo you made in word swag, turn perspective zoom off and move the image until the lettering is just below center of the screen and you can read all the wording. If your wording was too big, you will have to go back and start over. Unfortunately Word Swag does not allow you to edit previously saved photos.

Traveling Internationally

If you're headed abroad, download the local language to the keyboard of your phone while you have internet. You are downloading just the keyboard for that language, not changing your phone to that language. This means your phone will still be in English and your default keyboard will be English. To switch languages while writing or texting, simply click the little gray globe at the bottom left near the spacebar.

When you arrive, enlist a local friend to help you write your information in their language. Make sure that the number listed next to the local language is someone who speaks it fluently and knows how to contact you and any other important information about you.

On the screen to the left, the number next to 'English' was my local cell phone number- a little brick Nokia. The number next to the Arabic and French number was my Moroccan country director's number.

Medical ID and Health App

Don't forget to update your Medical ID in your Health app (iPhones) and enable Medical ID to show on the lock screen. This is important if you have 'push notifications' enabled on your phone. If you have recently received a text message or other notification and you have not looked at it, the background you're about to create may not appear. The only way for rescuers to access important information is through the Medical ID

Pages

Every Day Carry Tiny Knife Roundup

Traveling Safe: Help Rescuers Help You and Get Your Phone Back

Medical ID and Health App