Getting your concealed carry permit is an important step. But once you begin carrying a firearm regularly, another practical question quickly comes up:
What else should you carry with you?
I get this question from students all the time.
Some concealed carriers seem prepared for a three-day expedition every time they leave the house. They have multiple spare magazines, a tourniquet, trauma kit, flashlight, knife, backup gun, and enough equipment to fill a sling bag.
There is nothing necessarily wrong with that. If that’s what you want to carry, that’s your decision.
But I take a simpler approach.
After carrying a firearm for more than four decades, I’ve found that everyday carry needs to be practical. If your concealed carry setup is so cumbersome that you have to completely change the way you dress or live, there’s a good chance you eventually won’t carry it.
Your equipment should fit your lifestyle—not the other way around.
Here are the basic items I believe a concealed carrier should consider having available every day.
1. Your Firearm—and Possibly a Reload
This one seems obvious. If you’re going to carry concealed, you need the firearm and ammunition.
But should you carry extra ammunition?
For small-capacity handguns, I generally recommend carrying one reload. With a semiautomatic pistol, that usually means a spare magazine. With a revolver, it might mean a speedloader.
That doesn’t mean everyone needs to walk around with half a dozen magazines.
If your handgun already holds 15, 17, or 20 rounds, the likelihood that you’ll need another magazine because you’ve fired all of your ammunition in a defensive encounter is relatively small. However, ammunition capacity isn’t the only reason to carry a spare magazine. Magazines can malfunction, become damaged, or be accidentally dropped.
For that reason, carrying a reload is worth considering even when ammunition capacity isn’t your primary concern.
With a small handgun, however, I generally carry one.
2. A Less-Lethal Option
One of the most important things a concealed carrier should understand is that not every problem is a gun problem.
A firearm is an extraordinarily effective defensive tool when you’re facing a threat serious enough to justify deadly force. But many confrontations never reach that level.
That’s why I like having a less-lethal option.
For me, that’s usually a small container of pepper spray.
It’s lightweight, inexpensive, and gives me another option when simply walking away isn’t working but the circumstances don’t justify using a firearm.
When choosing pepper spray, I prefer a product capable of spraying regardless of its orientation. In a real confrontation, you may not be holding the container perfectly upright.
There’s another important point: if you use pepper spray or temporarily impair someone’s vision with a bright flashlight, move.
Don’t remain standing where the person last saw you. Creating distance and changing position can be just as important as deploying the tool itself.
The larger principle is simple: carrying a gun shouldn’t mean that a gun is your only defensive option.
3. A Practical Knife
I also routinely carry a knife.
It doesn’t need to be enormous. In fact, I generally prefer something small, lightweight, sharp, and easy to carry.
A knife is one of the most useful everyday tools you can have. You can open packages, cut cord, deal with countless mundane problems, and use it for many of the ordinary tasks for which human beings have been using knives for generations.
A knife can also be a defensive tool.
I’m a longtime practitioner of Filipino martial arts, so I’ve spent considerably more time training with knives than most people. But even someone without formal knife-fighting training has probably spent decades handling knives in everyday life.
Whatever knife you choose, make sure you’re comfortable carrying and using it, and make sure you understand the knife laws wherever you live or travel.
4. A Handheld Flashlight
“But my phone has a flashlight.”
So does mine.
I still carry a flashlight.
During the daytime, that may be a very small pocket light. At night, I prefer something larger and brighter that can be operated easily with one hand.
A dedicated flashlight has uses that a phone simply doesn’t handle particularly well.
If the power goes out inside a building, you can immediately illuminate your surroundings and find an exit. If you drop your keys in a dark parking lot, you can find them without fumbling around with your phone.
A powerful flashlight can also temporarily interfere with someone’s vision at night, potentially giving you an opportunity to move away from a threatening situation.
And there’s another important advantage to a handheld flashlight.
Some concealed carriers tell me they don’t need one because they have a weapon-mounted light.
That’s fine—for identifying something when the firearm is legitimately deployed.
But what happens when you simply need to see something?
You shouldn’t be pointing a firearm at someone just because you want to illuminate them. You certainly shouldn’t draw your handgun because you dropped your keys under the car.
A handheld flashlight lets you illuminate something without simultaneously pointing a gun at it.
That’s why, even if your concealed carry handgun has a weapon-mounted light, I still recommend carrying a handheld flashlight.
5. Your Cellphone
A cellphone has become such an ordinary part of life that it’s easy to overlook it as part of your defensive equipment.
But it may be one of the most important things you’re carrying.
After a serious defensive encounter, you’re going to need help.
Whether you used pepper spray, physically defended yourself, displayed or fired your handgun, or were simply the victim of a crime, you need the ability to contact law enforcement and emergency medical services.
If a defensive encounter occurs, don’t assume the other person won’t call the police.
You generally want law enforcement responding to your report of what happened, rather than arriving after someone else has reported you as the person with the gun.
A smartphone also gives you the ability to photograph or otherwise document things that may become important later.
Obviously, what you should say to police following a defensive shooting is a much larger subject. My general advice is to be respectful, identify yourself as the victim, request necessary assistance, and clearly invoke your right to counsel before participating in a detailed interview.
6. Your Concealed Carry Permit
This is easy to forget precisely because it’s so obvious.
If you’re carrying under a permit, make sure you actually have the required permit with you.
The laws and requirements vary from state to state, and some states don’t require a permit at all. If you are carrying in a jurisdiction where a permit is required, however, know the applicable rules and make sure you’re complying with them.
For California concealed carriers, that means understanding not only where and how you may legally carry but also the requirements associated with your particular permit.
7. Self-Defense Legal Coverage
This isn’t something you put in your pocket, but I consider it part of being prepared.
If you’re going to carry a firearm for self-defense, think seriously about what happens after you use it.
Even a completely legitimate act of self-defense can lead to a criminal investigation, arrest, prosecution, or civil lawsuit. Defending yourself through that process can become enormously expensive.
There are numerous companies and organizations offering various forms of concealed carry or self-defense legal protection.
I personally use both Second Call Defense and Attorneys on Retainer, but that’s my decision based on my own circumstances. It doesn’t mean those are automatically the right choices for you.
Before purchasing any plan, read the actual terms carefully.
Don’t choose something simply because you saw an advertisement or because somebody at the range told you it was the best.
Understand what you’re buying.
What events are covered? Are there exclusions? Are both criminal and civil matters covered? Are there limits on attorney fees or other expenses? What happens if a civil judgment is entered against you?
Treat the decision with the same seriousness you would when evaluating homeowners or automobile insurance.
The important point isn’t which company you choose. It’s making sure you understand what protection you’ll actually have if the worst day of your life ever occurs.
Keep Your Everyday Carry Practical
You can add much more to this list.
You may want a tourniquet or individual first-aid kit. You might carry multiple magazines. You may want additional medical equipment or keep more substantial supplies in your vehicle.
That’s perfectly reasonable.
But don’t fall into the trap of believing that concealed carry requires you to walk around looking and feeling like you’re headed out on patrol.
Most days, I’m dressed pretty casually. During the summer that may mean cargo shorts, a T-shirt, sneakers or even flip-flops, and a baseball cap.
I can still carry the basic equipment I’ve discussed here without turning it into a major production.
That’s important.
Because the most elaborate concealed carry setup in the world doesn’t do you any good if it’s so uncomfortable and inconvenient that you eventually leave everything at home.
Build your concealed carry setup around the life you actually live.
Start with the essentials: your firearm, an appropriate amount of ammunition, a less-lethal option, a useful blade, a handheld flashlight, your cellphone, your required permit, and a plan for dealing with the legal aftermath of a defensive incident.
Then add—or subtract—equipment based on your circumstances, experience, training, and needs.
There is no single perfect everyday carry setup for everyone.
The goal is to develop one that works for you, understand how to use what you carry, and have it available when you actually need it.
This article reflects the author’s personal opinions and experience and is intended for general educational purposes. Firearm, concealed carry, knife, and self-defense laws vary by jurisdiction. Know and follow the laws applicable where you live and carry.