After A Year Of Testing Elastic Bands For My EDC Kit: The Results Were Surprising!

Рет қаралды 6,455

6 ай бұрын

This is I discovered during my ongoing quest to find the perfect elastic band that can hold up to the daily pounding and abuse that I inflict on my everyday carry (EDC) organizer & tools. I'll show you what worked and what will fail. I give two different examples of very robust bands that you can easily make and customize to fit your daily EDC needs. Elastic Bands keep your EDC organized and secure and these custom examples can help improve the efficiency of how you carry.
Most EDC organizers have at least one elastic band in them that has slots that are designed to hold something together or onto something. The can also be true of many pocket organizers, sling bags, Pocket Racks(TM) and backpacks. Making custom elastic bands that fit your tools and work with what you carry them in can free up space and improve how you carry.
#edc #everydaycarry #edcorganizer #rubberbands #elasticbands #everydaycarry #rangerbands
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The free downloadable PDF file covering all the items that are mentioned in this video can be viewed here: bit.ly/EDC_Bands
The file does contain links to online retailers. I am not compensated for these links. These are just places that I have purchased items from in the past. If discounts are offered and I am aware of them, I will include that information next to the link.
After viewing the video, please share your suggestions and thoughts in the comments section below. Also, please check out the Earthling EDC community page at: www.youtube.com/@EarthlingEDC... for more information on the custom made Pocket Rack EDC organizers that our community has been building .

Пікірлер: 46

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

I've wanted to do this video for quite a while now. It's been interesting over the past year trying out so many different types of elastic bands. I'm looking for elastic bands that will hold up to being used daily for a long period of time. I accept that it will eventually wear out, but my goal is to find something that will last for at least a year under daily use as part of an EDC organizer. If you have suggestions after viewing the video, please don't hesitate to post them here.

@opotime 6 ай бұрын

Im new to that idea of carry, Last Time i build a detachable bag for my belt... to easy get items. Open a bag and get a holder Out is now on my todo list, thx. First Material i think about to use is loctite emergency o ring set because any length is posible and i used it 10years ago... Greatz from Germany and have a nice Day opo

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@opotime - Thank you for your post. A Pocket Rack would work really well with a belt pouch / bag. I often use mine that way. In regard to the O-Ring set, that's an interesting idea, but the material they are made of is probably either Latex or Silicone and in my testing both of these are good materials, but they are susceptible to wear when used constantly. When you have your Pocket Rack built, be sure to send me photos ( Earthling@Newsphoto.com ) and I will post them to our community page. Many thanks again, for taking the time to post.

@Swamp-Fox 6 ай бұрын

I love the elastic shock cord with the beads. It is nice that you can customize the length to fit a particular piece of gear. It would be good to have all of the elastic bands you discuss on hand for a variety of applications. Nice video!

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@Swamp-Fox - Thanks for your feedback. I think everyone should have a spool of that elastic shock cord for their EDC gear. As I was writing up the downloadable PDF for this video yesterday I checked on the price. I had mentioned in the video that the cost was about $5 for a roll. When I checked yesterday, it was now under $3 a roll. It just has so many customizable applications and for less than $3 you can't go wrong. And, having come or all of the other bands mentioned is indeed a good idea. Many thanks for sharing your thoughts on this.

@paulhorn24 6 ай бұрын

Very good, informative video covering all aspects of this topic! Probably the only video yet about this topic worldwide! 👍👍👍👍👍 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@paulhorn24 - Thank you for your feedback. As I had mentioned in the video, I had done searches on this topic looking for EDC related videos and found some on "Ranger Bands", but not much else. I posted this video last night and this morning it had over 1000 views, so it's a topic that people are interested in, but no one was really creating EDC related content for it. My expectations were not high when I made it, but evidently there appears to be an audience for elastic band videos on KZfaq. Who Knew ? Thank you again for taking the time to post.

@gabehunt2000 6 ай бұрын

Just printed one tonight and used random bands found around the house, really enjoying it so far, ordered 2mm shock cord and bands also Thank you

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@gabehunt2000 - Be sure to check out some of the earlier pocket rack related videos if you have not done so already. There are some ideas in them that might be helpful for how you build it out. Once you have it built out, be sure to send me some photos and I'll post them to our community page. There are some rally interesting ideas being exchanged there. Thanks for sharing your update.

@derpyderp6719 6 ай бұрын

A neat thing you can do when you knot the shock cord is find one of those threaded metal connectors for braclets or elastic shoelaces. Then feed the loop through the back-end of the smaller hole, and pull until the knot is hidden inside. Not only is it about as large as a bead, but you can make another shock cord loop on the other part of the connector to make it double sided. I'm not sure how much utility would be in having a double sided band, but it would certainly be interesting to try and find something to do with it.

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@derpyderp6719 - I've got those. I had one in the video on top of the black shock cord. I completely forgot to mention it, because I did not see it. They work nicely with the 2mm shock cord see: www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832818158570.html . I ordered the smallest size and I don't use the little plug that fits into the end. The knot prevents it from attaching. I suppose I could glue it on though, but it does not seem to be necessary for how I am using them. Thanks for the reminder..

@joelareddola4946 6 ай бұрын

Greetings Phil! Essentially with the bead wrapping it over itself looks like a soft shackle. I’ve been playing with several different knots as well. For me with the shock cords I use a arbor knot with a stop knot on the end. The knot acts like the bead, the stop knot lets you loosen and tighten it down.

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@joelareddola4946 - Thanks for posting. This is extremely helpful information. For those not familiar with these knots, Here are some links that might be helpful - For the Arbor Knot - www.selfrelianceoutfitters.com/blogs/survival-blog/how-to-tie-the-arbor-knot and for the stopper knots, see: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/hsWJjaydzrq1hZ8.html - Thanks you again for sharing your ideas on this.

@sevans66 6 ай бұрын

Website is looking great...what even looks better is the price...😊

@EarthlingEDC 5 ай бұрын

@sevans66 - Thanks for your post - Yeah, we're still working out the price, so I thought it would be better to leave it blank for now. Still have work to do :-)

@rhoenellouan7332 6 ай бұрын

Really useful information! My thanks!

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@rhoenellouan7332 - Thank you for taking the time to post your comments. I sincerely appreciate the feedback.

@derpyderp6719 6 ай бұрын

Also, if you knot the shock cord, you can use those wooden beads as a sort of cinch for the other side. You'd be able to do the same looping trick by cinching it down onto the knot on the other end, and do it more securely from the looks of it.

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@derpyderp6719 - That actually works pretty well. I had used that technique for securing tools to a rack with a band that was longer than necessary. I found that when you cinched down the bead to tighten it up on the item, it would release slightly over time, which was not a huge problem, but I found that the excess cord that you had was annoying and catching onto things. Some might not feel that is an issue though. I like my rack setup to be pretty tight with everything within the confines of the card's edges if possible. For what you are proposing though, if you are using it to attach things to things, I can see this as working nicely. Thanks for your post.

@VinlandAlchemist 6 ай бұрын

Superb stuff as usual! Between you and the MeZillch channel, I'm havin' a blast! Y'know, the two of you oughtta co-lab sumthin' or other lol

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@VinlandAlchemist - Thanks for posting. I'm a subscriber to his channel. @MeZillch has great content www.youtube.com/@MeZillch and it would be fantastic to work with him on something.

@Olyphoto7 6 ай бұрын

I still haven’t accessed a 3d printer, but I found some thin perforated stainless steel sheets that might do the trick.

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@Olyphoto7 - There are some samples of Pocket Racks made with metal on the Community page www.youtube.com/@EarthlingEDC/community Having the right tools to work the metal will reduce your frustration level. If you are going to try metal, why not give Kydex a try first. It's much easier to work with and you can use woodworking tools on it. One of the hand made pocket racks was featured in this video. It was the one that had all of the different band types on it. Best of luck withyour build and PLEASE send photos of it (Earthling@Newsphoto.com ).

@Kreiger81 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the videos! I noticed some of your bands are held together with tubing and I assume glue. Whats the use case of the bead vs the tubing/glue versions? beads not fitting properly everywhere? different length bands?

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for asking - They work nicely, but a problem occurs when making them. When heating the tubing to shrink it, directly over the glued joint in each band, most people would use an open flame. The nylon covering the shock cord is extremely sensitive to heat and will either melt and become ridged or catch fire. I ended up using a soldering iron to apply heat directly to the tubing on the band, but still ran into that section of the band becoming ridged. It works, but I’m still working on perfecting the technique used to make them. I want to be clear that the tubing that I’m referring to is not the large section that you see securing the tools on my rack, they are very small 1/4” pieces of heat shrink tubing that fit snugly directly over the connection where the band is glued together. Once that is done, I then insert it into the large band that holds the tool in place. Ultimately The solution is to have them custom made for us by a hair tie manufacturer.

@patslee1394 6 ай бұрын

👍👍

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@patslee1394 - Thank you for your feedback!

@TheeCapN 6 ай бұрын

I biught that nylon roll from your pdf. What pisses me off is that i asked for white but got a black color nylon. Im still mad about it still need to print out a rack tho. Ill let you know how i like it

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@TheeCapN - Thanks for your post. I actually ordered the black originally and they sent me the white. Now I'm glad they sent me the wrong one. So there is definitely an issue with that item.

@louistse5388 6 ай бұрын

Ever think to connect the band with the electronic copper staples? Would that be more firmed?

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@louistse5388 - Thank you for sharing your idea. Can you add a link showing me what these look like?

@louistse5388 6 ай бұрын

@@EarthlingEDC kzfaq.infoRgIe0PcmnyM?si=12vUAD-tFa0I59gn

@louistse5388 6 ай бұрын

@@EarthlingEDC please let me know if you could view the clip. If not, I will try to find another for your reference 😊

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@louistse5388 - It won't let me view the clip. I tried the first day you sent it and thought it might be a network issue, so I tried again today and it still does not allow me to view it. Thanks

@louistse5388 6 ай бұрын

@@EarthlingEDC let me try to find another link. Keep you posted.

@dimmodddimmodd7199 6 ай бұрын

Hi Phil Please try one more type of band "Non Slip Hair Elastics Bobbles Hair Bands" for girls 👧

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@dimmodddimmodd7199 - Thanks for your post. Can you post a link to the specific page where I can see these? When I do a search on Google for those words - www.google.com/search?q=Non+Slip+Hair+Elastics+Bobbles+Hair+Bands I get hundreds of results. When I search for exactly those words, I get no results. Thanks again for sharing that information.

@PhilippeDoyleGray 6 ай бұрын

My wife thinks both you and I are crazy, but we know better.

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@PhilippeDoyleGray - My wife felt the same way and then the dryer stopped working and I fixed it with the tools on my Rack and then on Christmas day the dishwasher started leaking and I completely uninstalled and disconnected it from under the kitchen countertop with the tools on the rack and the assistance of KZfaq videos. Waiting for the part now and hope to have it back and running this evening. I've been really surprised at how well the tools I have on my Rack work. In most cases I don't feel that there is a disadvantage to using what I have on me rather than bringing up my tools from the basement. Doing it this way also familiarizes me to how they will work and what I can expect from them in different situations. With the dishwasher, I was really impressed with the Knipex XS and it's ability to accommodate a 3/4" water line. I don't think that would have been possible with my Leatherman Wave pliers. But yes, we are crazy and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. :-)

@PhilippeDoyleGray 6 ай бұрын

@@EarthlingEDC Thanks for taking the time to reply. That Knipex XS is no toy; it’s a serious tool. I’m trying to imagine the meeting at Knipex where the idea was first pitched…

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

That would have been an interesting meeting. FYI, finished the repairs with the Knipex... Dishwasher is back in service..:-)

@oftnaughten2306 6 ай бұрын

Where can I buy one of these cards?

@EarthlingEDC 6 ай бұрын

@oftnaughten2306 - We'll have them for sale on our website in the future. I've been working on it, but putting out new videos and life in general seem to slow down the development of the website. You can download the STL file for free if you want to have a 3D print of one made for you. Instructions are in the PDF located in the description for this video. Thank you for asking.

@williamburdon6993 5 ай бұрын

Rubber bands always deteriorate,and snap. at least in my experience.

@EarthlingEDC 5 ай бұрын

@williamburdon6993 Thanks for your post. They do indeed. But there are many different formulations of elastics and my goal has been to find something that will endure for as long as possible and hold up to daily wear. If you have ideas for me to try out, I'm open to suggestions. Many thanks for your post.