I've been training myself and hundreds of others in concealed carry handgun work for a long time now, and one of the things that continues to surprise me is how much people seemed to be fascinated by my personal carry set up.

I realize that I carry a firearm and teach its use for a living, but honestly, I really think that I'm someone who carries a very simple and well thought out collection of tools to keep myself and my family safe. In that we're sort of in a theme for this month's SMT Newsletters of Summer Concealed Carry, I thought I'd go through the contents of my pockets to give you an idea of what you might put in yours to increase your ability to defend yourself.

Well, here it is. When I carry "On Body," this is what's in my pockets or on my hip. Let's go through it quickly.

Might be overkill, but I generally have between 2 and 4 knives on me at any time. The idea is, that no matter which side is free, Primary or Support, I can get to a knife in a CQB situation. I'm not as young as I used to be, nor am I as good at grappling as some of the fighters I've met in my life, but I do know one thing: someone in grappling range with me is going to get cut or shot, their choice. The knives, from left to right are: an Emerson Full Sized Karambit, an Emerson Commander, a Benchmade 3" Folder, and a Schrade 4" fixed blade.

That leads me to item number two, a firearm. My normal carry firearm is in for repairs so this is my secondary G22, converted to 9mm using a KKM Precision barrel. I carry it using either my Crossbreed holster (cut correctly) or a ConSEAL. I have one magazine in the firearm, ready to go and the other in a pocket or a pouch. Lately, I've been playing with a mag holder that fits into the pocket to hold the mag correctly called a SnagMag. Great product. With a full sized 9mm, this means I've got 34 rounds on me at a minimum.

Of course wherever your firearm goes, your wallet goes too. Inside I have plastic, enough cash to get me anywhere I need to go, my license and permit to carry. I also have the item you see on top, a micro lock pick set. Picking a lock is something you'd like to avoid having to do, but when you need to get inside something, man, you'll be glad you spent the time learning how to do it correctly.

Next to that is a TK4L tourniquet. We're talking about firearms boys and girls, that means there's a shot that someone is shooting at me. These tourniquets can quickly take a bad situation and hopefully make it survivable. It might not be a shooting either, those that remember SMT instructor Forrest Cooper, might not have known that he tourniqueted himself after he was hit by a negligent driver while he was on his motorcycle.

I try to always have sunglasses with me as I'm blind as a bat if the sun is bright. Having my key chain with all necessary keys is good, Chapstick because I chap easily but next to that is a micro-Leatherman. This simple multi-tool has screwdrivers and a pliers, I've used this repetitively to fix things around the range.

I carry a Surefire L2D LED Defender flashlight. It's 500 lumens with a secondary setting of 70 lumens. The rubber ring allows for quick, hands free manipulation, and the beveled bezel will leave a nasty cut if I have to use this milspec flashlight as an impact tool.

The last item, not seen, is what took this picture. My cell phone. Whenever I carry a firearm I keep a cell nearby. If I need to engage a threat, the next actions after I am safe will be to call 911, followed quickly by my lawyer. This is why we memorize our 911 calls.

There is, of course, no right answers here to your everyday carry. You might have more or less, you decide what your skills and occupation allows, just use this as a suggestion.