My 2025 Geek's Everyday Carry
It has been a while since I have posted on Techuisite, and the longer I go, the harder it is to get started again. So I thought I would write something a bit more fun to get the juices flowing again.
Not only is this an easy or more fun post to write, but it also covers some the changes that I have been meaning to write about. Most specifically my current phone, which after being iPhone exclusive for so many years is a big change for me.
I also want to write about my tech bag, since I have changed my backpack months ago, and the tech inside has also changed a ton. But that will come later. This post is already really long so I won't belabor the point any longer. Enjoy:
Cotopaxi Coso 2L Hip Pack - Cada Día
My wife bought me this bag for my birthday in May and has become my favorite everyday carry bag that I take with me always unless I am bringing my backpack (even then I sometimes bring it too).
It has enough room for all of the stuff I will go over next, but is also really cool looking. The one my wife got me is the Coso 2L Hip Pack - Cada Día in the Chestnut/Rusty color. The exact model that I have is actually on sale for only $42 (normally $60).
It is probably not a color that I would have picked myself, but that is what makes the bag that much better. I love the colors on this bag and it fits in both a casual and business casual outfit perfectly. I wear it to work almost everyday and use it on day trips or weekend excursions all the time.
It has three zipped pockets and another open pocket in the front separating two of the pockets. I try to keep certain things that never leave the bag in either the very front or back pocket, but make sure I leave room in the back pocket for my wallet.
The open pocket I throw my keys in or sunglasses for quick access. The center main pocket has a key clip but since I keep my Kindle and phone in there I worry about scratches. Sometimes I put the keys on the clip and move them somewhere safe, but I really wish it was in the front pocket instead.
The middle pocket is the largest and easiest to overfill but so far even when filled to the max (with an extra diaper or other kid essentials) it is still comfortable to wear. The strap is a cool blue color and resizes perfectly for my need and the clip is nice to unclip and throw around my leg when I am driving to keep it near by and not on my chest in the car.
Overall the bag is really nice and perfect for my everyday carry. I love it and after trying out other crossbody's I think I have found the perfect one for me. I am sure the stuff inside may change or rotate, but the bag itself I foresee being with me for a very long time.
Pixel 9a
For most of the year I have been using a iPhone 15 Pro Max. It is a great phone and I really enjoyed going to the larger size after being on non-Max size for many years. I really have no complaints with the iPhone except that I wanted to approach technology a bit differently now.
I am starting with my phone for this EDC post since it is one of two things that I have recently changed due to my feelings towards buying and using certain gadgets from certain companies. I have no issues with my iPhone, except for the company it is made by - plus it is getting kind of boring, right?
We live in a world now where choosing to buy things comes with so much baggage. Not only has Apple been, directly or indirectly, supporting some bad working practices overseas in China in manufacturing products that we buy here in America. But the continued focus on shareholder and stakeholder value over customers, developers, and society has really rubbed me the wrong way.
I am not trying to virtue signal, even if that is what I am doing, and this is a very privilege position to be in. The reason I am giving this background is to explain my reasoning for moving away from the iPhone. Not only are the actions by Tim Cook and Apple worrisome, but also the political climate has made me realize how much more secure I want to have my technology now.
If I truly wanted something private and safe, sticking with Apple products isn't the worse way to go. But the amount of data that I have allowed Apple to collect on me out of convenience has become a little worrying. Especially with the continued bending over backwards to satisfy our current Administration, I am not as comfortable Apple having so much of my data that I truly don't have a full understanding of what they can do with it.
With all the fearmongering aside, the phone that I have been carrying everyday for the past few weeks now is a Google Pixel 9a. Now before you comment on the fact that Google is no better in collecting data and is even more nefarious in its use, I have immediately wiped the Google stock Android OS off of the device and replaced it with GrapheneOS.
I am not going to go in a ton of detail on GrapheneOS here and I recommend you checking out the website I have linked to learn more about it. Ultimately what GrapheneOS is compared to the stock Android that comes with Pixel phones is that it does not include any Google services out of the box once you install it on your phone.
You have the option to put Google Play Services and the Google Play Store if you choose, which GrapheneOS makes easy to add, but they both don't run the same as on the stock version of Android (pre-installed on Pixel phones). It is sandboxed from the rest of the device and you have full control over what they have access too (Network, SMS, Phone, Sensors, etc.).
I did install Google Play Services on my GrapheneOS Pixel 9a, but I have only installed apps that I want Google to have access too. I literally have only installed Google Messages so I can use RCS when texting family and friends who still use iPhones. This isn't ideal, but it is more secure than SMS with RCS supporting encryption too.
My wife and I have recently moved to messaging on Signal and plan to move more of my friends and family there, but for now having RCS instead of SMS is a sacrifice that is worth making even if I don't fully trust Google in hosting that for me.
All the other apps that I have installed on my Pixel 9a are from the Aurora Store, a Open-Source app store that allows you to download apps that are found in the Google Play store but removes the need to install it from Google. This limits the ability for those apps to send anything to Google since they didn't come from their App Store.
In the sake of privacy and wanting to have a phone that I feel I can control more, it feels like a good step to take. I am disappointed in Apple right now, so also not using an iPhone anymore makes me feel a little better too. Once I go over my current laptop in a later post, coming soon, you will understand more of steps in making my gadgets and computers my own.
I will do a more thorough review of the Pixel 9a later, but the price, flush back (no camera bump), and it's ability to install other OS's is what led me to pick it up. For a $400 phone, I am so surprised on what you get compared to an iPhone.
The Pixel 9a comes with an OLED high resolution screen that supports 120Hz refresh rate and has a brighter display then the iPhone 15 Pro Max. Being back on Android has been a journey, but as a geek, finding alternative workflows and apps that I need has been a lot of fun. Again, I will go into way more detail in a future post, but since turning off my iPhone 15 Pro Max and putting it in a drawer at home a few weeks ago, I haven't looked back.
Kindle
The last time I spoke about my e-reader I talked about my transition to the Kobo Libra Colour that I was using. Since using that for a few months it didn't feel like the best device for me. It is a great e-reader, but realized I didn't need color and felt the benefits of having color were not worth the other aspects of what make e-ink displays so great.
The extra layer on the screen to add color just made the display not crisp enough for me. Especially when most of the time I read black text on a white background, the cool colorful book covers just seemed silly for what I was losing in clarity. I also wanted something more pocketable and the Kobo Libra was big, with and without the case.
So instead of getting another e-reader that was smaller and just black and white I thought I would try and jailbreak the Kindle I currently own, a 2022 Kindle, but due to its software version I was unable to jailbreak it. Disappointed I started to do some research and remembered another Kindle I loved but was discontinued.
The reason why I am not just going back to my 2022 Kindle is because I have recently moved away from all things Amazon too, including buying Kindle books and didn't want to be locked in anymore. So the Kindle Voyage was what I ended up buying off of eBay which supports jailbreaking and my ability to install KO Reader on it.
So this is now my current e-reader of choice: a jailbroken Kindle Voyage running KO Reader. It is fantastic and so far have loved using it. Not only is KO Reader great in allowing me to change all kinds of settings to set each book how I want when reading, but I also have the capacitive buttons on each side of the Kindle to allow me to turn pages without touching the screen. It is my favorite Kindle of all time so I am happy to not only be on it but use it how I want.
I use Calibre to store and organize all my ebooks which also adds to the beauty of KO Reader and it's built-in support to sync it to Calibre on my PC to transfer books to it. I have to be on the same network as my PC but now I can just add a new book to Calibre, connect my Kindle to it wirelessly, then sync it over instantly. It is really great.
Reading on the Kindle is probably the same if I was just reading Kindle ebooks on it, but that isn't a bad thing. Text is super crisp at 300PPI and the size of it is perfect for me to throw in my Cotipaxi bag or my back pocket. I also love that the power button is on the back so I don't hit it accidentally on the bottom like current Kindles plus the ergonomics is also really great when holding for long periods.
I still read on my Boox Go 10.3, but the Kindle is my main reading device since it is small and can go anywhere with me (plus it has a backlight which the Go 10.3 lacks). The only thing missing is the night light feature to yellow the screen when I am reading at night in the dark, but my glasses that I wear when reading does have a blue light filter that helps for that. Plus it is e-ink not LED or OLED so it is still way better than looking at my phone or iPad.
Watch
Before I stopped using the iPhone as my main phone, I was getting tired of the Apple Watch (again). I haven't tried other smart watches in a very long time, but I do feel like the Series 10 model that I have is one of the best out there. So I didn't stop wearing it because it lacked anything, but because I don't think I need it.
I was recently promoted in my job and thought it would be a good opportunity to treat myself with a new traditional watch. I have always found the Rolex DateJust the perfect watch for wearing casual and dressy, but I don't know if I will ever spend multiple thousands of dollars on a watch.
So I started doing a bit of research I knew that I either wanted a high-end Seiko or another watch. I wanted something under five hundred dollars, and wanted something I could wear both dressed up and casual. As I watched some YouTube videos and read some watch blogs, I decided on a Citizen Forza with a blue dial.
This watch is now sold as Zenshin on Citizen's website, but the prior model was called the Forza. There are a few differences, but not enough for me to care to much to get the latest model. Normally this watch sells just under five hundred dollars, but I was able to pick mine up secondhand (off Ebay) for about $350.
One of the main reasons why I was attracted to this watch was it's Super Titanium material. From Citizen's website:
Incredibly strong, lightweight, and gentle on the skin, our proprietary surface hardening technology makes it 5x harder and 40% lighter than stainless steel, plus it’s hypoallergenic, scratch- and rust-resistant.
So not only is it lightweight but a little more tough to withstand daily wear. It is also an automatic watch so never needs a battery replacement. The dial was a bit of a gamble though. I almost went with the white dial, knowing it would be a bit more neutral in color to match my clothes, but I wanted to really branch out and get myself a bit of color this time. Plus the texture is really cool and makes it feel more premium.
The only thing that I wasn't used with this watch compared to other watches I have had in the past was the separate seconds dial. At first I thought it would be no big deal, but after getting the watch I realized how different the hour and minute hands felt having to be pushed up higher to not get in the way of the mini seconds dial.
It threw me off a bit, but overtime I have come to love the separate seconds dial. I actually like the separation a lot and adds to its unique character. The other thing that I knew I wanted, and this watch has, is the date. I check the time a lot all day, but I also like to remind myself what todays date is and this provides both in a very stylistic way.
Overall I love this watch, I wear it all the time and has become my everyday watch. I wore it dressed up to a funeral recently, wear it every day in my business casual work attire, and on the weekends in jeans (or shorts) and a t-shirt. It not only looks great in everything I wear, but also feels amazing.
Sunglasses
After years of owning Rayban Polarized sunglasses, I decided that after losing my last pair, I wasn't going to buy anymore. I did own a pair of Knockaround sunglasses for awhile, but those got super loose and the lenses started to peel a little so needed to get something new.
I ended up finding a cheap pair of something similar to both the Rayban and Knockaround glasses I had before but for under twenty dollars. I decided to buy three pairs of them and so far these are what I am wearing everyday. They are very cheap, but everything I need for sunglasses that I don't care to beat up or lose.
They have polarized lenses, the wayfarer style that I like, and are very comfortable to wear for long periods. I can't ever go outside now without a pair of sunglasses and these do the job perfectly. Maybe one day I will upgrade to a more premium pair that I will keep in my bag or car for safe keeping, but for now, especially with small kids, these are my sunglasses of choice.
Wallet
Maybe it is the Dad in me now, or just the last few years of being frustrated trying to use a minimalist type of wallet, but I have come back to wanting/needing a more traditional wallet. I want a place that holds all my cards but also some extra things like my medical and Costco card and some cash.
After looking at some cheaper alternatives, I decided to just bite the bullet and spend a little more on a Bellroy bifold wallet. It is the Hide and Seek version, which I didn't really get what that meant until I bought it and started using it myself.
The wallet doesn't seem super big, but with all the extra hidden compartments it is surprising how many things you can fit in it. Not only can I fit a ton of cards, but being able to have two compartments for cash is great. I like to keep some emergency cash on me, which now goes in the hidden compartment, and have been trying to use cash more to control spending.
The wallet itself is very high quality, and at 80 dollars it be better be. The leather feels really nice, and I do like that I have a spot for my ID that isn't a cheap plastic window version like you see on other wallets.
The size of the wallet with all of my stuff in it is probably the biggest con but I kind of expected that going back to a traditional wallet. And since I usually have a bag on me with secure areas to store it, it hasn't really been a huge issue so far.
Notebook
I have been going back and forth with journaling digitally versus pen and paper. To get me back into journaling everyday I decided to buy a new moleskin and pickup a new pack of Sharpie pens.
I keep this notebook and a couple of pens in my bag at all times. Sometimes I just need to brain dump whatever is on my mind and this has been a great therapy when I am stressed or anxious about something. It has also brought the habit of journaling back for me.
The Boox Go 10.3 is still used when I have it with me, but this notebook has been a great addition to my everyday carry to keep up with journaling of some kind. It has become an essential part of my everyday carry.
Glasses
Since I have my Kindle with me now all the time, I try and also remember to bring my glasses with me. I bought these on EyesBuyDirect for only nine dollars which were not only a steal but very comfortable. Usually when I get glasses they have smaller lenses with metal frames, I opted to go with plastic and a larger lens and am so happy I did so.
I did pay a little more for these, I think total was around $20, since I included the blue light filter addition to the lenses. It was worth it since it does help with blue light, and when reading these provide such a great experience.
Luckily my eye sight isn't too bad yet so I don't have to wear them all the time, but for reading glasses and eye fatigue, these are perfect for when I want to read or use my phone for long periods. I usually keep these at home with my Kindle but when I leave the house both come together as a pair.
AirPods Pro 2
Regardless of the tech that I am currently using, I have yet to move away from the AirPods Pro 2. Not only because they are expensive to replace, but because I have yet to have an issue using them with all of my new non-Apple tech so I have no need to move away until they eventually die on me.
I have had my eye on the Bose open ear wireless headphones that I may move to eventually but for now the AirPods Pro 2 are everything I need for headphones. They sound great and the ability to charge them wireless is so convenient since I have a Magsafe charger at home and a Qi charger at work that I can just drop them on.
They will continue to be an essential part of my everyday carry regardless of the phone I have. There are some downfalls in using them with an Android phone though. For example, they don't automatically turn off when I take them out in the middle of listening to music or a podcast, so they die faster since they continue to play when not in my ear.
They also don't auto-connect between devices like they do with Apple products. This hasn't been an issue for me though since I mostly use them with my Pixel 9a. When I want to use them with my iPad Pro or AppleTV they are just a few clicks away.
Keys
I continue to have a Orbit key organizer on my keys which is nice but it has been getting a little loose no matter how often I tighten it. Meaning that the keys don't always stay put. I am maybe considering replacing it later but for now it is still fine.
Along with the Orbit key organizer, I still have an AirTag and my car keys with a caribiner to hook them to either my belt loop or a hook in my Cotopaxi (or my Timbuk2 backpack which I will cover soon).
The only new addition to my keys is a pill holder to hold one of my anti-acid medication that can become bad if I miss. I have another pill container that has a couple of these in there if I need in my bag, but I like to have an extra one on my keys so I have it for an emergency if needed.
Other essentials
A couple other things that I have in my Cotopaxi bag at all times is a pack of Listerine strips, some Carmex ChapStick, a pill container, and a tech clothe. These are things that I never take out and are in both my Cotopaxi crossbody and backpack so I always have them if I need.
I don't use these items a ton, but it is nice to have them available just in case. I plan to also include some hand sanitizer too, but recently ran out and am waiting for more to be delivered so I can add it back.
And that is my EDC. Things never stay static forever, but for the most of 2025 this has been everything I carry and don't plan to change much. It would be nice, actually, for these posts to be boring since that would mean I am more consistent with the stuff I own.