Welcome to the Urban EDC Showcase! Each week, we feature one member of the EDC community and the gear they rely on every day. Want to be featured? Submit your gear photo.
This is definitely not your average carry. From Singapore, we chat with Ben (@avgsgn) who's a project manager working in the UX and design thinking space. A man of many talents – Ben is also a dance instructor, music producer and DJ – in addition to running his YouTube channel. Read on for a full rig rundown and find out what's next on Ben's highly-honed gear radar (hint: it's quite a sight).
Featured Tools:
- Watch: Monsieur Watches
I'll start from the top-left most item and that is the Helm One (in the green colorway) by Monsieur Watches - a local Singaporean watch micro brand.
Most of the time, I rock a black Timex Waterbury watch that is a gift from my girlfriend, but the Helm One is currently on rotation. This is a prototype sent my way by Calvin (the man behind Monsieur Watches) for me to take a look at and review.
It's actually a live campaign on Kickstarter right now, and while I'm actually not into watches, Calvin reached out to me about the opportunity and I've never reviewed a timepiece before so this has been, thus far, a very interesting and insightful experience for me thus far. The design is super clean and reflects the "Helm" motif, features 2 swiss luminova, has a sandwich dial, is powered by the Seiko NH35 movement - what's there not to like about it?
- Wallet: Kisetsu
Directly under the watch is my wallet - the Kaizen (In green) by Kisetsu, also a local Singaporean brand. I've tried - multiple times - to live the "completely cashless" lifestyle, but I just simply can't do it.
The biggest factor for me when it comes to wallets is the ability to store coins. I use coins on the daily - each time you purchase a "kopi" (Singlish for "Coffee"), you'll almost always transact with cash, and you can expect to give / receive coins for change.
On top of that, the wallet is able to hold 8 cards comfortably, has a slot for bills, has storage space for your sim card and a sim card remover tool, and even has a slot for a pen (in fact, the wallet comes with a travel pen included).
All of those features suit my preferences perfectly. I like it so much that I have two of these wallets - one in blue, and one in green.
- Pen: Urban Survival Gear TiScribe-Bolt Mini V2
I admit - I never saw the need to EDC a pen since almost everything is digital nowadays, but the fidget factor of a bolt-action pen sounded intriguing.
After looking around and trying out a handful of bolt-action pens, this particular version of the TiScribe-Bolt - the mini - emerged as my favorite.
Apart from its length being a key feature, I especially enjoy the fact that the pocket clip itself is the bolt. I've been using this for almost 2 years now and I don't think I'll ever replace it with something else - unless maybe the V3 mini.
- Cigar stand: Moye Works
Next in the picture is my comb aka the "handsome adjuster" (as I affectionately call it).
This is a titanium "bali-comb" made by Moye Works. Balisongs are illegal here in Singapore but that's not the case for a bali-comb. When I first saw my buddy CK flipping this, my mind went bonkers.
I've seen bali-combs before, but never one that was this compact yet so smooth. I'm not much of a flipper, but to me this handsome adjuster reeks of coolness. On top of that, it's got a built-in glass breaker and a bottle opener too - and I'm sure most of us EDC a bottle opener in some way, shape or form.
- Knife: Spyderco Para 3 (Modded)
Moving on to the next item - my grail knife. The Spyderco Para 3 is my favorite EDC knife... but this is not a regular Para 3.
Sporting a set of "Grand Classic" scales made by Aramis with Fatcarbon's "Gold Dark Matter" CF, this is what seems to be known as a "Para 4" - this is a reground PM2 S35VN blade, retrofitted into Para 3 scales.
The mod work was done by the amazing Josh over at REK. All I did was request for a reverse tanto profile and he went above and beyond, and adding an added flair via the swedge along the spine of the blade.
- Key organizer: KeyBar
This is the titanium "Manifold" style KeyBar that I believe is discontinued. Out of all the KeyBars I own, this is the one I carry the most. I love the skeletonized look of it, and it sports a tritium lantern from TEC Accessories as well as a simple paracord pull. All in all, this is a rather straightforward item and works very well for me.
- Accessories: Various
Moving down is the cluster of my jewelry / accessories. I'll start with the paracord bracelet. I personally find paracord weaving to be very therapeutic, and I learnt this bracelet weave by studying a particular stitched cobra bracelet that @cordipity posted on his IG account.
The glow bead is a gift from a good friend of mine that acts as the fastener, and the pulls on the ends are custom made titanium beads by the very talented @lyonartisanworks.
- Pendant: Bullaculla & Rovyvon
In the middle of the bracelet is the necklace that I most commonly wear. The pendant is a Bullaculla Muzzle Brake tritium lantern, fitted with a green tritium vial. The necklace itself - and this may surprise some of you - is a titanium necklace made by Rovyvon (yeah, the people who make the awesome Aurora series of mini EDC flashlights) and is super cheap.
- Rings: E6rings & Oura
On to the pair of rings: I like to wear a ring on each of my index fingers.
The top ring is a sculpted (they call this the "rough cut" style) CF ring made by E6rings. Kade of E6rings makes some of the best yet very competitively priced CF rings on the market (he offers other materials such as texalium and glow resin too).
The bottom ring is an Oura ring and is a gift from my girlfriend. The Oura is pretty awesome! Think of it as a Fitbit, but in the form factor of a ring.
- SAK 1: Custom Spydernox Nailclip
The next item is a custom Spydernox Nailclip made by the talented Noel Kunz. I have always had a soft spot for Spydernox mods, and my favorite SAK is the Nail Clip 580.
But somehow, each maker / modder that I reached out to told me that they were not able to create a Spydernox Nail Clip so I had actually given up and believed that it was not possible - until Noel Kunz came along.
He had a Spydernox Nailclip for sale, but it featured the camouflage scales. By my request, he swapped the scales out with the classic red scales. Also, the little paracord pull with the bead came along with it as well! Needless to say, this is my favorite Spydernox modded SAK.
- SAK 02: |M.A.M.U|
The second SAK you see here is a |M.A.M.U| - Penguin Classic SD. Before I proceed, allow me to clarify - this small classic SD sits in my pocket, and the Spydernox Nailclip sits in a little pouch in my bag.
My most used tool in the Classic SD is the pair of tweezers. The mighty tweezers sees so much more use than I ever thought it would. I really like the Penguin series of patches that Benjamin of |M.A.M.U| - Penguin puts out, so this Classic SD is a no-brainer for me.
- Ranger-eye patch: AVGSGN
The second-last item here is a little AVGSGN ranger-eye patch that I had custom made. I carry an extra one of these to give out to buddies as a token of friendship and appreciation.
- Flashlight: Olight
This is a surprise birthday gift from Olight and they even had my name engraved on it! It’s a very meaningful item on my carry because it’s one of those gestures by an established company such as Olight that truly makes me feel appreciated as a reviewer, motivates me to always do my best (Special shoutouts to Mora and Lea of Olight!)
My story:
I’m a Singaporean living in Singapore - been here my entire life. I’m a Project Manager working in the User Experience and Design Thinking industry. My previous career path was as a Client Engagement Manager (better known as an Account Servicing Manager) in the Digital Advertising space, but ever since I dipped my toes in the world of User Experience, I’ve never looked back.
I got into EDC through spinners. Back in 2017/2018 I started collecting and reviewing spinners, and that was my gateway into the world of EDC. About a year later, a friend of mine gave me my very first folding pocket knife - a Cold Steel Ti-Lite (Thank you, Kenji) - and soon after, I caught the knife bug.
I used to be a full-time dance instructor, and being a part of the culture I still go to practice jam sessions to throw down and hang out. I’m also a music producer and DJ - I go by the moniker of Psyk (@dj.psyk). Nothing serious though, DJ-ing is a passionate hobby of mine.
I also run a couple of YouTube channels - back in 2009, I started creating Nerf-related content for YouTube. Then, in 2015 I started the Average Singaporean channel so that I had an alternate lane for creative output.
I had intended for it to be a vlog / lifestyle focused channel, but the channel gained traction once I started creating spinner-related content. Now, the channel is a mix of lifestyle and review videos.
Apart from all of that, time is also spent with the love of my life, and taking the two doggos (Taro & Maya) out for walks at parks.
Recently I’ve gotten interested in building custom mechanical keyboards. Yeah, another rabbit hole, haha.
Favorite EDC Tool:
It would have to be the Para 3. What can I say? I’m quite a knife head. The Aramis scales feel so comfortable in hand, and the design of the Para 3 blade allows for multiple ways of deployment which adds to the fidget factor. On top of that, Josh’s retrofitting work resulted in a stronger detent so this baby snaps open like no other Para 3 I’ve handled.
Needless to say, the sense of joy I get when using the knife is second-to-none. It’s the entire experience of taking the knife out, deploying it, getting your cutting work done, and closing it back up... *chef’s kiss*
What's On Your Gear Radar:
At this point, there are two knives that I’m really wanting. The first is a Mini Synapse by Vero Engineering. They had teased it some time last year but I believe that they’re not ready for market yet, but that’s definitely on my radar.
The next has been on my want list for a year or so, and that’s the Vision by Snecx. He’s already made a batch for his founders inner circle, as well as auctioned off his personal Vision but let’s face it, those are way out of my budget and too far out of my reach.
He’s mentioned about a custom run, and also shared thoughts of a production model so I’m personally looking forward to that. I love absolutely everything about the Vision, from it’s aesthetics to ergonomics to engineering and mechanisms. IMO, Snecx is a genius.