There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
For example, there's probably quite a few of us that have EDC knives and do not actually use them on a daily basis. Maybe every other day or once in a work week, but it's not truly an 'essential' carry (granted, for others that use it hourly that's a different story).
EDC should really just be stuff that most people carry with them on a daily basis, regardless if it's essential or not. But then you have the situation in which every person, or group, is different.
You have the people that carry tops with them everyday. That would be an EDC for them, but for others, it just seems like they're carrying a novelty item or a toy with them and that's that.
In addition, grappling hooks? lock picks? I honestly think those should be set for the 'Hobby' category, not an 'EDC' category. It may be an every-day carry for that person, but only because their hobby necessitates that.
How about that new craze, fidget spinners and fidget toys? That I can see as an EDC cause it's carried every day and used in non-hobby situations.
Just like @Astrodinosaur and @PirateSeulb said, EDC seems to be mainly used as a marketing tool that encompasses EDC and carryable hobby items, instead of EDC items only.
But still, what's EDC for me may not be EDC for you, so it's a tricky thing to classify.
Let's face it. There are grown-ups who get defensive about being labeled as playing with toys. I don't care if there is a doctor's prescription to de-stress with a top or spinner. It is goofing-off. I fully understand this when I goof-off with my skill-toys (yo-yos, string-wound tops). I don't make apologies for it and I also know there is a time and place where appropriate. I sort of get frustrated by seeing the quality of drops in the EDC community diluted with 3 or 4 toys being dropped at any given time. What is marketed as a fidget spinner is what I used to call junk parts from office equipment that I service. I would play with them for a few days until I threw in the trash. I wish I had thought to sell that old junk as toys years ago. I would be laughing with each profit check I deposited in the bank, and use the money to buy some better toys. That is all.
But aside from that, I agree with you. EDC is being diluted to include hobbyist items, but maybe it's only massdrop that's doing that? I don't know, haven't explored other communities