My Every Day Carry post was inspired a lot by the daily texts and weekly phone calls that I have with my friend, and fellow Hendrix College alumnus, Brennan McGinn. We share the same, "buy less, buy better" philosophy, so our discussions tend toward how we can get the best quality product for our relatively modest, post-graduate, money. Our conversations and buying habits cover a wide range of topics, namely cycling, menswear, photography, and most recently, pens.

Although Brennan already had good taste in regular pens, I'm going to take full credit for his relatively recent love of fountain pens (sorry Hailey). I sent him a Kaweco Sport about a year ago as an introduction and since then his collection has grown considerably.

Brennan has been working on his EDC for about as long as I have, so I asked him to write about what he carries and why. Although he works in a bike shop, and I in an office, you'll notice a lot of overlap in what we carry. Without further ado, take it away Brennan.

I have known Bruce since sophomore year of college I guess. We knew of each other and were acquaintances for a bit, then everything snowballed as we started to discuss clothes, photography, cameras, and film. This continued with bicycles, watches, knives, shoes, etc. Bruce asked if I wanted to contribute a post, and of course I was willing.

Bruce and I probably discuss EDC items on a weekly basis - the big reason... it is relevant to everyday life for the two of us. There is a lot of similarity between what we carry because we have similar taste, and as Bruce stated, simple, well designed items are appealing.

So here is what it looks like.

Pilot Vanishing Point - Matte Black, Fine Nib I agree withBruce about this pen. The construction, knock, clip, and nib are all outstanding. I rotate blue black inks through this pen and use it as my daily writer at work and home.

Retro 51 Hex-O-Matic It’s my jotter. It lives in my back pocket and I love the hybrid Schmidt refill. I have been incredibly pleased with the feel of the pen in hand and writing quality of Retro 51. I have both a black and silver pen, and the mechanical pencil.

Notebook - Field Notes, Rhodia I carry a small pocket notebook for quick notes, but primarily use a range of larger notebooks for note taking and planning. I have become really fond of Rhodia No. 11 or 12 for the perforations and more fountain pen friendly paper despite the overall thickness (not as pocket friendly as the Field Notes).

Benchmade Mini Griptilian This is probably my favorite EDC blade. You can get a variation of blades and scales to meet specific needs. It is on the smaller side for some people, but it doesn’t take up much room in my pocket and fits my hands well.

Esee Candiru I carry this small fixed blade in my front pocket. I like the reliability of a fixed blade over a folder for certain uses. While it does not get as much use as the Mini Grip it is very handy to have.

Shop Keys You need them when you get to work early and stay late.

Corter Leather Copper Bottlehook There are a lot of ways to open a bottle and a lot of things I carry can open a bottle. But, a true bottle opener on a belt loop keeps my keys where I want them and is always handy.

Wedding Band 4mm Rose Gold band from a local jeweler. All day. Everyday.

Shinola Runwell 41mm I prefer checking the time on a watch to my phone. I have a few, but this is my go to watch for everyday wear.

BillyKirk N0. 92 Card Case Monogrammed and getting better with age. It is the perfect size to fit all my cards, and cash on rare occasions. I prefer a smaller wallet and this is a fantastic balance for front or back pocket use.

iPhone 5 Phone, text, email, social media.

Handkerchief Lip Balm Smith Dolen Chromapop

Thanks again to Brennan for the great write-up of his EDC. I love that blue Benchmade and the Shinola. If you want to check out more of what Brennan does, his Instagram is a great place for photos of his EDC in use and the kick-ass bikes that fill his life.