Autopian Asks superfans will note that we already did a keychain question back in July of last year (What Keychains Are You Rocking?), but that Ask was more about the fun little tchotchkes like those below that some us hang off our keyrings to amuse ourselves, or perhaps to alert others to our level of car-coolness.
With that in mind, I can’t help but think of a boss I once had who, when he had a Ferrari in the 1980s, would casually place his keys on the bar when sidling up to a lady during happy hour. Or so I was told – the Ferrari was gone by the time I started there. I was also told the reason the Ferrari was no more was because it was once parked behind a lifted Jeep, and when the Jeep driver looked into his rear-view and saw nothing but clear driveway, he shifted into R and promptly backed over the Ferrari, monster-truck style. This story was confirmed by both my former boss and the Jeep driver, who was an employee at the time, and remained one even after going Full Monster Jam on the boss’s Ferrari.
Needless to say, those guys rule.
Anyway, back to this keychain query, where the focus is more on utility. I wouldn’t call myself an EDC nerd (EveryDay Carry – though knowing the term does kinda make me an EDC nerd, I guess), but I do enjoy choosing, or dare I say curating, nicely designed tools to keep on my person throughout the day. The level of kit I have in my pockets varies with what I expect the day to have in store for me, but I usually keep it pretty simple with just a flashlight and a knife (as seen in the top graphic). By affixing them to my keyring, I don’t have to think about making sure I have them with me – if I have my keys, I have my knife and flashlight. Add an AirTag in case I lose track of the whole shebang, and that’s my keychain situation.
The knife is a Victorinox SD Classic, which packs a small blade, scissors, nail file, screwdriver, toothpick, and tweezers into a mere 2.3 inches. I don’t think I’ve ever used the toothpick, but all the other items have seen plenty of action. I do wish it had a bottle opener though, as I usually grab a Mexican Coke on the way out of Home Depot, and the lovely glass bottle’s cap doesn’t twist off. Thankfully, Victorinox also offers the Rally, which is identical to the Classsic SD but swaps the scissors for a neatly designed tool that combines a bottle opener, wire stripper, and Phillips screwdriver.
As for the flashlight, it’s an Olight i3E EOS. I like this lil’ guy because it runs on a single AAA battery instead of button cells, and there’s no switch to accidentally click – to turn it on and off, you just twist the threaded lens end to make or break contact with the battery. Simple and goof-proof – and waterproof, too, thanks to an o-ring seal. Best of all, it’s just ten bucks.
“Pffft, I just use the flashlight on my phone.” Well yeah, so do I, but sometimes you need to use both your hands to fix whatever you’re shining the flashlight onto. The Olight is easy to tuck behind an ear or hold with your teeth in those situations, and it’s a backup if your phone dies.
I may not be prepared for everything, but I’m gonna be prepared for some things.
Your turn:
I just want to use this opportunity to bitch about the Toyota Key FOB from 2016 to some 2026 models. WHY DID YOU PLACE THE KEY CHAIN RING ON THE KEY BLANK INSTEAD OF THE ACTUAL FOB HOUSING??? IF THE KEY BLANK SOMEHOW GETS RELEASED, YOU LOSE THE FOB! Terrible Terrible terrible design.
Always have the key ring on the FOB housing, not the key blank.
– signed, a carabiner user, and someone who recent lost a key fob
Well, I came here to teach y’all about minimalist key management and what you really need in your EDC…and look! It seems like everyone has already figured it out! Separate the keys based on function and to save weight, and carry a flashlight and a little tool of some kind.
Well, I guess I should say “readers and commenters on this website.” We’re not really representative of the general population, are we?.
I do want to drop two little nuggets, though:
My EDC is the fob for my Kia Telluride, clipped to a belt loop by a small carabiner, a flashlight, and a small knife. (Other comments made me look at the Gerber Shard, but it’s just not that useful. If I need a tool, I need a tool. And I don’t need a bottle opener on my person at all time, ya drunkards! ????)For all your flashlight, keychain, and small carabiner needs, I want to endorse “Nite Ize.” (http://www.niteize.com) Great quality products, and you can tell they really put a lot of thought into their products: the assortment of keyrings they produce is dazzling! You’ll be able to find one that suits your needs, or even makes you rethink your organizational scheme. (BTW, this is a real endorsement. I’m not affiliated in any way.)
(Edit—Huh. Those four question marks are supposed to be a smiley emoji. I’m still learning how to format comments, here.)
I remember “Say Smokey” columns in Popular Science when I was a kid. There was one where the car would suddenly stop when the husband was driving but ran fine with the wife at the wheel. It turned out the weight of all the keys on his keyring was messing with the cylinder. She had far fewer keys and had no problems.
I have a big carabiner for keeping all of my keys and fobs together, but each vehicle has its own ring with a small keychain. House and work keys are kept on a separate ring as well. This way, I’m not dragging around a mass of metal whenever I head out the door.
Seems the vast majority of.readers here (myself included) prefer to be minimalists when it comes to our keys.
1 addition (besides house and car.keys) I would advocate for adding is a “Swiss+Tech Utili-key”, it literally is the size and shape of a regular house key and it fits 6 different functions.
1 and 2. 1/2 straight & 1/2 serated blade (like 1.5 in” long (aka about 15 mm)
3. A small Phillips
4. A bottle opener
5&6. Two separate standard screw drivers (1 really kinda of an eye glasses size)
Super compact and discrete and comes in handy all the time. Opening boxes and bottles, tightening small screws. I’ve even used it to sharpen pencils
I’ve got a remote lock/unlock + horn fob sharing a ring with the actual key.
Push/proximity start was offered for my car, but not at my trim level.
I’ve had trouble a few times when I accidentally left my keys inside and got locked out, but I think a proximity key would have caused more problems like that overall. The remote is useful, so I consider this setup ideal.
My Honda will resolutely not let you lock proximity keys inside the cabin. Or in the trunk. A friend had my spare key in her purse and left it inside the car on the floor when we just ran inside to pick up a to-go order. And the trunk lid will pop back open if there’s a key back there. Like in my backpack when my kid picked me up at the airport.
Right, the problem is that I would probably do the other things, like leaving the proximity key outside of the car before departing.
I assume there are safeguards for that as well, but I’m very confident in my ability to stumble into problems that designers wouldn’t anticipate.
…now that I think about it, I could’ve avoided a lot of trouble by carrying the spare key on my person without taking it out while using the car, which would’ve provided similar safety to a proximity key.
(That’s in relation to my own hindsight, and not necessarily the best solution for everyone or an argument against proximity keys in general.)
Ha! I should try starting my car with the keys on the hood or roof. As a guy wearing pants, the keys pretty much only leave the pocket when I change to a different pair of pants. Or when I get home and have to unlock a door because I am not coming in through the garage with its opener.
I lost a cool 50’s Canon rangefinder camera by putting it on the roof and then departing without bringing it inside. That was a sad day for me.
This is the real reason cars keep getting taller, to prevent tragic losses due to roofs at convenient item-placing height.
I have the primary/proximity key fobs for my car and my scooter, the key for my front door, in case the power fails and the key to my mailbox. But my housemate has misplaced the second fob for the car. And can’t find it. Maybe it will show up when she moves all of her stuff out. She also lost the second key to the mailbox. Maybe it will show up as well. Attention, young people. Stuff going on like that is a red flag.
Key and fob for my car, key for my one kid’s car, two house keys. That’s it.
I’m lucky enough that I don’t have to drive, so I only drive when I want to. It allows me to separate “regular” house keys from my car keys.
The 911 gets a simple Porsche crest over leather and the BMW just a roundel. Nice and clean.
I once borrowed someone’s car that had so much attached to the keys, it created a ball the size of a baseball and weighed a pound. Not for me.
My keychain is more a comedy of errors than a set of recommendations. These items reflect decisions made long ago. Better options are likely available, but this is the stuff I clip to a belt loop every time I step out the door:
Carabiner: a compact aluminum Metolius ( https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/fs_mini_carabiner.html ). The carabiner’s main function is to easily clip on and off my pants, bag or water bottle.
Keyrings: These easy-open FreeKey rings ( https://www.exotac.com/products/freekey-system?srsltid=AfmBOorrDNalhHz5Lfisk_yoI659Rx17WqjS–GMXPS5SV-hwjhIFl1p ) might seem redundant but they keep the essentials sorted and unified, helping to prevent a crapalanche of individual items from slipping off every time I open the carabiner. Those items include:
AirTag in generic silicone sleeve: My keys have been stolen and were recovered because of this. Not a bulletproof solution: The thief initially put them in a metal container and I wasn’t able to track them until they were removed. I also use a card-shaped tracker in my wallet ( https://www.getkeysmart.com/products/keysmart-smartcard?srsltid=AfmBOoqZ11fVGAofuTOWWJ2AD-zHn9AEHdhPCsqntRu-olQMe9SO-Odo ) and have given Apple and Android versions of these as well-received gifts.
Key organizer: I have a Keyport Pivot ( https://www.mykeyport.com/collections/pivots ) to organize the keys to every property I frequent. The one for the building where I live also includes a slim RFID insert that replaces a bulky fob.
Flashlight: Ideally I’d have one with a combination magnetic quick connector and base, USB-C charging, a single click-on, multiple-press-to-adjust brightness switch, and decent battery life. Until then I have this one: https://www.rovyvon.com/products/aurora-a3-4th-gen-usb-c-keychain-flashlight?srsltid=AfmBOop-HALSpR2ZxsLBwFgQ1brJu0qxXyhinUZCFmTZCdTUUPdQ5MGW . At least the charge port is right.
Multitool: The TSA has not yet flagged my TSA-approved Leatherman Style PS, (discontinued but still the main product pictured on their “how to travel with your Leatherman” page), but bouncers love to say “We’re not the TSA” when giving it the thumbs-down if I forget to leave it home on a Saturday night. It intentionally lacks a blade beyond those of the tiny toy scissors, but the pliers and nail file are useful, and the tweezers were handy until they came apart.
Bottle opener: I love my Gerber Shard ( https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/knives/all-knives/shard-22-01769n?srsltid=AfmBOoonmat-xfRapyeskvb9Ald6dPgsXd9vKpyMT3HhM08eW9F6qSAf )
and use its tiny prybar more often than the beer-access part. I might give the Kershaw PT-2 a try to see if the wrench functions are handy, but it lacks the Shard’s admirable simplicity.
Car keys? I clip my truck’s on and off the carabiner when I’m driving it but my car uses one of those bulky keyless fobs so it goes in a pocket along with my pepper spray and knife, neither of which belong on a keyring.
It might sound like a Jacob Marley-grade ball-and-chain, but all the stuff I carry on a clip weighs 186g (6.6oz), just about half what my phone weighs in a protective case.
Top picture shows the inferior Wenger
a reformed rock climbing carabineer hold my keys to my belt.
reformed : it doesn’t always close all the way, so it’s too danggerous to keep using for rock climbing, but it’s fine to hold keys.
Me: car key, front door key, letter box key, suitcase lock key I forgot to take off years ago, and little wooden personalised key fob celebrating our Scout group’s 75th anniversary. Oh. Plus the house alarm fob and my supermarket loyalty card QR code tag. That’s quite a lot now I think about it.
My wife: nothing. Not even a metal ring. There’s no weight to it! Every time I take her car I worry I have lost the key, all the time.
Car #1: Old school mechanical key on a leather fob with the brand stamped on it.
Car #2: Proximity key the size of a child’s shoe on a leather fob etched with a mountain scene and the vehicle on one side with a Sasquatch on the other, ending in a clip.
Motorcycle #1: Mechanical key on a leather fob with a metal medallion featuring the brand.
Motorcycle #2: Proximity key in a metal holder attached to a lanyard with the brand logo.
Motorcycle #3: Mechanical key on a cloth fob with the brand logo.
House keys: Three keys on a ring with a small flashlight and either a Gerber Shard or small pocket knife. Usually stays home since the front door has a keypad.
Motorcycle #4: Mechanical key on a fob.
Motorcycle #5: Race bike – no key.
Motorcycle #6: Race bike – no key.
Each car and bike is on its own ring with a house and garage key (and lock key on the motorbikes). Minimum bulk, no extraneous anything.
I used to carry a knife when I was a kid, but in the UK carrying even a tiny knife isn’t encouraged.
Each car has its own key on its own ring, that gets the male end of a tiny pneumatic disconnect attached to it. House, office, multitool key go on the female end so you always have them. It’s been a good system, it gets a little bulky, but only with fobs, which only one of my cars currently requires.
I have two. One is clipped to a mini-carabiner that goes on a belt loop since key fobs are the size boulders nowadays.
Second one has house keys, in-laws house keys, a flat screwdriver, bottle opener from college (hardly used…..) and 28 different membership cards.
Travel pro tip. Always have a carabiner. Rental car. Bolder will be of unknown size
A Keyport Slide (holds four keys) and titanium suspension stud off of Jenson Button’s 2007 Honda RA107 F1 car as a fob
anyone else carry a nail clipper? I get hangnails and split nails all the time. also usefull for clipping threads and small zip ties
I keep one in my office desk drawer for those sudden hangnails that seem to pop up.
Knowing that it’s wear and tear on the ignition lock, I try to keep the keychain petite. Just my house keys and the ignition key for whichever car I’m driving, plus a very small and light LED flashlight.
I did have a small multitool on it for a while and liked having it around, but took it off due to guilt about the weight.
Car fob is carried separately. House key, Olight Mini, Duke Dad keychain.
Miniature, 3 foot tape measure.
for measuring what?
Handy for shipping items, or at used furniture shops etc. Never know what you will find or when.
One somewhat impermanent alternative to carrying a tape is to grab a paper meter measure at IKEA and keep it folded up in your wallet. They tear easily but they’re a free way to size things up in both metric and Freedom Units.
7/16 x 1 1/4 x 1 1/2 inches. 1/4 inch wide tape. About same size as my Subaru key fob.
Not even worth carrying a knife anymore, you get wanded at so many public events anymore. I keep one in each car though.
Just the fob and an Olight Mini 2.
https://www.olight.com/store/imini-2-rechargeable-mini-flashlight