I may earn a commission when you buy through links on the site at no extra cost to you. By using the links, you are helping support College EDC, and I genuinely appreciate your support.
22 Best Everyday Carry Items for College
For those who aren’t familiar with the term everyday carry (EDC), it’s pretty much the gear we carry with us in our daily lives. For college students, backpacks, water bottles, and laptops are common everyday carry items, but there can a lot more depending on what they prefer to bring with them.
It’s crucial to carry the necessary essentials with you when walking around campus so you can be prepared for any situation — and most importantly, be safe. From your academics to your personal well-being, carrying the right EDC items will help ensure you have the best college experience possible.
I’ve put together everything you need to create a functional EDC loadout that reflects your lifestyle and personal tastes. Make sure you’re geared up for success in college with this in-depth list of the best everyday carry items for college students.
Hootie Keychain Alarm
Hootie is the perfect safety device to carry around campus, especially late at night. The alarm acts as a self-defense tool and deterrent. If you get in a sketchy situation, all you have to do is pull the pin out of the Hootie keychain.
Once pulled, the extremely loud 130 decibel alarm will be triggered and can be heard from 1000 feet away. It also flashes a bright LED strobe light to disorient potential attackers.
Related: 10 Tips for Staying Safe on Campus
Five Star Notebooks
As you might already know, notebooks are essential everyday carry items for college, and these Five Star notebooks were my favorite to use when I was in college. This pack of six has 100 sheets of college ruled paper in each notebook, so you’ll be able to take plenty of notes for all your courses. They come with pocket page dividers and water-resistant covers as well.
Apple MacBook Air
Every student in college knows how important it is to own a laptop. You walk into a class and practically everyone has one open. If you need a fast and versatile laptop for your classes everyday, the MacBook Air is for you. The Air comes with Apple’s M1 chip for extremely fast performance, up to 2TB of storage, crisp Retina display, and that excellent build quality Apple is known for.
The North Face Surge Backpack
Good luck carrying all your necessary EDC items on you without a backpack. Having a backpack for college is probably one of the most useful items you can have. With the right one, you’ll be able to store and neatly organize all your things so they’re easy to find, which will boost your efficiency and save you time.
With the Surge backpack from The North Face, you’ll have ample storage space for supplies, tech, folders, books, and much more. It also comes with a FlexVent suspension system to maximize comfortability.
Tile Pro
Make sure you never lose your personal items again with the Tile Pro. The two bluetooth trackers are perfect for keys, bags, portable speakers, water bottles, and more. If you ever misplace something that has a Tile attached to it, you can go into the Tile app to ring the Tile or to find its location.
For instance, if you lose your keys, you can ring the Tile attached to them as long as it’s in Bluetooth range. If it’s farther away, you can view the Tile’s most recent location on a map. Also, users can press the logo button on their Tile to make their phone ring if they ever lose it.
HidrateSpark Pro
The majority of college students usually carry a water bottle with them around campus and to their classes, so why shouldn’t they carry the smartest one every invented? The HidrateSpark Pro uses technology that can track your water intake by syncing via bluetooth to the free HidrateSpark app.
The LED smart sensor puck, which has several glow colors and combinations, glows to remind you when it’s time to drink. It also has vacuum insulation to keep drinks cold for up to 24 hours. Additionally, the water bottle is BPA-free, dishwasher safe, and has a rechargeable battery with a fast charging cable.
Rocketbook Core Notebook
Why is the Rocketbook Core one of the best notebooks for college? Because once you start using it, you won’t have spend money on regular notebooks ever again. And it will considerably increase your productivity.
The Core uses reusable synthetic paper that can be wiped clean with a damp cloth and can be written on with Pilot Frixion pens. Also, the Core gives you the ability to scan and upload all your notes to various cloud applications with the Rocketbook app.
This way, everything you write down can be stored digitally and accessed anywhere on any device. And with its 32 eco-friendly pages, you’ll have plenty of space to write down notes for several classes. A microfiber cloth and a Frixion pen come included with the notebook.
Sony LinkBuds
If you’re in college, there’s a good chance you use earbuds everyday to play music or listen to your favorite podcast, but you’ve probably never used any like the Sony Linkbuds before. They have an open-ring design that lets users stay connected with the environment around them while listening to music, taking calls, or playing games.
You also never have to touch them once they’re in your ears — you can operate them by double or triple taping in front of your ear. If you’re not sold yet, then the 17.5 hours of battery life, IPX4 splash-proof design, and built-in Alexa feature might help convince you.
mophie Snap+ Juice Pack Mini
After sitting in class all day or doing activities around campus, your devices will probably need a quick charge. The Snap+ Juice Pack Mini is a portable magnetic charger that can conveniently attach to the back of your phone so you have the ability to charge it wherever you go.
Its 5000mAh battery has enough power to fully charge your device and is compatible with almost all MagSafe enabled iPhones and Qi-enabled smartphones. It also comes with the Snap adapter for phones that aren’t magnetic compatible.
Samsung Galaxy S22+
An excellent option for any student, the S22+ is one of Samsung’s best smartphones and is packed full of high-end features — FHD display with 120Hz refresh rate, 4500mAh battery that can last over 24 hours, 50MP rear camera, and 8K video recording resolution.
You won’t have to worry about performance issues with the S22+ either because it uses Android’s flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It also has great durability thanks to the strong aluminum frame and gorilla glass screen.
Five Star NoteBinder
This versatile hybrid binder from Five Star comes pre-filled with 60 sheets of college ruled sheets and has two NotePocket dividers so you can store loose papers. The duel purpose binder uses Five Star’s unbreakable TechLock rings that hold up to 200 sheets. It has a durable, water resistant cover and three NoteProtector dividers.
JanSport Cool Student Backpack
This list of the best everyday carry items for college would not be complete without a JanSport backpack. The Cool Student backpack is one of their most popular bags, and it includes a laptop sleeve, a premium leather base with other leather trim, and two spacious main compartments.
There’s also a few more pockets on the front for extra storage of all your college items. The S-curve shoulder straps and padded back panel provide lots of comfortability as well.
Apple Watch Series 7
Utilizing a smart watch in your everyday life will make staying on top of tasks much easier. If you want to improve your productivity and become a more efficient student, I recommend the Apple Watch Series 7.
Its features include an always-on Retina OLED display, GPS and cellular capabilities, a 64-bit dual-core processor, and a crack-resistant front crystal screen. It’s also IP6X dustproof and swimproof. Additionally, the watch allows users to monitor their heart rate, take an ECG anytime, measure blood oxygen levels, and receive notifications of irregular heart rhythm.
Rocketbook Academic Planner
Take your planning and note-taking to the next level with the Rocketbook Academic Planner. The planner has 48 pages of innovative synthetic paper that can be completely wiped clean with a damp cloth. The planner also gives you the ability to scan and upload all your notes to popular cloud services with the Rocketbook app.
Each page in the planner has seven symbols, which can be assigned to specific cloud destinations of your choosing, such as iCloud or OneDrive. Additionally, the planner has 13 different page types to improve prioritization, record class schedules, manage workloads, keep track of goals, and more.
Leatherman Skeletool
Leatherman is the king of multitools, and their Skeletool model is perfect for college students to carry around with them. Its lightweight 5-ounce frame can be conveniently stored in your pocket or backpack.
And with its removable pocket clip, you can attach it anywhere. The Skeletool comes with pliers, an exchangeable bit driver, a bottle opener, wire cutters, and a versatile knife blade.
Ridge Wallet
No more bulky leather wallets that fall apart after a year or two. The Ridge Wallet was built to be functional and durable enough to last a lifetime Its slim and lightweight design makes it easy to carry around in your pocket and can hold up to 12 cards at once.
Also, all Ridge wallets have built-in RFID protection so skimmers can’t steal your personal information. Each wallet has several color and material options, including burnt titanium.
Casely Phone Cases
Casely has so many awesome phone cases I couldn’t pick just one. If you check out their website, you’ll find loads of stylish and unique cases that come in a variety of colors and designs. They also sell air pod cases and other accessories, like wallets, phone rings, and screen protectors.
Currently, Casely has well over a dozen phone case styles from five different collections to choose from, including charging cases and ultra-protective cases.
Apple iPad Air
A tablet is a very useful and versatile piece of tech if used correctly. In college, they’re great for reading, taking notes, and studying. Some students would rather use their laptop for these activities. But not all students can afford some fancy laptop; that’s why tablets are a solid alternative. And sometimes, tablets are even better and more convenient to use.
If you’re thinking about getting a tablet of your own, you can’t go wrong with the iPad Air. It has a 10.9-inch Liquid Retina display, Apple’s super fast M1 chip, up to 256GB of storage, and 5G cellular capability.
Fisher Space Pen
The Fisher Space Pen will undoubtedly be the coolest pen you’ll ever own. What makes the Fisher Space Pen so special is its revolutionary design and pressurized ink cartridge, which allows the pen to be used practically anywhere on nearly any surface.
NASA has even used this exact pen on every manned space flight since 1968 because of its ability to write upside down and in zero gravity. The pen is comprised of brass and steel construction with a tungsten carbide ballpoint tip that has been thoroughly tested to ensure the highest quality.
Mini Umbrella
It’s always good to have an umbrella handy on those crappy weather days on campus, but sometimes they can be annoying to carry around and take up a lot of space in your bag — with this mini umbrella, you won’t have those problems.
At just 7.5 inches tall, the umbrella can easily fit in the palm of your hand. Despite its compact design, it can still expand to 42 inches when fully opened. Since this umbrella is so lightweight and portable, you can easily store it in your backpack, and it won’t take up any more space than your cell phone.
Titanium Keychain
The last keychain you’ll ever need to buy, this titanium carabiner keychain is strong, durable, and will keep your keys secure for many years to come. The innovative quick release spring and handy bottle opener also add lots of functionality to the keychain.
Transparent Sticky Notes
If you don’t use sticky notes much, that’s about to change. These sticky notes allow you to write in any book so you can copy or highlight text and trace over images. Now you can boost your note-taking and studying abilities by placing these transparent notes in your course textbooks and other materials. They’re also easily removable and completely waterproof.
