PNWBUSHCRAFT EDC Travel Tray

By Nick Italiano

It’s 2024 and I would like to start the new year talking about a piece of gear that I have relied upon on a daily basis for the better part of 2 years, The PNWBUSHCRAFT EDC Travel Tray. Before we dive into the pouch let’s talk a bit about PNWBUSHCRAFT as a company. This small business is owned and operated by Heather and Todd Saulsbury. The husband and wife team have their home and workshop in the awe inspiring pacific northwestern woods of Washington. They specialize in making handcrafted waxed canvas and wool outdoor gear with a vintage aesthetic. Each piece is completely made by hand in their workshop from US sourced materials and each piece is built to last a lifetime.

Now that I have covered the required business info that you would expect to see in these types of articles, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you all what exceptional human beings Heather and Todd are. I have had the opportunity to spend some time with these two around a campfire and at various trade shows and I can honestly say they built their business from a place of both experience and passion for the great outdoors. Each product they create stems from a need that they have had during their adventures or from feedback from members of the outdoor community. The combination of passion driven design, exceptional build quality, and just being awesome people have locked PNWBUSHCRAFT in as respected providers of gear in the outdoor community.

Specs

The EDC Travel Tray is constructed primarily of high quality waxed canvas, finished with Martexin Original Wax, a formula that has served outdoors people well since the 1800’s! The combination of the rugged canvas and the Martexin wax makes these durable and resistant to the elements. Variety is the spice of life, so these can be found in a variety of two-tone colors as well as some with specialty prints and even vintage wool elements. When open and flat the tray measures 6.5 inches and in “tray mode” you get 4 inches of tray space with 1 inch side walls. Using the snaps it can be locked into “pocket organizer mode” measuring at 3.25 inches wide and 6.5 inches tall. The slot pockets measure 2.75 inches tall and it has pockets at 1 inch, 1.5 inch, and 2.5 inch wide. This is slightly different from the green and brown model in the pictures as it is a prototype featuring slightly taller 3 inch pockets.

Build Quality

The build quality on the EDC Travel Tray, like all PNWBUSHCRAFT products, is exceptional. The materials are among the best in the business, the threading is strong, clean, and secure, the snaps are big and tough yet easy to operate. My original (Orange and Black) spent well over 500 days in my pocket as a daily driver. It has been through hot summers, cold winters, damp woods, and driving rain. It has been with me through forest walks, mountain hikes, camping trips, and through daily use. While the fabric has a patina, showing its age like a fine wine, the form and function remains unchanged. 

Why We Love It

Now let’s talk about the EDC Travel Tray, which is somewhat of a deceptive name, because while it is an excellent travel tray, it really so much more! The tale of the EDC Travel Tray’s design goes back to Blade Show a few years back. While running their booth Todd noticed a lot of people coming over with pockets full of knives and small tools clanking around and thought it would be cool to have something to organize all the tools. They took the existing idea of a small folding dump tray and added a few slots to one side and snaps that secured it onto a pocket sized platform and the EDC Travel Tray was born! This ingenious design allows the EDC Travel Tray to act as a dump tray for your gear while in camp or at a hotel as well as act as a pocket organizer for some of your essential gear while you are on the move! I’ve run a few different configurations on mine depending on the activities I have planned, but you can get anything from a small fixed blade, a folding knife or a multi-tool in the large pocket and the two smaller pockets make a great home for gear like a keychain sized flashlight, pens, small pry tools, and ferro rods.

I found a few other uses for my EDC Travel Tray beyond just the original idea of heaping your pockets organized. I was quite surprised to find having a small tray in your pocket is incredibly helpful while foraging and processing plant materials or while processing fatwood shavings to get a fire started. Even just having a place to put you essential small gear while working in the woods so they don’t get lost somewhere amongst the leaves and brush of the forest floor. The versatility and size of the EDC Travel Tray makes it like a waxed canvas multi-tool!

Final Thoughts

As outdoors and EDC enthusiasts we spend a lot of time fixated on that perfect knife, folding saw, or multi-tool, many of us forget the importance and convenience of having a carry system for our gear that really works for us. For me, the EDC Travel Tray checks a lot of boxes. Keeping my pockets organized makes me happy, I hate having things clanking around, and being able to keep my multi-tool, small pry bar, and a bit driver tool on my person and easily accessible has really improved the way I carry. The convenience of having a small tray at my disposal either while traveling or working in the woods was truly a valuable addition to how I carry, store, and protect my gear. Knowing my gear will hold up to hard and near constant use is also important to me. In short, if you are looking for a rugged and reliable gear organizer for your pocket that is made in the USA by some fantastic human beings, there is a good chance the EDC Tray is for you!