My guess is the author is a city dweller who never steps outside except to ride his/her motorized skateboard to the nearest Starbucks on their way to the Yoga Studio.
Enjoy this article at your own peril.
And I'm not saying some of their suggestions are bad, I'm just suggesting they are very incomplete, often inconvenient, heavy, hard to transport, very limited, etc.
Something tells me that this might get 1 person locked inside and urban studio apartment thru a springtime weekend power failure, but not much more than that. To be fair, they do make a few solid suggestions, but damn. . . I mean seriously damn WTF???
FULL STORY AT LINK:
www.wired.com
Sep 9, 2023 10:00 AM
Enjoy this article at your own peril.
And I'm not saying some of their suggestions are bad, I'm just suggesting they are very incomplete, often inconvenient, heavy, hard to transport, very limited, etc.
- Best flashlight is a little AA powered pen light?
- Best cooking source its a propane powered camp stove but the article displays a 'white gas' powered stove.
- For water filtration it give the suggestion of a 20 oz water bottle with a 'life straw'
- Oh, and don't forget that AC powered air filter to clean the air in your room and a SPARE MATTRESS to carry with you in case your home is destroyed by wildfires and you have to sleep away from home.
Something tells me that this might get 1 person locked inside and urban studio apartment thru a springtime weekend power failure, but not much more than that. To be fair, they do make a few solid suggestions, but damn. . . I mean seriously damn WTF???
FULL STORY AT LINK:
The Best Gear for Your Home Emergency Kit
Prepare your home to handle any natural disaster or emergency with these crucial essentials.
The Best Emergency Gear to Keep at Home
Prepare your home to handle any natural disaster or emergency with these crucial essentials.
Sep 9, 2023 10:00 AM
Preparing for an emergency is the last thing you want to be doing during an emergency. There's never enough food, flashlights, batteries, or fuel to go around once you hear of an impending hurricane, blizzard, or wildfire, because everyone else in town is going to out fighitng over the same limited stock of items. It's better to stock up in advance and avoid the battle royal. Forget the milk and eggs. We've rounded up all the essentials for your emergency kit.
Be sure to check out more guides to keep your home stocked and yourself prepared, such as How to Build a Home Tool Kit, Essentials You Need to Keep In Your Car, Best Multi-Tools, and How to Winterize Your Home.
Updated September 2023: We've swapped headlamps, AM/FM radios and small stoves, as well as adding an insulated water bottle, a hammer, and a summer sleeping bag. We've also updated pricing and availability.
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A Flashlight
Fenix E20 V2.
Photograph: Fenix
The Fenix E20 V2 for $45 is my top pick for an affordable emergency flashlight, but the ThruNite Archer 2A V3 for $30 is another solid choice. At 350 and 500 lumens, respectively, they're bright enough while remaining compact, and they last long on lower-light settings—200 hours at 5 lumens for the Fenix and 51 hours at 17 lumens for the ThruNite. Both use two AA batteries, and in an emergency your main concern is to have a good supply of replacement batteries.
If you're using alkaline batteries, remove them from the flashlight if it's going to sit unused for a long time, otherwise they'll leak and cause problems. Store them near the flashlight so you can easily find them. Try taping the batteries to the flashlight barrel.
Pro tip: The best-performing flashlights are built specifically to use lithium-ion batteries or have nonremovable rechargeable batteries, which won't do you any good if the power is out for a long time. Rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) AA batteries maintain their performance better over the lifetime of the battery, whereas alkalines’ performance drops off more as they deplete, so buy some Panasonic Eneloops for $43. They're better for the environment, but if they run out of charge you can still use regular alkaline AAs.
You may prefer to keep a headlamp handy. The Black Diamond Astro 300 for $20runs on three easily found AAA batteries and has three brightness settings, the brightest of which throws 300 lumens. That's more than powerful enough for tasks outside the home, while you can squeeze 140 hours of runtime out of the lowest setting for general tasks indoors.
A Lantern
Coleman 4D LED Camp Lantern
Photograph: Coleman
Coleman discontinued our previous favorite pick, the Divide+ Push Lantern, so the Coleman 4D LED Camp Lantern for $22 is the next-best choice for not a lot of coin. Flashlights do a poor job when you need to light up a whole room or if you need your hands free for a task. This basic lantern offers a single setting of 54 lumens, with a runtime of 175 hours on four D-cell batteries. That sounds like a lot, but next to other full-size battery-powered lanterns, such as the Coleman Twin LED lantern that uses eight D cells, it's economical. Fifty-four lumens is not what I'd call bright, but it is plenty bright enough for most tasks, even reading, while conserving battery life.
If you want to save batteries or just prefer hanging out by gentle flickering candlelight, keep a spare emergency candle or two. The Coghlan's 36-Hour Survival Candle for $15 has three wicks that'll last for 12 hours each. Keep a lighter or some matches nearby.
A Water Purifier
Lifestraw Go Water Bottle
Photograph: Lifestraw
Most of the time, your water supply will work even when the power goes out. But major natural disasters can knock it out or damage it, and you might get dirty water. The LifeStraw Go Series Water Purifier Bottle for $45 marries the straw component of the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter with a BPA-free plastic bottle to filter out 99.99 percent of waterborne bacteria for up to 26 gallons of water. The original, bottle-less straw is still a good backup option for $17, and it'll filter up to 1,000 gallons.
Another option is the Katadyn Steripen Adventurer for $120, which purifies using ultraviolet light. Dunk it in your water and stir. It won’t filter out sediment, but it’s small, lightweight, and runs on replaceable CR123 batteries. You can also try Katadyn Micropur tablets for $16. They're cheap and easy to store. Drop them in water and wait briefly. The taste isn’t great, but no water-treatment tablets or droplets are, in my experience.
If you have a large household, you may prefer something like the MSR AutoFlow XL Gravity Filter for $125. Gravity filters take longer to purify water. You can boil water, but it won’t filter out sediment, and boiling uses fuel and takes time.
An Air Purifier
Coway Airmega 200M
Photograph: Conway
Wildfires are becoming an annual hazard, especially on the West Coast of the US, and they can spread dangerous amounts of particulate throughout the air. Homes aren't very airtight at all. Keep that toxic, carcinogenic junk out of your indoor air (and out of your lungs) by purchasing an air purifier for your home. The Coway Airmega 200M for $197 is my favorite affordable model for a small room, such as a bedroom or home office. For a larger room (up to 930 square feet), the Coway Airmega 250 for $400is our top pick. Like the 200M, it has a smart setting that ramps up the filtering power automatically when needed; after several years of testing, both models are still going strong. Check out our Best Air Purifiers guide for more recommendations from the WIRED Gear Team.
You probably already have some face masks at home, but if you don't and you live in a region susceptible to wildfires, you should pick up a box of disposable, medical-grade masks so you can breathe easier if the air becomes saturated with smoke. Fortunately, the best masks that protect against Covid-19 also protect well against smoke. We recommend the Powecom KN95 10-Pack for $12. If these are out of stock, as many masks frequently are, check out our Best Disposable Face Masksguide.
A Propane Camp Stove
Coleman Gas Camping Stove
Photograph: Amazon
Safety note: Don't use any of these stoves indoors. All of these fuels give off potentially deadly fumes that can accumulate and kill.
