5 gadgets to add to your emergency kit

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It’s always a good idea to prepare in case an emergency or disaster cuts off utility services and communication channels. That’s why you’ve created an emergency kit for these specific situations. You may have loaded it with basic items from around your home, such as water, food, medicine, candles, a lighter, toiletries, blankets, copies of your IDs, and cash, to help you hold on until the situation resolves or help arrives. But having the right technology alongside your phone can make a difference, especially when your survival is at stake.

It’s not extra AAA batteries for an old flashlight you have lying around, a basic walkie talkie you bought at your local sporting goods store, or extra USB cables. This is specialized equipment for communication, emergency power and navigation. They have essential features that are worth adding to your emergency kit. Test the gadgets, maintain them, and keep the kit in an accessible place so you can access it quickly if necessary.

Everyone needs a flashlight during power outages or at night in a disaster, and must venture outside to get help and supplies. Your smartphone probably has a flashlight that can help you. But you can only comfortably use it to find things inside or access your room for safety. But during a disaster, you need something brighter and able to shine farther than a phone’s flashlight. In these situations, you also need to save your phone battery. For this reason, the TrixHub Flashlight is an ultra-bright, rechargeable flashlight that deserves a place in your emergency kit.

The flashlight has three main modes: High, Medium and Low. But you’ll want to keep it low if you want it to last longer in an emergency. Then you have Strobe, which flashes the light very quickly, making it an effective signal at night or a self-defense measure that disorients threats. The last mode is SOS, which is similar to Strobe, but slower.

The TrixHub flashlight comes with a removable lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, which you can charge with a USB-C cable. The LED battery level indicator shows how much charge you have left so you can use it efficiently. It has a telescopic head that you can adjust to widen or narrow the beam, transforming it from a floodlight to a spotlight. You can get one for $19.99 or a two-pack for $23.99 if you have a few dollars to spare.

Whether you’re in the middle of a natural disaster, a power outage caused by severe weather conditions, or a camping trip gone wrong, access to emergency weather updates will always come in handy. So, when packing your kit, consider adding an emergency weather radio capable of tuning to NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) frequencies. This system of radio stations broadcasts real-time weather forecasts, warnings, and alerts throughout the United States. The FosPower NOAA Emergency Weather Radio is a good option and it can also connect to AM and FM stations for other important information.

The FosPower NOAA Emergency Weather Radio has three power sources you can use when electricity is not available: a hand crank, a solar panel, and AAA batteries. These can provide enough power to operate the radio, lights and SOS alarm in an emergency (have a whistle as a backup though). Its 2000 mAh battery makes it a small capacity power bank, capable of providing the phone with enough power to call for help.

The weather radio also has a 1W LED light that can produce 135 lumens (lm) to help you get through the darkness. The flashlight also has a zoom function, allowing you to adjust it from a wide to narrow beam. It also has a reading light to help you read maps or entertain yourself in the dark.

With rechargeable gadgets in your kit, such as flashlights and radios, you’ll need a power bank in case you need to run them for longer. With something like the Blavor Solar Power Bank, which has a 10,000 mAh battery, you can efficiently charge these devices. This type of capacity is enough to charge your phone 1-2 times. Thanks to its 20W fast charging, the manufacturer claims to be able to charge an iPhone 15 from 0% to 65% in just 30 minutes. And it can do so safely because it supports the USB Power Delivery (USB-PD) protocol which allows the phone and power bank to negotiate safe charging levels. Every minute counts in an emergency and you may need to charge your phone quickly. It also supports 10W Qi wireless charging.

The power bank is also equipped with a solar panel, but it’s important to understand that it has a maximum charging power of 1.15W. This is too slow, meaning you can’t rely on its solar panel as your primary power source. That said, it can serve as a useful emergency backup. However, it’s best to also purchase a portable solar panel for your kit if you want to reliably charge it and other devices that use solar power. The Blavor solar power bank also has a flashlight and a carabiner compass. Combined with its IPX5 rating and sturdy construction, it comes in handy in an outdoor emergency.

With your modern smartphone a capable GPS device in its own right, you might wonder why you would need a portable GPS. Why, in particular, would you need a portable GPS like the Garmin eTrex 22x Rugged, which costs $199? In an emergency, when you need a reliable navigation partner, you’ll want to save your phone’s battery. Since the eTrex 22x can provide up to 25 hours of battery life, you can save your phone when you need to communicate your exact contact details to family members or emergency services.

The eTrex 22x comes with TopoActive maps, preloaded topographic and routable maps from Garmin that work offline. When using your phone, you’ll intentionally have to download the maps into apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps to use them offline, but you never know when an emergency will happen and where you’ll be. You may not always have time to download the maps.

The eTrex 22x works without cellular service by connecting directly to GPS and GLONASS satellites. If you need additional maps, you can download them and store them in the device’s 8 GB of internal memory. It also has a microSD slot if you’re short on internal space for cards. TopoActive maps also provide valuable information about terrain, buildings and international boundaries, making them extremely useful in unfamiliar territory.

When cell towers go down or you’re in an area without coverage, phones can fail if you’re divided into groups but still need to stay in touch. The Midland GXT1000VP4 two-way radio can come in handy in these situations, and you can get two of these long-range radios for $99. It has a range of up to 57 km and comes with a rechargeable battery that lasts up to eight hours, but it can also use four standard AA batteries (good backups in case of emergency).

It has 50 General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) channels in the frequency range of 462 MHz to 467 MHz, ensuring that you can always find an uncongested channel to communicate with others. Even if your current channel is too busy, the radio has 142 privacy codes that allow you to filter out the noise. Combined with channels, you have thousands of communication combinations. The radio also has an SOS alarm and can function as a weather radio.

Keep in mind that GMRS is a licensed radio service and you will need a license from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC regulates the service and only issues 10-year licenses. A license costs $35 and requires no exam. Once registered, any member of your immediate family can also use the radios under your license (friends, colleagues and other acquaintances cannot).

When selecting these gadgets, we focused on those that offer specialized utility in an emergency. That’s why we offer gadgets for powerful lighting, independent power supply, offline navigation and long-range communication. We also made sure the gadgets are available on Amazon, where we can check reviews from verified purchases.

We didn’t want to choose items that cost hundreds of dollars, so you can see how affordable adding these gadgets to an emergency kit can be. So we capped the costs at $200 per item. We also made sure they had thousands of ratings and at least four out of five stars. We’ve also made sure they don’t have the “Frequently Returned Item” label on Amazon, since they’re meant to be used in an emergency.