There were the obvious essentials:

 

  • first aid kits
  • lighters/matches
  • canned food
  • drinking water
  • etc…

Then I started to think about my gadgets to help make life easier in these times:

 

  • A fully charged power bank with all the right charging cables for your phones and devices.
  • Torch/head lamps
  • Battery FM radio/speaker

Over the two years SunSaver has been on the market, I am starting to see more and more electrical gadgets and devices that can be charged via 5 volt USB power banks. This includes all your survival pack needs. This is great because one power bank can charge a range of things, as well as saving space by not lugging around a bag of heavy different sized batteries (AA, AAA, etc).

Now, you are probably thinking that even a power bank will run out of power. Yes, of course it will, and with power still not on you are back to square one with a flat phone AND a flat power bank. To prevent this, I would recommend getting a solar power bank that can recharge itself straight off the sun. Solar power is amazing, the sun comes up every day, so why not make the most of it! A normal power bank without a solar panel is useless when its flat (it’s like carrying a dead weight around) but at least a solar one will always give you something.

Unfortunately, the solar panel on a solar power banks alone is often quite small (around 200mA), this is why I recommend getting a solar charger (around a 6 watt panel at least) to go with it. The main difference between a solar charger and a solar power bank is that a solar charger has NO battery but has MORE solar power. Whereas a solar power bank does have a battery but LESS solar power. A solar charger will charge your power banks up a lot faster, and even on cloudy/overcast days you can still get some charge thought the clouds.

 

Here are four gadgets that I have packed in my Survival Kit:

 

  1. 5volt USB rechargeable weather proof torch/head lamp
  2. 5volt USB rechargeable FM radio/Bluetooth speaker
  3. SunSaver Classic – 16,000mAh Solar Power Bank
  4. SunSaver Super Flex – 14watt Solar Charger

Lastly don’t forget to fully charge your power bank before you put it in storage, so it is ready to go when needed!

If you are under prepared like me, I hope this helps you get that little bit more prepared.

Stay safe,
Steven.