so ive been meaning to do this for like two years and after the storms last month kind of kicked me in the pants about it. we lost power for almost 4 days and while i had my HT and some batteries i was really not as prepared as i thought i was. managed to check in to the county net a couple times but my battery situation was a mess, cables everywhere, couldnt find the right adapter, the usual disaster.

so im finally building a proper go-kit. right now i'm thinking the FT-891 as the main rig since i already have one, a 40ah LiFePO4 battery with a proper BMS, anderson powerpole distribution block, and a few different antenna options — an EFHW for HF and a jpole for 2m. got a pelican-style case from amazon to put it all in.

my question is what stuff do people always forget or wish they had included. like the obvious radio stuff i think i have covered but im sure theres things i havent thought about. especially around the non-radio stuff that makes operating for extended periods actually workable. logging sheets? headlamp? what else

the thing that gets people every single time is power cables and adapters. you think you have it covered and then you're at a deployment and your cigarette lighter adapter is the wrong gauge for sustained draw or you forgot the barrel connector that fits your specific radio. i actually laminated a checklist that lives in the lid of my kit and i still find something missing every time i do a real exercise.

a few things i'd add beyond the obvious: a small notepad and multiple pens because gel pens stop working in the cold and pencils are annoying, printed copy of your local nets and frequencies because you wont always have cell service to look it up, and honestly a small LED lantern not just a headlamp because when youre operating for hours at a table the headlamp gets tiring. also dont forget a coax jumper or two in different lengths. i cant tell you how many times ive needed just like 3 more feet of coax to reach where i needed to set up.

the EFHW is a solid choice for HF, i'd just make sure you have multiple ways to get it in the air. a telescoping fiberglass mast is worth every penny if you dont already have one.

food and water, honestly. sounds dumb but when i did my first ARES activation i was so focused on the radio stuff that i basically didnt eat for like 6 hours and was completely useless by the end of it. a few granola bars and a water bottle in the kit sounds obvious but it wasnt obvious to me at the time lol

also a small solar panel if youre running LiFePO4 anyway. even a 50w panel can keep you topped off during the day if youre not transmitting constantly. doesnt have to be fancy.