so ive been meaning to put together a proper go-kit for probably two years now and i keep putting it off because every time i start researching it i end up with a list thats like 47 things long and i dont even know where to start. my club does ARES stuff and theyve been nudging me to get something ready but honestly i just dont know what the bare minimum is vs what is nice to have.

right now i literally have nothing organized. i have an FT-857D that i use at home and a handheld, some coax, whatever. but if i had to grab something and go to an EOC or shelter i wouldnt even know what bag to throw stuff in. do you guys just use a pelican case or like a backpack or what. and what about power — do i need to bring my own or do they usually have power at those places. sorry if these are dumb questions im a general class been licensed about 18 months

not dumb questions at all, this is exactly the kind of thing people dont think about until they're scrambling at 2am during an actual activation. i went through the same thing a few years back.

honestly the way i think about it is just start with what you'd need to make one contact on HF and one on VHF and work backwards from there. for me that ended up being my IC-7300 (though some guys use a smaller radio like the 705 or a Xiegu for portability), a power supply or battery, some kind of antenna that doesnt require a tower to deploy, and all the cables and adapters to connect it all. the cables thing is where people get burned — you show up somewhere and realize you left the right-angle PL-259 adapter at home and now you cant hook anything up.

for the container i use a rolling duffel bag for the main stuff and a smaller sling bag for consumables and paperwork. pelican cases are great but heavy. i dont bring my own power anymore because our county EOC has a generator and a big battery bank but i always carry a small 20ah lifepo4 just in case because generators fail. also bring a headlamp, snacks, and your favorite headset because those chairs at EOCs are not comfortable and youre gonna be there a while

yeah what he said about the cables is so true lol. i also want to add — dont forget actual paper. like printed frequency lists for your local nets, ICS forms if your served agency uses them, maybe a laminated card with your own call sign and serial number if youre doing Winlink stuff. sounds dumb but when youre tired and stressed you forget everything.

i keep mine in a clear binder in the bag. also a sharpie and some zip ties have saved me more than once