so ive been meaning to do this for like two years and after the storms we had last month I finally got off my butt and started building a proper go-kit. right now I have my FT-891 in a pelican case with a LiFePO4 battery (the 30ah bioenno one), a little solar panel, some coax, and my logbook. threw in a cheap handheld too just in case.

thing is I keep reading that people forget stuff and only find out when they actually need it. anybody been deployed or activated for ARES or RACES and had one of those oh-no moments where something wasnt in the bag? im mostly thinking about local emcomm support, not like a full-on multi-day field deployment, but I want to be ready for that too eventually.

also not sure how much antenna stuff to pack. right now I just have a roll-up jpole for 2m but wondering if I should add something for HF too since the 891 obviously does HF. the case is already getting heavy lol

the antenna question is the one that always gets people. i did a county EOC activation a few years back and showed up thinking id just throw up a wire dipole real quick and it turned into a 45 minute ordeal because I forgot the line to toss it over a tree and the tape measure and basically everything except the wire itself. now I have a dedicated small bag that just has antenna stuff — 100ft of paracord, some tent stakes, a few zip ties, and a notepad with the lengths already written out for the bands I use. sounds dumb but having it pre-written saves you from doing math when youre tired and stressed.

for HF I'd say at minimum throw in an end-fed wire and a 9:1 unun, those pack down really small and work decent in a pinch. the 891 will love you for it. also dont forget an extra fuse or two for your power leads, I learned that one the hard way on a deployment and had to borrow from another operator which was embarrassing

One thing I never see people mention is documentation. Like actual printed documentation in the kit — your callsign, frequencies for the local nets, any ICS forms you might need, contact numbers. Your phone dies, the laptop dies, you still have paper. I keep a little binder in mine with the repeater directory for the surrounding counties and the net scripts we use locally. Seems old fashioned but every single time we do a drill somebody ends up borrowing mine because they only had it on their phone.

Also power adapters. Do you have a way to charge the radio from your car if the solar isnt keeping up? A proper cable from the battery to the cigarette lighter or direct to the car battery, whatever your setup needs. That and honestly food and water for yourself if you might be there a while, I know thats not radio stuff but ive seen operators get useless after 6 hours because they didnt eat anything