so ive been a ham for about two years now and i keep hearing about go-kits and emergency preparedness stuff especially at the club meetings but nobody really sits down and explains what they actually have in theirs. like i get the general idea — radio, power, antenna — but beyond that i dont know where to start.

my situation is i have an FT-857D which i love but its kind of big, and i also have a little Yaesu FT-65 HT. i was thinking maybe build around the HT for portability but then i lose a lot of capability obviously. also i live in tornado country so the go-kit isnt just for served agencies stuff, i genuinely might need it someday for real. that kind of changes my thinking a little.

what do you guys actually have packed and ready to go? and how do you handle power — are you running LiFePO4 or just sticking with a big SLA? i priced out a 20ah LiFePO4 and it wasnt cheap but maybe worth it. anyway any thoughts appreciated, even just telling me what you wish youd done differently when you built yours

great question and honestly more people should be asking this before they need it rather than after. i went through about three iterations of my go-kit before landing on something i was actually happy with. first thing id say is figure out what your primary mission is — are you supporting ARES/RACES activations, or is this more personal preparedness, or both? that changes what you pack pretty significantly.

for power i made the jump to LiFePO4 about a year ago and i dont regret it at all. heavier upfront cost but the weight savings and the way they hold voltage under load is just better. i run a 30ah Battle Born in my main kit and a smaller 10ah for the lightweight bag. the 857 is a solid radio but yeah its a chunky boy for a go-kit — have you looked at the FT-891? roughly same capability, way more packable. lots of guys in our group run those.

the stuff people forget is never the radio — its the cables. have adapters, have fuses, have a way to charge the battery from a car AND from solar if you can swing it. and i always keep a laminated card with my freqs, my served agency contacts, and the regional nets because when things go sideways you dont want to be scrolling through your phone trying to remember stuff.

honestly my go-kit started as just a shoebox with my HT and a spare battery and i told myself id upgrade it eventually lol. that was like four years ago. its a little better now but not by as much as i want to admit.

one thing i will say — dont let perfect be the enemy of good here. a charged HT with a spare battery and a copy of your local repeater info written on paper is infinitely better than a fancy kit you havent finished building yet. tornado warning isnt going to wait for you to get the right pelican case.

the SLA vs lithium debate is real but if budget is a concern just get a decent SLA to start, a 12ah is cheap and will run an HT or low-power rig for a long time. upgrade later when you have the funds. also check if your local ARES group does go-kit workshops or show and tell type things, mine did one last spring and it was super helpful just to see what other people actually carry