so ive been a ham for about 3 years now and i keep telling myself im going to put together a proper go-kit for emergencies but i just... never do it. after the storms we had last month and seeing some of the ARES guys show up with their setups i finally got motivated to actually do something about it.

problem is i dont really know what the baseline should be. like i have an FT-857D that i could use as the main radio, and ive got a few batteries kicking around but nothing purpose-built for portable ops. do most people run everything off a single big LiFePO4 or do you have backup options too? and what about antennas, im thinking an EFHW but im open to suggestions for something that sets up fast.

also curious what people put in their kits beyond just the radio stuff. i know some guys carry spare fuses and coax but im not sure how deep to go without the whole thing becoming a 60 pound nightmare to lug around. any thoughts appreciated, just looking for some real world experience here not just a generic list off the internet.

this is something i think about a lot actually. i went through like three iterations of my go-kit before i landed on something i was happy with. the biggest mistake i made early on was trying to pack for every possible scenario and ending up with this massive pelican case that i honestly dreaded pulling out.

what finally clicked for me was thinking about it in tiers. tier one is what i can grab in under two minutes if i have to leave right now — radio, battery, a random wire antenna i can throw in a tree, power cables, headset, and a little notebook. fits in a small backpack. tier two is more gear for a sustained deployment, like a better antenna, extra batteries, a small solar panel, laptop for logging, that kind of thing. that stuff lives in a bigger bag in the truck.

for your FT-857D that's a solid choice, runs on 13.8v no problem. i'd strongly suggest getting at least one dedicated LiFePO4 — i use a 20ah bioenno and it gets me through a full day of moderate operating easily. carry a spare fuse for sure, and honestly a small multimeter has saved me more than once. the EFHW is fine for fast setup but a linked dipole gives you more flexibility if you end up somewhere weird. just my two cents, your mileage will vary depending on what your local ARES actually needs from you.

dont overthink it at first. i made that mistake. just get something working and then refine it, you'll figure out what you actually need once you do a few activations or exercises.

one thing nobody told me when i was starting out — label everything. like every cable, every adapter, every little bag inside the kit. when youre tired and stressed at 2am trying to find the right PL-259 you will thank yourself for doing that. sounds dumb but seriously.