so ive been putting together a go-kit for probably the last six months, little bit at a time, and every time i think im done i realize theres something else i forgot or didnt think about. right now ive got my FT-857D, a LiFePO4 battery (the 20ah one), a dual band handheld as backup, coax, a roll of wire for a field antenna, and my logging stuff. chargers, cables, all that.

but i keep reading posts from guys who do actual ARES deployments and they always mention stuff i never would have thought of — like waterproof labels on everything, a laminated card with local repeater freqs, even just a sharpie and some tape. small stuff that seems dumb until youre standing in a parking lot at 2am trying to remember what frequency the EOC wants you on.

curious what you guys actually bring. not looking for a perfect list or anything, just wondering what the thing is that you forgot once and swore youd never forget again.

the thing i always forget and then kick myself over is food and water, which sounds so obvious but when youre packing up radio gear thats just not what youre thinking about. showed up to a 12 hour simulated emergency exercise one time with zero snacks, nothing to drink, and my thermos was sitting on the counter at home. borrowed a granola bar from the EC and never lived it down.

also honestly the laminated freq card thing is huge. i made one up in Word a few years back, just the local repeaters, the ARES net freqs, simplex calling, and the county EOC channels. laminated it at the library for like a dollar fifty and taped it to the inside lid of my kit. have used it more times than i expected, especially when im tired or stressed and my brain just stops cooperating.

one more thing — a small notebook and a couple pens that actually work. not a phone, an actual paper notebook. power goes out, your phone dies, paper still works. sounds old fashioned but at a real deployment it matters.

honestly my biggest addition was just a headlamp. like a decent one with fresh batteries. i had a flashlight in there for a while but you need both hands when youre messing with connectors in the dark and holding a light in your teeth gets old fast.

also if you dont have a way to charge your HT off the main battery you should probably sort that out. i just have a USB adapter that runs off my LiFePO4 and it keeps everything topped up. FT-857 is a great radio by the way, same one i use for portable ops, thing is a tank.