so ive been meaning to do this for like two years and after the storms we had last month that knocked out power for almost four days i finally got serious about it. got an old pelican case from a buddy and started throwing stuff in but now im second guessing everything.

right now ive got my FT-857D, a 40ah LiFePO4 battery, some coax, a roll of wire for a quick dipole, my logging book and a few Anderson powerpole connectors. also threw in a cheap handheld in case i need to hit the local repeaters. charger for the battery obviously.

but like... is there stuff that seems obvious that people forget? i keep reading these lists online and they all look the same and kind of corporate-y if that makes sense. just wondering what real people wish they had included the first time they actually had to USE the kit in a real situation, not just a drill.

also not sure about the antenna situation. the wire dipole takes a while to set up and im wondering if i should have something faster even if its a compromise

the thing nobody puts on those lists that i always tell people -- write down your frequencies. like actually write them on paper and laminate it or whatever. repeater info, simplex calling freqs, your local ARES/RACES nets, NVIS freqs if you do HF. when stuff is actually going sideways your brain stops working right and you'll be real glad you dont have to remember if the county EOC machine is on 146.940 or 146.960 or whatever.

also second the antenna thing you mentioned. i went through like three iterations before landing on a linked dipole that i can cut to different bands with a clip, sets up faster than a full fan dipole and honestly works fine for what i need. some guys swear by a vertical on a tripod for quick deployment, tradeoffs either way depending if you care about NVIS propagation.

the other thing i wish i had earlier was a small notebook computer or even just a tablet with JS8Call and Winlink set up offline. came in handy during a deployment last year when we needed to pass formal traffic and the voice nets were absolutely slammed.

honestly the antenna question is a real one and kind of depends on what you're expecting to do. if you're mostly supporting local stuff a decent mag mount on a vehicle and a good 2m/70cm radio gets you pretty far without a lot of setup time. HF is great but if ARES in your area is mostly VHF coordination that 857 might be overkill for the go-kit and just add weight.

one thing i noticed you didnt mention -- power cables. like actual spare fused power cables and a way to connect to a car battery or generator if your LiFePO4 dies or you just need to run longer than it'll last. i had a situation at a public service event (not even a real emergency) where my battery connector got bent and i spent 45 minutes hunting for a way to just run off the vehicle. embarrassing. now i keep a spare pigtail literally zip tied inside the case lid.