In order to be prepared for a homestead emergency you need to know what emergencies to expect. For us that tends to be bad weather which typically means the power will go out.
These are the 3 top homestead emergency tools we turn to.
Our journey into looking for some high-quality tools to use when bad weather is threatening and the power goes out all started when the weather did come and the power did go out. We were prepared, but we weren’t happy with the tools we had on hand.
Be Prepared: Emergency
Jared trying to turn into a local FM station during a power outage.
We have a great little NOAA Weather Radio. It does what it was designed to do, Play AM/FM Radio and the NOAA Weather Radio Frequencies, just fine. With one catch, it has an analog tuner. On this particular occasion I was looking for a specific FM radio station that I knew would give good local information. However that station was surrounded by other FM stations, all of which play country music. I was frustrated that I was having to listen to several songs just to figure out which station I was on all to find out it was the wrong one, causing me to turn the dial all but a hair and locking in to another station to see if that was the right one.
I was done. I wanted a new NOAA Weather Radio with a Digital Tuner.
Best NOAA Weather Radio
We did a lot of research and settled on the Eton FRX5, which is a higher end NOAA Weather Radio. This machine is very much worth the cost. It has an internal battery that can be charged by the large solar panel on the back of the radio, by the Dynamo crank, or by plugging it into a wall outlet. However, you can also put in few AAA batteries just-in-case.
It is, of course, digitally tuned, and sounds pretty good to boot. We’ve even used it to listen to the radio just-because.
We programmed the radio with our NOAA SAME codes and leave the alert mode turned on. This could cause a battery consumption issue, but with the big solar panel on the back we just leave the radio sitting in a south facing window and let it trickle charge all the time. It saves us from having to worry about if the battery is charged or if we remembered to turn on the alert mode when bad weather comes. You can get the Eton FRX5 on Amazon.
It has many other features too, such as a lantern light, a forward facing light, and a charging port for cellphones!
Best Lantern Light
When our power did go out Jennifer told me the biggest issue was good lighting around the house. She wanted something better to illuminate the house. We looked around and settled on the DivineLED (AKA: Vont) Collapsible Lantern. The lantern turns on and off automatically when you open or close it and it triggers at about 1/4 inch open. From there the more you open it the more light you get.
We like it because if we need to light a small room, like a bathroom, we can open the light just a little so the light isn’t over powering. But if we are in our living room, or even outside, we can open it all the way and get a LOT of light. The DivineLED Collapisble Lantern is also available on Amazon.
Best Personal Flashlight
We all have daily uses for a flashlight. The kids lost something under the couch. You misplaced a tool in the shed. The chickens are making a lot of noise at night. Sometimes you need a big bright light and sometimes you just need to read something. But you don’t need several flashlights, just one: The ThruNite Archer.
This powerful little flashlight takes only 1 AA battery. Just 1. It has 4 power settings letting you go from reading a book, map, or anything up close, to getting around a house or shinning out into a yard. Let me tell you, this sucker is bright.
And if you hold the button for a few seconds it starts to strobe the light – great for signalling folks from miles away. It really is an amazing little package suitable for keeping in a pocket or clipped to a shirt or belt for use at a moments notice. The ThruNite Archer can also be found on Amazon.
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