Do you know how to build a blackout kit?
During these tough times, this is the knowledge that everyone wishes they had years ago and are going to the preparedness community for information on these topics.
Blackout Kit List
- Batteries
- Water
- Clothing
- Food
- First Aid Kit
- Flashlight or Glow Sticks
- Storage Bin or Rolling Suitcase
- Personal Items
- Fire Extinguisher
- Emergency Radio
- Misc
Knowing isn’t enough, we must do. Preparing a blackout kit might not seem like a fun way to spend an evening, but doing so could save your life in the future.
In our last article on survival kits, you learned how to prepare and pack a pandemic survival kit. In this post, we’re going to cover the blackout survival kit for grid-down emergency scenarios.
First, let’s go over some bug-out bag basics.
RELATED: How To Build a Bug-Out Bag
What is a Blackout Survival Kit?
The blackout kit is for when the power goes out in your home, neighborhood, or even city. It’s also known as a power-outage kit. In a grid-down situation, this is the kit you’ll be thankful you prepped ahead of time.
The blackout kit is one of the more urgent survival kits to make sure you have prepared at all times. The kit is specifically for when the power goes out on you. Which happens more often than most other emergencies.
And when it does, having a kit ready and not having anything prepared makes a massive difference in your situation. The importance of having a blackout kit can’t be overestimated.
How To Pack a Blackout Kit
If you don’t want to buy a kit that’s already pre-made and done-for-you, you can go the DIY route. Watch the video below on how to build a blackout kit.
What kind of items goes into a Blackout Kit? Items like flashlights, emergency tools, anything that would be useful in the event of an emergency. But there are a couple that you may forget about.
Batteries
Have some quality batteries for your lighting equipment. Plenty of AA and AAA batteries as they are the most commonly used. Also, pack extras and extras for backups for your extras.
Water
One of the resources to stock up on in the list of survival essentials, water. Lights out mean stores won’t be open. Have more than your usual supply of emergency water stocked for potential longer grid-down scenarios.
Clothing
Paying a little extra in money or just paying in extra time spent finding and buying the best survival clothing is worth every penny. Because when you really need that extra thick wool pair of socks that seem like they would protect you from a nuclear war, nothings better than wearing them.
Keeping your clothes dry is essential. One of the better uses for zip lock bags is to store your protective clothing in them. They work well for preventing damage and keeping them dry.
First Aid Kit
With no power also means limited access and capabilities to medical care. Have it packed with the medical essentials:
- Gauze
- Gloves
- Bandages
- Antibiotic ointment
- Alcohol (for drinking and for disinfecting, multi-functional at it’s finest)
If you or anyone need prescription medication, this is the place to keep an extra supply of that as well.
Flashlight
Have more than one flashlight for sure. Having LED lanterns work well, the ones that are hand-cranked. You’ll get a decent workout with one of those.
Food
This is where stockpiling food comes into importance. Your options for food are now limited without electricity. Even just having two or three MRE’s in your kit will make a positive difference.
Having your prepper pantry stocked is one of the best preps you can do, one of them being this scenario. Some of the easiest go-to foods are granola bars, nuts, and beef jerky.
Personal Items
Having a 4 in 1 emergency tool or a different multi-tool is always a good idea. It’s one of the staples of nearly every man’s EDC items.
Keep Rollin
For your storage bin, the key is having it compact and stable. In this type of emergency situation, it may not be a bug-in situation. If you decide to leave, having everything in a secure and compact bin will be easier to grab.
Or if you want to be smarter than the average bear, many find rolling suitcases to do a much better job at leaving quickly with compared to a bin. Good places to find them for a fraction of the price are thrift stores.
Alternative Energy Sources
Have you transitioned into supplementing your power supply with solar yet? In a blackout scenario, you’ll wish you had. Having solar technology will make all the difference in this kind of event.
A 1,000-watt inverter becomes essential for charging any small appliances and even your car battery.
Propane
Having propane handy when the lights go out makes everything go by a little smoother. Having a propane-powered generator is a good idea. Considering the hefty price increases the past few years of standard generators, propane power could be a wise option for you.
Fire Extinguisher
Go to this guide that’s about the different types of fires. They’re important to know and understand how they work so you know how to immediately put the fire out. And each type of fire requires different precautions and methods to put out.
Also, watching this video will help you further understand everything you need to know about fire extinguishers.
Emergency Radio
Communication becomes crucial in these scenarios. Have a radio that works so you can communicate with friends and family on location and safety.
Misc
As always, there are a few non-essential items to pack. This is purely your preference. Once the essentials are stashed, add some
- cash
- deck of cards
- board game
- pen & paper
- books (if you need suggestions, go to the survival library)
his may not be crucial for physical survival but can help many stay distracted and calm in stressful situations.
Blackout Survival Tips
One of the most frustrating things that you have to go through with no power is throwing away food in your refrigerator.
I was in a blackout emergency situation a couple of winters ago. I was lucky, it was freezing outside so I was able to put most of my food outside in the snow. If you have no other method of keeping your food from spoiling, it’s best to throw away any food that could potentially become unsafe even if it’s just a day of being out in room temperature.
Conclusion
Now you know the blackout kit essential items to get for your kit. Nothing dramatic or completely outlandish as far as other survival kits go. The usual items will give you most of what you need.
The only emphasis that goes into prepping a blackout kit would be the lighting items. Instead of just having a mini tactical flashlight that you got for free, pack additional illumination in this kit. A more heavy-duty flashlight and a headlamp if you chose.
Get any other items you may need personally. This list is universal for most everyone.
We hope this article on how to build a blackout kit helped you, you’ll be able to use it now and for future disasters. Be sure to check out the rest of the survival kit you can build in the Ultimate Survival Kit List guide.
Do you already have a blackout kit prepped?
