The same items as a short power cut, plus water, hygiene and a way to keep hearing news.
A long outage — after a severe storm, a major fault or a geomagnetic event — changes the problem from inconvenience to logistics. Water pumps, payment systems, fuel pumps and heating are all electrical somewhere along the chain.
If you have already worked through the power cut and 72-hour guides, this one is mostly additions rather than a fresh start.
Water and sanitation
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The first thing to become genuinely difficult.
Stored drinking water
Water is the first thing to run short and the hardest to improvise. Three litres per person per day covers drinking and basic cooking, and having it already in the house means you never join the queue for it.
Why you need it. Water is the first thing to run short and the hardest to improvise. Three litres per person per day covers drinking and basic cooking, and having it already in the house means you never join the queue for it.
What to look for. Sealed bottles or food-grade containers holding three days' worth per person, kept somewhere cool and dark. Write the date on them and swap the stock out twice a year.
Water filter
If the tap runs but the supply is no longer trusted, a filter turns questionable water into water you can drink without boiling fuel you may not have.
Why you need it. If the tap runs but the supply is no longer trusted, a filter turns questionable water into water you can drink without boiling fuel you may not have.
What to look for. A gravity or squeeze filter rated for bacteria and protozoa, with a spare cartridge. Hollow-fibre filters are compact; ceramic ones are slower but very hard to break.
Purification tablets
Tablets weigh nothing, never clog and work as the backup to a filter — which matters because filters are exactly the thing that breaks when you need one.
Why you need it. Tablets weigh nothing, never clog and work as the backup to a filter — which matters because filters are exactly the thing that breaks when you need one.
What to look for. Chlorine dioxide or chlorine tablets with a clear dose per litre and a long shelf life. Check the expiry date whenever you check your smoke alarms.
Wet wipes and sanitiser
When water is limited or the drains stop working, basic hygiene is the difference between an inconvenience and an illness.
Why you need it. When water is limited or the drains stop working, basic hygiene is the difference between an inconvenience and an illness.
What to look for. Large packs of wipes, alcohol gel and a few heavy-duty bin bags. Unscented is more useful than scented.
Bin bags
Moving generates a surprising volume of packaging, and bags double as clothes carriers and soft padding.
Why you need it. Moving generates a surprising volume of packaging, and bags double as clothes carriers and soft padding.
What to look for. Heavy-duty bags in two sizes. Keep a roll in the car so nothing gets left behind in the old place.
Power and cooking
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Assume no mains for several days.
Off-grid cooker
Hot food and hot drinks change morale faster than anything else you can carry, and they stop being possible the moment the hob has no gas or power.
Why you need it. Hot food and hot drinks change morale faster than anything else you can carry, and they stop being possible the moment the hob has no gas or power.
What to look for. A single-burner gas or spirit stove with two spare canisters, used outdoors or in real ventilation. Test it once before you need it rather than reading the instructions by torchlight.
Hand-crank charger
A power bank runs out. A crank or solar charger keeps a phone alive for messages and maps for as long as you are willing to turn the handle.
Why you need it. A power bank runs out. A crank or solar charger keeps a phone alive for messages and maps for as long as you are willing to turn the handle.
What to look for. A crank or folding solar charger with a standard USB output, and a cable that fits your phone. Check the output is enough to charge, not merely to slow the drain.
Power bank
Keeps a phone, GPS watch or headlamp alive on long days, and cold weather drains batteries much faster than you expect.
Why you need it. Keeps a phone, GPS watch or headlamp alive on long days, and cold weather drains batteries much faster than you expect.
What to look for. A 10,000 mAh unit is a sensible balance of capacity and weight for most trips. Bring the right cable — the bank alone is useless.
Spare batteries
Torches, radios and smoke alarms all fail in the same quiet way: the batteries were flat, and nobody knew.
Why you need it. Torches, radios and smoke alarms all fail in the same quiet way: the batteries were flat, and nobody knew.
What to look for. A sealed pack in each size your kit actually uses, stored away from heat. Rechargeables are excellent day to day and a poor sole plan for a power cut.
Headlamp
Hands-free light for a pre-dawn start, an unexpected late finish, or finding anything at all inside a tent.
Why you need it. Hands-free light for a pre-dawn start, an unexpected late finish, or finding anything at all inside a tent.
What to look for. A small lamp with a low mode for camp and a bright mode for walking, plus spare batteries or a charged battery pack.
Candles and matches
Light you cannot switch off by accident, and a way to start a flame that needs no charge. Keep them boring and keep them dry.
Why you need it. Light you cannot switch off by accident, and a way to start a flame that needs no charge. Keep them boring and keep them dry.
What to look for. Long-burning candles in stable holders, plus storm-proof matches or a lighter in a sealed bag. Candles near curtains cause more emergencies than they solve — use holders.
Getting by
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Money, movement and news without the internet.
Small cash reserve
Card terminals and cash machines are the first things to stop working in a power cut, and small notes still buy fuel, food and a taxi.
Why you need it. Card terminals and cash machines are the first things to stop working in a power cut, and small notes still buy fuel, food and a taxi.
What to look for. Enough small notes and coins for a couple of days of essentials, stored with your documents rather than in a wallet you carry.
Battery or wind-up radio
When the mobile network is congested or down, local radio is still telling you which roads are closed and where to go. It is the one information source that does not depend on your phone.
Why you need it. When the mobile network is congested or down, local radio is still telling you which roads are closed and where to go. It is the one information source that does not depend on your phone.
What to look for. A wind-up or battery radio with FM and, ideally, weather or emergency bands. A model that also charges a phone earns its shelf space.
Bicycle
When roads are jammed and fuel is queued for, the person on a bike is simply somewhere else. It also needs no charge and no licence.
Why you need it. When roads are jammed and fuel is queued for, the person on a bike is simply somewhere else. It also needs no charge and no licence.
What to look for. Any roadworthy bike with working brakes, a pump, a patch kit and lights. Reliability beats performance entirely here.
Paper map
Navigation apps assume signal, battery and working servers. A folded local map assumes nothing and never reboots.
Why you need it. Navigation apps assume signal, battery and working servers. A folded local map assumes nothing and never reboots.
What to look for. A current road or topographic map covering your area and your likely route out, with your meeting points marked in pen.
One good manual
Every plan eventually meets a problem you did not plan for. A single practical reference — first aid, repairs, food safety — is the item that keeps working when the internet does not.
Why you need it. Every plan eventually meets a problem you did not plan for. A single practical reference — first aid, repairs, food safety — is the item that keeps working when the internet does not.
What to look for. A printed first aid or general preparedness handbook, kept with the kit and read once while it is still a calm afternoon.
