by Gary Kaye

The almost unbelievable disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy delivered a very unwelcome wakeup call to many of us. While some of us had generators at t

he ready, lots of batteries, and backup chargers, many of us did not, or were unprepared for the magnitude of the disruption. But there are some products that will help you get ready in case there is a next time. In each case there are multiple products on the market, but we’ve singled out some that we’ve tried can comfortably recommend.

Headlamps – Surefire Minimus Headlamp –Of course, you need to have one or more really good flashlights for any emergency. But the problem with a flashlight is that you need to hold it with one hand. Headlamps offer a hands free advantage, and chances are that during an emergency you’ll need every hand you can muster. Surefire is probably the best known maker of reliable flashlights for law enforcement and emergency responders and their headlamps are seen everywhere. All their products are reliable and built to last. For years, I’ve been carrying one of their pocket flashlights everywhere I go. The Minimus delivers up to 100 lumens with a 123A battery. We’ve seen it priced between $97 and 147

Small solar panel charger – Goal Zero Guide 10 Plus Adventure Kit – This is a combination of a solar panel and a recharging station. It’s lightweight, portable, and even in an apartment you can put it on the windowsill to charge. It will charge your USB devices like a cell phone while also juicing four rechargeable AA batteries. We’ve seen it priced anywhere from $100 to $130.

Backup Generators – Generac IX 1600 – There are lots of small generators on the market. The Generac IX 1600 provides USB output, 12V output, and AC output sufficient to power your refrigerator, some lights, and many of your electronic gadgets including smartphones and laptops. It will run for about 4-5 hours on a tank of gas. One way we got ready for Sandy was to fill all our cars with gas, knowing that if the power went out there might not be working gas stations. We also keep a siphon to get at the gas. We’ve seen the Generac IX 1600 priced at anywhere from $479 to $585.

Battery powered Cell phone chargers Verbatim AA Power Pack – There are lots of rechargeable backup battery systems out there. But if you’re out of power for several days you may not have access to juice to recharge your rechargeables. In that case having a pile of old fashioned AA batteries can really come in handy. There are a ton of similar products to this one on the market. They are simple to use and can give you an extra 10 hours of talk time or a day of standby time. We picked the Verbatim as one good example. Pricing ranges from $12 to $19.

Emergency Cell phone –Spare One What happens if you cannot recharge your cell phone, or its lost or damaged? The Spare One is a reasonably priced backup. It comes in waterproof packaging and you can leave it tucked in your car or a drawer until you need it, with battery shelf life of fifteen years. You can use it for emergency calls, or with a GSM SIM card for carriers like AT&T, you can simply insert your card and use it like your own phone. Pricing ranges from $59 to $69.

Large Solar Panel and Battery System – Brunton Solaris 62 and Brunton Impel2. If you think you may need reliable power and your next outage may be a long one, we found the combination of a big foldable solar panel mated with a good rechargeable battery was able to get us through the day, and the night and keep most of our gadgets, including laptops running. Brunton’s Solar 62 foldable solar panel will generate 62 watts of 12 volt power. You can use that to charge up Brunton’s Impel2 battery which has USB, 12 volt, 16 volt, and 19 volt outputs to juice many of your electronic devices, including laptops (with the right adapter tip). This is not an inexpensive system. The Solaris 62 solar panel costs from $990 – $1150. Pricing for the Impel2 battery ranges from $268 to $431.

DC to AC inverter – Magellan’s Smart AC 150 inverter – While Brunton mentioned above doesn’t recommend using a cigarette lighter style DC to AC inverter, we’ve found they can be a lifesaver for powering relatively low wattage electronics such as laptops. You’ll find dozens in the market; this one costs about $35.

Water filtration – SteriPen Sidewinder and SteriPen Emergency Water Purifier – Many water systems were broken by Sandy. Using a water filtration device is one of the simplest yet most effective ways of making sure that what you drink won’t hurt you. We like the systems that rely on ultraviolet light instead of mechanical systems because they have been proven more effective at killing the smallest pathogens. The Sidewinder is a hand cranked system that you can use without batteries. We’ve seen it priced from $90 to $168.00. The SteriPen Emergency Water Purifier is powered by two AA lithium batteries. Pricing runs $43 to $60.