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Works in its favor

• Inverter output is the right kind of power for phones, routers, and medical devices
• Quiet and fuel-efficient compared with an open-frame generator of the same watts
• Light enough for one person to move, which matters when you are staging it 20 feet from the house

Know this first

• It will not run central air or a large well pump
• It still produces carbon monoxide. Never run it in a garage, carport, or under a window
• Honda inverter pricing sits well above no-name units

Works in its favor

• Receives NOAA Weather Radio alerts without a phone or Wi-Fi
• Crank, battery, and USB charging so one dead source is not the end of the radio
• Small enough to live in the go-bag, not the garage

Know this first

• A compact radio is not a whole-house alert system. You have to be near it
• Cranking is a backup, not a way to run the radio all night
• Specific-area message encoding only helps if you program your county

Works in its favor

• Food-grade HDPE, with a spigot, beats a row of milk jugs
• Seven gallons is a meaningful share of a household's drinking water
• Stacks and stores in a closet when the season is quiet

Know this first

• Full, it weighs about 58 pounds. Five-gallon jugs are easier to carry
• You still have to refill and date it. Water stored in your own container should be replaced every six months
• One jug is not a seven-day supply for a family

Works in its favor

• Safe to use inside. No exhaust
• Enough energy for communications and a low-watt medical device, which is the failure that actually strands people
• Pairs well with a short daily generator run that recharges it

Know this first

• 292 Wh will not hold a refrigerator overnight. A fridge is roughly 1 to 1.5 kWh a day
• Solar charging is a separate purchase
• Heavier and more expensive than a phone power bank