Resources · Buying guide

Recommended kit: the few things worth buying, and what to look for

Most of the kit is water and tins from the supermarket. These are the dozen or so things that are worth buying properly, what makes a good one, and roughly what to pay. Plain, cheap and ordinary wins.

Updated 24 October 20264 min readIndependent, UK-specific guidance

A note on money: none of the links on this page earn us anything at the moment; they are plain links to the shops. If that changes, this note will say so, and it will never cost you more. Pick whichever shop you already use; the kit costs about the same at all of them. More on the about page.

Everything edible, plus water, wipes and batteries, is cheapest from the supermarket: see get it delivered for a copy-and-paste list. This page is the handful of things a supermarket will not have.

Light

LED torch, 100 to 300 lumens

£8 to £20

Takes standard AA or AAA batteries (not a sealed pack), wide beam, rubber grip. One per two people plus a spare. Avoid anything described as tactical.

Head torch

£10 to £20

Hands free for tin openers, toddlers and fuse boxes. A red-light mode is kind at 3 a.m. Again, standard batteries.

Battery LED lantern

£12 to £25

Lights a whole room for an evening. Collapsible ones pack flat. Check the runtime: 30 hours or more on one set of batteries is good.

Plug-in power cut night light

£8 to £15 for two

Sits in a socket, charges itself, comes on automatically when the power fails and lights the stairs. The single best upgrade for a family.

Lithium AA and AAA batteries

£8 to £15 a pack

Ten-year shelf life and they work in the cold. Buy one pack for the kit and leave it sealed. Alkalines are fine for everyday use.

Radio and power

Wind-up FM/DAB radio with solar and USB out

£20 to £40

The item the government specifically asks for. Hand crank plus a solar panel means it never runs flat; a USB output trickle-charges a phone; most include a torch. FM matters more than DAB.

Pocket FM radio

£8 to £15

For the grab bag. Runs for days on two AAs. Analogue tuning is fine; it still works when everything else does not.

Power bank, 10,000 to 20,000 mAh

£15 to £35

Two to five phone charges. Buy one that lives in the kit, not the one you use daily. Recharge it at each six-month check. Include a multi-cable.

Lithium jump starter (car kit)

£40 to £80

Starts a flat car battery without a second car and doubles as a large power bank. The one car kit item worth spending on.

Water

Bottled water

£1 to £2 per person

Supermarket own-brand still water, 9 litres per person. Not a click-through item: buy it with the weekly shop.

Water containers, 10 litres, with tap or lid

£8 to £15 each

Two per household for collecting from a water station or bowser, and for storing tap water before a warning. Collapsible ones pack flat; rigid ones are easier to pour.

Water purification tablets

£5 to £10

A small tub keeps for years and covers a boil notice during a power cut. Optional but cheap insurance.

Food and storage

Manual tin opener

£3 to £8

A second one that lives in the kit. The sturdy butterfly type, not a novelty.

Lidded storage box, 50 to 80 litres

£10 to £25

Everything in one place, sealed against damp and mice, dated on the lid. Clear plastic so you can see what is in it.

Fleece blankets

£4 to £10 each

One per person, in the box. Supermarkets and discount stores sell them; no need to click anything.

First aid

Home first aid kit in a case

£10 to £25

A pharmacy or St John Ambulance kit as the base. Then add painkillers, antihistamines and a thermometer, which most kits omit.

Digital thermometer

£8 to £25

Forehead or ear type for children. Spare battery in the kit.

Carbon monoxide alarm

£15 to £30

Essential if you have any gas or solid-fuel appliance, and the thing that makes a portable heater survivable. Look for a sealed ten-year battery.

Documents and cash

Fire-resistant document bag

£15 to £25

Passports, certificates, deeds and a cash envelope. Buys time in a fire; keep it somewhere you can grab it.

Waterproof A4 document wallet

£5 to £12

For the copies in the kit and grab bag. A zipped dry bag works too.

Grab bag

Rucksack, 25 to 35 litres

£15 to £40

Plain, comfortable, two shoulder straps. A school bag or an old daypack is perfect; charity shops are full of them.

Dry bags, assorted

£8 to £15 for a set

Keep clothes, documents and electronics dry inside the rucksack. Bin bags work in a pinch.

Babies and pets

Ready-to-feed formula cartons

Supermarket price

Sterile, no boiling needed. Your usual brand, from the usual shop, rotated with normal use. Not a click-through item.

Collapsible pet bowls and a spare lead

£5 to £12

For the grab bag. Plus the carrier you already own, kept where you can reach it.

Car

High-visibility vest

£3 to £8

One per seat, in the glovebox not the boot. Legally required in much of Europe.

Folding shovel

£10 to £20

For snow and for a bag of grit under a spinning wheel. Lives in the boot from October to April.

Foil blankets

£3 to £6 for a pack

One per seat. Weigh nothing, stop a cold night becoming dangerous.

Where else to look

Argos, Halfords, Decathlon, Go Outdoors, Boots, Screwfix, Toolstation, Robert Dyas and the big supermarkets stock all of the above at similar prices, and seasonal aisles in autumn are often cheapest for torches and radios. Nothing on this page needs to come from a specialist. If you already own a version of something, use it. The budget guide has the £20 version and the five-week plan.

999 immediate danger 105 power cut (GB) 111 NHS non-emergency 0345 988 1188 Floodline 03457 643 643 power cut (NI)