The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 through the end of November, so you can’t quote James Franco in Pineapple Express and say, “I thought hurricane season was over.”Not yet at least. And with the climate becoming increasingly unpredictable and volatile, it’s good to have a stash of great gear in your hurricane preparedness kit to help weather any storms. Hurricanes can leave people without power for weeks, cause tremendous flooding, create wind and tree damage to houses, and worse.
To protect you and your family from too much discomfort and disruption from your daily routine after a hurricane strikes, it’s good to have a hurricane preparedness kit. Items like generators and chainsaws are some of the most common post-storm essentials, but gas can be hard to come by, which is why the newest crop of solar-powered generators and electric chainsaws can be key when fuel lines are long but the sunshine is plentiful, especially after a storm passes. Other important items includes first aid kits, flashlights, non-perishable food, water purifiers, and radios, all of which are covered in this comprehensive guide.
All the Gear You Need in Your Hurricane Preparedness Kit
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1. Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Pro
You can finally ditch those smelly, noisy gas generators by switching to Jackery’s new Explorer 2000 Pro solar generator and SolarSaga 200 watt portable solar panels. Previously, gas generators reigned supreme because rechargeable battery tech didn’t usually offer enough juice to keep power tools or major appliances like refrigerators or microwaves running when the electricity conked out.
But this burly new generator boasts 2.160-watt capacity with 2,200 watts of AC power (like your house outlets) and 4,400 watts of peak power, which is plenty to run almost any home essential that relies on electricity. And, with new compact 200-watt solar panels (they fold up to the size of most 100-watt panels), you can quickly recharge the Explorer in just 2.5 hours with six panels. It also tops off after two hours plugged into a home outlet, and can be charged via your car’s 12-volt socket.
Other sweet features on the Explorer include two electronic chips and four temperature sensors to better manage lithium battery protection and charging; a clear and concise LCD panel for monitoring usage and status; pass-through charging (can charge and recharge at the same time); and a sound output of only 53 decibels, which is less than a fridge or fan’s noise. Most modern gas generators can generate up to 90 decibels (comparable to the sound level of a leaf blower).
The solar panels are rated at a 24.3 percent conversion rate (sun’s energy to electrical energy), which is industry leading for portable panels, and have three kickstands for getting the proper angle to the sun, plus are waterproof and made from a durable laminate. Both the panels and the generator are backed by a five-year warranty when ordered from the brand’s website.