Tag: you’ll
I buy Gucci, Prada and Burberry clothes for Walmart prices – you’ll barely notice the small difference
THIS website sells designer brand clothing for a fraction of the cost and you’ll barely notice the small difference that makes them so affordable, according to a savings expert.
Mark from @financeunfolded on TikTok shared how he gets luxury clothing from brands like Gucci, Prada, and Burberry “for basically walmart prices.”
He uses the website Italic to find luxury clothes without the logos[/caption]
In the video, Mark explained how he uses the website Italic to buy clothes from these designer brands.
“I buy Burberry clothes but without the logo,” he said. “I just buy it from their same suppliers.”
Italic finds luxury clothing manufacturers that sell the same clothes without the designer logos for a much cheaper price.
Other manufacturers on the site include Cartier and Chanel.
You can get Chanel sunglasses for only $45 dollars or a Prada wallet for $36.
If you like Lululemon, but can’t afford the store prices, Italic has a seamless molded bralette for only $20.
You can even start looking for your fall wardrobe on this site, with a Burberry cashmere scarf for $75.
Consumer expert Tom Church, Co-Founder of money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk, shared his own money-saving tips when it comes to luxury clothing.
Most read in Fabulous
Search for sites like By Rotation that offers you the chance to rent designer clothes for a fraction of the price – ideal if you only need the item for one occasion but can’t see yourself wearing it regularly.
No matter what online retailer you choose, make sure you are using the search bar wisely.
For example, avoid using words like ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘the’, plus extra punctuation such as the hyphen in ’t-shirt’
Try making a small list of words with similar meanings – you never know what a seller will describe an item as.
For example, if you were searching for an Armani mini dress for a party, try searching for ‘Armani party gown’ as well.
Read More on The US Sun
Make sure to also take advantage of store loyalty programs that offer extra promotional savings.
For more shopping tips for designer clothing on a budget, The U.S. Sun has an extended list from this consumer expert.
The best home security systems (and the one company you’ll want to avoid)
When you get existential about it, much of our daily lives revolve around the notion of “protection.” When you slip a cardboard sleeve on a paper coffee cup filled with your half-caf vanilla oat milk latte, for instance, you’re protecting your hand from hot, sloshing liquid. When you slap a password on your computer’s log-in screen, you’re protecting your data from aspiring hackers. And when you mute words like “targaryen” and “#HOTD” on Twitter, you’re protecting yourself from reckless spoilers that ruin your House of the Dragon viewing experience. (Highly recommend!)
It’s sort of weird, then, that so few of us have equipped our very own houses with some sort of protection. According to the National Council for Home Safety and Security (NCHSS), an industry trade association, less than 17 percent of us have a home security system in place. What gives?
Maybe it’s because shopping for a home security system is kind of a nightmare. The market is crowded with dozens of competing companies and growing exponentially — keeping up with all of the rapidly evolving technologies is a feat in itself. And that’s on top of all of the complicated industry jargon and oft-ambiguous pricing, which is plenty enough to scare away the average homeowner with limited knowledge of the market.
Let’s fix that.
What is a home security system, exactly?
A home security system is a group of devices that all work together to protect your home, usually using a combination of visual surveillance, motion detection, audible alarms, and system alerts. The average home security system typically includes a camera or two, some motion sensors that can make out infrared energy, a handful of sirens (either built into the sensors and cameras or standalone devices), and a base hub syncing all of the hardware. You’ll control the latter manually or using a companion smartphone app.
From there, most home security companies will give you the option of fleshing out your system with à la carte accessories for further protection. Popular add-ons include:
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A glass break sensor that alerts the system when it detects the sound frequencies or vibrations of shattered glass.
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Environmental sensors that can detect water leaks, smoke, and carbon monoxide.
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A keypad or key fob you can use to manually arm and disarm the system, in case you don’t have your smartphone on hand.
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A panic button that quickly alerts law enforcement in emergency situations.
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Yard signs and stickers that serve as visual (and inexpensive) deterrents to wannabe intruders.
Most home security companies are also in the business of home automation these days, which means you’ll be able to control your setup using smart assistants and connect it to other devices like smart locks, lightbulbs, and thermostats. (Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant compatibility are pretty standard nowadays, while Apple HomeKit options are fewer and far between.) If you want to get really fancy, several brands also offer support for “If This Then That,” or IFTTT, a free web-based service that lets you connect and build commands for internet-enabled devices and apps.
Is it worth it to get a home security system?
It’s difficult to measure “could-have-beens,” so research is mixed on how well home security systems actually deter crime. One expert told The New York Times that he’s seen little evidence of risk mitigation with things like alarms and locks, while the NCHSS boldly claims that homes without any kind of protection are 300 percent more likely to be burglarized. (The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program defines burglary as “the unlawful entry of a structure to commit a felony or theft,” FYI.)
Even the culprits themselves are divided. Some convicted burglars surveyed by an Oregon news station in 2017 said they weren’t daunted by security system signs and alarms, which could be disabled or avoided, but most would steer clear of a home with a big, loud dog. Yet 60 percent of burglars surveyed for a frequently cited University of North Carolina survey several years prior would find a different target if they saw an alarm on-site.
These findings should also be considered alongside the fact that burglary rates have seen a sharp decline over the past decade; they only counted for about 16 percent of overall property crimes as of 2019. (That also includes motor vehicle theft and arson.)
The one thing everyone seems to agree on is that most break-ins occur when people aren’t home — and in that case, a home security system serving as your eyes and ears from afar can provide invaluable peace of mind.
As an aside, installing a home security system may also qualify you for a serious discount on your homeowner’s insurance, which certainly doesn’t hurt. Contact your insurance provider to learn more.
Can you install a home security system yourself?
You absolutely can. Most home security companies give their customers the option of free DIY installation, which is usually as simple as plugging in a device (or putting some batteries into it), hooking it up to your home’s WiFi system, and pairing it with its hub and/or your smartphone. SimpliSafe (our No. 1 pick) says that 97 percent of its customers go this route, if that tells you anything about the level of effort involved.
For more complicated setups (and those of us who aren’t especially tech-savvy), professional installation typically starts around $100.
Can you monitor a home security system yourself?
You absolutely can, but we’d rather leave this part to the professionals (despite the extra cost) simply because you can’t be on guard duty 24/7. Work happens, sleep happens, binge watching Succession happens, going to the dog park with your new puppy happens — it’s easy to miss an alert if you aren’t staring at your phone all day. It’s also on you to decide whether or not to contact law enforcement in case of an emergency if an expert isn’t doing it for you, which is a pretty big ask.
In most cases, you’ll also get more out of your system’s mobile app if you sign up for a monitoring plan. We’ll use SimpliSafe as an example again: Its service comes standard with a live video feed of your cameras, a system timeline, and the option to tweak some device settings from the app, but that’s it. Additional features like water leak alerts, dangerous temperature detection, and even push notifications are locked behind its monitoring plans, which start at $18 a month. (Most companies’ offerings sit somewhere in the $20 to $30 range, for what it’s worth.)
What’s the best home security system?
Below, you’ll find a rundown of six home security systems we recommend in 2022 based on customer and expert reviews — and one we strongly advise against installing based on some of our own reporting.
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19 Fall TV Shows You’ll Definitely Can’t Miss
The summer is winding down and fall is right around the corner. And that means there are plenty of new and returning shows hitting your TV in the upcoming months. However, we live in an age where there is too much good content, so what in the heck do you watch?
Luckily, that’s where we come in. We took a look at everything that’s been announced to be released in the upcoming fall season and found 19 upcoming shows to keep your eye on or add to your queue. From comedy to action to horror to anime, there’s something for everyone on this list, and plenty of different services to watch them on–there are also a few network and cable TV shows.
So starting with September, here are some fall TV shows you’ll want to watch. And for more on “what to watch” lists, check out fall movies to watch and comedy TV shows on HBO to watch.
101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time (Shudder)
September 7
Kicking off spooky season–which is all year long for the Shudder streaming service–is 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time. This eight-part series will break down some of the most terrifying moments in horror, much like the title suggests. Shudder has had hit after hit with the docuseries originals on the service, so this will be a must-watch for horror fans.
Check out the 101 Scariest Horror Movie Moments of All Time trailer.
Cobra Kai Season 5 (Netflix)
September 9
One of Netflix’s biggest series is returning for a fifth season this September. Cobra Kai is back and a lot has changed since the start of the series. Currently, the Cobra Kai dojo has taken over the valley; however, Terry Silver is now in charge and Kreese is out of the picture (and in jail). It’s up to Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen to stop Cobra Kai.
Check out the Season 5 Cobra Kai trailer.
Handmaid’s Tale Season 5 (Hulu)
September 14
Things are going to get a bit tougher for June in the latest season of the Hulu original series–as if they hadn’t been tough enough. After her part in killing Commander Waterford, June will have to face the consequences. And even though everyone is currently in Toronto, Gilead’s influence is making its way into Canada.
Check out the Season 5 Handmaid’s Tale teaser.
Atlanta Season 4 (FX)
September 15
Season 4 will wrap up the FX series in which Donald Glover is the star and showrunner. The series follows Earn (Glover) as he manages up-and-coming rapper “Paper Boi.” The show has some incredible stand-out episodes, including the “Teddy Perkins” one, which features a bizarre rich man trying to sell a piano.
Check out the Season 4 Atlanta trailer.
Abbott Elementary Season 2 (ABC)
September 21
The ABC series follows a group of passionate teachers at an underfunded elementary school in Philadelphia starring Quinta Brunson, who is also the writer, creator, and EP. She and the rest of the teachers are all under the leadership of a self-absorbed principal (Janelle James). It is one of the funniest network comedies on the air.
Check out the Season 2 Abbott Elementary teaser.
Andor (Disney+)
September 21
Spinning out of Rogue One, the Andor series will follow around the titular Rebel character, before he got into the Rebellion, as the Empire controls the galaxy. The first three episodes premiere on September 21.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners (Netflix)
September
Taking place in the world of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077, Edgerunners is a 10-episode animated series about a kid living on the streets surviving in Night City. Studio Trigger (Star Wars: Visions, Promare) will produce the anime alongside CD Projekt Red.
Check out the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners trailer.
Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
October 2
Anne Rice’s novel is becoming a series on AMC. No, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, and Antonio Banderas are not in it. Sam Reid will play Lestat, Jacob Anderson will play Luis, and Eric Bogosian will play Daniel in the new series. It takes place in the 1910s in New Orleans, and it’s about a man who gets turned into a vampire.
Check out the Interview with a Vampire trailer.
Mob Psycho 100 III (Crunchyroll)
October 5
If you’ve never watched Mob Psycho 100, then the trailer below is going to be very confusing. The gist of the series is that a boy nicknamed Mob has ESP, and when his emotions surge, things get a bit wild. This takes place in a world where psychics fight the supernatural–and there’s plenty of fake psychics as well. The anime is based on a story by One, the creator of One-Punch Man.
Check out the Season 3 trailer for Mob Psycho 100.
Chucky Season 2 (Syfy & USA)
October 5
The horror/comedy series is back, starring Brad Dourif as the voice of Chucky once more. He’s a serial killer trapped in a toy doll’s body, and of course, he’s going to kill everyone that gets in his way–unless they die of a heart attack first.
Check out the Season 2 trailer for Chucky.
The Midnight Club (Netflix)
October 7
Mike Flanagan’s next series is The Midnight Club. Working again with Leah Fong, the new series is based on a novel from 1994 by Christopher Pike which takes place in a hospice for terminally ill young adults. Every night at midnight, eight of them come together to tell stories, and they have a pact that when one of them dies, they have to send a message from the great beyond. Considering Flanagan’s track record at Netflix, this will be a must watch.
Check out the Midnight Club teaser.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (Netflix)
October 25
In this horror anthology series, director Guillermo del Toro curates a collection of stories from horror filmmakers like Vincenzo Natali (Cube), Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen), Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), and more.
Check out the Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities teaser here.
My Hero Academia Season 6 (Crunchyroll)
October
Originally, My Hero Academia followed students in a high school for superheroes and one boy who didn’t have a quirk (superpower). Since then, it’s taken off and even had a couple of movies. Now in Season 6, things are getting exceptionally intense, as there will be an all-out war against the villains.
Check out the My Hero Academia Season 6 trailer.
Chainsaw Man (Crunchyroll)
October
The highly-anticipated wait for the next Crunchyroll anime is almost here. Based on the manga series of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the book follows Denji, a human who hunts devils–who have human fears. Denji is joined by his companion, a Chainsaw Devil named Pochita. The duo merge with each other after Denji is betrayed and become a chainsaw/human hybrid.
Check out the Chainsaw Man trailer.
Spy X Family Cour 2 (Crunchyroll)
October
The first half of the Crunchyroll anime debuted back in April–in which we gave the first episode a 9. Spy X Family follows a spy whose latest task needs him to pretend to be a family man, so he adopts a child, who we later find out is telepathic. He also hires an assassin to be his wife.
Check out the trailer for part two of Spy X Family.
American Horror Story Season 11 (FX)
Fall
The anthology series American Horror Stories is wrapping up on Hulu, and after that airs, we’ll be getting a new season of American Horror Story. Little is known about the new season. Sarah Paulson won’t be on it. That’s the extent of what we know. Typically, AHS’s Instagram is posting clues about the new season; however, right not, it’s promoting the anthology series, so we’re not getting any new info about Season 11. It should, however, arrive this fall.
Wednesday (Netflix)
Fall
Following Wednesday Addams, the eldest daughter in the Addams Family, the Netflix show follows the titular character as she attends Nevermore Academy. There, she tries to take control of her psychic abilities in order to stop a killing spree in a local town.
Check out the Wednesday trailer.
Doom Patrol Season 4 (HBO Max)
Fall
While no release date has been announced yet, filming for Season 4 of Doom Patrol wrapped back in August, according to Joivan Wade, who plays Cyborg on the show. The very bizarre DC series may hit HBO Max before the end of the year. Doom Patrol follows a group of superpowered beings all brought together by tragedy, and it’s hard to state how weird the show is–in the best way possible.
Mythic Quest Season 3 (Apple TV+)
Fall
The series follows a fictional video game studio that publishes a very popular MMORPG. Season 2 of the Apple TV+ comedy left things in a precarious situation with Ian (Rob McElhenney) and Poppy (Charlotte Nicadao) leaving Mythic Quest to start a new company. However, Mythic Quest still pushes forward, and according to the trailer, there’s lots the new season will be covering, including the currently popular idea of the Metaverse.
Jason Lee Calls #Barbz “Terrorists” & SLAMS Nicki Minaj As an “Old Has-Been”: “You’ll Never See Another #1 Again”
Nicki Minaj fans, affectionately called #Barbz, may still be celebrating the arrival of her historic Hot 100 #1 hit ‘Super Freaky Girl’ this week (as we reported here), but there’s one who they shouldn’t expect to join the chorus: media mogul Jason Lee.
Having made no secret of his disdain for the GRAMMY nominee over the years,
The post Jason Lee Calls #Barbz “Terrorists” & SLAMS Nicki Minaj As an “Old Has-Been”: “You’ll Never See Another #1 Again” appeared first on ..::That Grape Juice.net::.. – Thirsty?.
You’ll never be as happy as this adorable wiggly-armed robot
What you’ll need to survive the California wildfires this summer
Climate change has transformed the American West into a tinderbox. Temperatures since the start of the century have averaged 2 degrees Fahrenheit higher than any other point in the historical record since 1895. Unprecedented drought conditions and decades of ineffective public land management practices have led to massive blazes.
The same can be said for Pacific Gas and Electric, Northern California’s local power monopoly/serial arsonist. The company has faced multiple civil and criminal charges in recent years after causing some of the largest and most damaging wildfires in California history — like 2018’s Camp Fire, which killed 68 people, or 2021’s Dixie Fire which caused $1.5 billion in property damage. In fact, an investigation by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection found that the company’s equipment started at least 17 of the state’s 21 fires in 2017, MSNBC reports.
A significant portion of the state is probably going to be alight for the next few months. Regardless of whether you live in a coastal city, on the urban-wildland interface or out in the middle of rural anywhere, those fires are going to have an immediate impact on your life. It could be the enduring hassle of weeks-long rolling power outages, it could be the health consequences from air pollution, it could be slaloming through walls of flame in a desperate bid to escape an engulfing firestorm — either way, you’re probably going to have a bad time. So here’s some gear and techniques to help with this summer’s fire season. Good luck.
It’s just like camping, but involuntary!
Your individual needs will depend on the emergency, your location and your access to resources. What you’ll need to successfully ride out an extended power outage in the comfort of your own home will be different than if you have to fit your life into an automobile trunk or hiking backpack. Below, we’ll discuss five categories of products that no go-bag should be without.
Packing and preparation can seem daunting and overwhelming but resources are available from the federal government to help. FEMA’s Ready.gov website offers information and advice in 11 languages for any number of emergency situations both in digital and physical formats. The FEMA app for Android and iOS offers the same information directly from your mobile device, as well as real-time emergency broadcasts and directions to nearby Disaster Recovery Centers. In the sections below, we’ll talk about the gear you’ll need to ride out the emergency until you can get to one of those centers, set out across seven broad categories.
Lighting
In wilderness survival situations, there’s an order of importance in doing things: find shelter, then water, start a fire and finally procure food. This is very good advice that could save your life, but when the emergency alert system goes off at night and you stumble out of bed to find that the power’s already out, you aren’t going to be thinking about water bottles, you’re going to want a flashlight, so let’s start there.
When my family was camping out in the driveway for a week after the Big One in ‘89, we were stuck with old-school Mag-Lites — incandescent bulbs, ran on six D-batteries, heavy enough you could beat a rhinoceros to death with it — you know the ones. Thankfully, technology has advanced in the convening years and today’s LED and Li-ion driven torches are much more luminous and lightweight.
You have a choice between flashlights and headlamps. Headlamps are great if you need your hands free and want light wherever you’re looking, hand torches offer more flexibility in their use and won’t blind whoever you’re looking at.
Fenix, Biolite, Petzl, Thrunite, and Black Diamond all make solid flashlights and headlamps. The $70 Petzl Actik Core headlamp, for example, will run on either AAA or Li-ion batteries, weighs less than 3 ounces and outputs 450 lumens. The $20 Black Diamond Astro 300 Headlamp, on the other hand, outputs 300 lumens but you’ll have to purchase the rechargeable battery separately. Just don’t go overboard with the lumen rating, 500 lumens is bright enough to see nearly 100 feet in complete darkness — you’re trying to illuminate what’s in front of you, not blind aircraft pilots.
Personally, I prefer to not strap LEDs to my face (nothing against headlamps but if I’m going to die in a natural disaster I’m not going do it looking like a huge dork), so I keep Thrunite’s TC15 V2 and Archer 2A V3 in my go-bag. The Archer runs on a pair of AAs while the TC15 is rechargable, giving me the redundancy my survivalist paranoia craves. They’re both waterproof, shock and drop resistant, and way easier to fit in a pocket than a Mag-Lite. You might also check out the waterproof, $66 Coast Polysteel 600R, which outputs 530 lumens, runs a claimed 35 hours on either a Li-ion pack or 4 AAs, and even includes a USB port for charging other electronics.
If you’re at risk of long-term displacement, you’ll want to invest in a lantern. Black Diamond makes a slick LED lantern, the $25, 200-lumen Moji, that’s bright enough to illuminate a tabletop, tent or car interior. The $70 Moji Charging Station Lantern combines a 250-lumen LED lantern with a portable power block. It can run on AC (with an optional adapter), a rechargeable lithium ion battery or standard AAs while charging your other devices. The Goal Zero Lighthouse 600 is another good choice, offering 600 lumens of illumination and up to 180 hours of runtime. It can be recharged via USB, hand crank or an optional solar array. And if you would prefer something a bit more analog, it’s never a bad call to have a stash of long-burning emergency candles tucked away somewhere.
Also check out the Coleman Recharge 800. It outputs up to 800 lumens for as long as 45 hours straight thanks to a 4800 mAh lithium battery. I like it because it’s shaped like the old propane Coleman lanterns we used on family camping trips and that I still keep on hand for when the grid goes down for good. It’s half the price as the more modern design, propane is still easy to score and, again, redundancy is your friend. For an even more inexpensive option, take a look at the Texsport Single Mantle, currently $27 on Amazon. Or if you have access to a bulk propane tank (like what’s connected to your grill), Texport’s propane tree can fuel three gas-powered devices simultaneously — think lantern light, camp stove and tent heater — all from one supply, without having to swap connectors between them.
Shelter
If your domicile is still standing and you’ve just lost power for an indeterminate amount of time, congrats! That is what we call “an inconvenience” — keep living your life, enjoy drinking from your operational indoor plumbing and skip on down to the sections about energy storage and cooking because you’re good here.
Now, just because it’s California in the summertime doesn’t mean there won’t be a chill in the air by the time FEMA comes around. Keep a stock of warm and water resistant clothing in your go-bag, as well as a blanket or poncho that can work as both an insulation layer and ground cover. If you don’t mind the crinkle factor, SOL makes a variety of mylar emergency blankets for either personal or group use. Wool blankets (which don’t lose their insulation capacity when wet like cotton does) are another option. You can find them cheap on Amazon or at your local army surplus shop.
If you do find yourself displaced and in need of short-term accommodation, then it’s time to pitch yourself a little tent. The Litefighter 1X is an excellent three-season personal shelter that works as both a standalone tent with 18.2 sq ft of floor space, or as bug netting when affixed to a cot. It’s plenty spacious for a solo hiker plus their pack, and has lots of room for wet outer gear under the rain fly. An optional windbreaker attachment can provide enough added insulation to use the 1X during cold winter months as well. The Mountainsmith Morrison EVO is a cozy 17.25 square feet and $199 on Amazon, and LiteFighter also makes a larger 2-person tent with 34.5 square feet of floor space. At $400 and $450 respectively, the 1- and 2-person 1X series tents are a bit pricier than average. You can just as easily pick up a REI Co-op Half Dome SL 2+ with 33.75 square feet for $329 or for the same price as the solo-occupancy 1X, you can get a 4-person REI Wonderland.
You can also incorporate your vehicle into this temporary housing solution. Use it to securely store your gear while you sleep outside or as a mounting point for a rooftop tent like the $3,695 Roofnest Condor XL, the $1,750 Thule Tepui Low-Pro 2 or the $1,800 CVT Pioneer Bachelor (it’s small enough to fit atop a Mini Cooper!). If spending four figures to sleep on top of your car seems too risky a proposition, the $185 North East Harbor Universal SUV Camping Tent holds up to eight people and glomps onto the tailgate area.
EV owners whose vehicles have V2L capabilities — that’s “vehicle-to-load” and it’s offered in the Ford F-150 Lightning, Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 — may not even immediately notice an outage thanks to their cars’ ability to power their households for up to a few days at a time. Who needs a rooftop tent when your car is a rolling backup generator?
Water
Your next priority will be securing a supply of potable water for drinking, cooking and hygiene. The CDC recommends “one gallon of water per person per day for drinking and sanitation” and maintaining at least a 2-week supply. Bottled water is “the safest and most reliable” source in an emergency, per the agency, but that can become a pricey and space-consuming option if an outage drags on for an extended period.
You can store tap water in FDA-approved food-grade storage containers — after it’s been treated and sanitized with a mild bleach solution, of course — or you can fill your bathtub ahead of time and store around 100 gallons of water there using a plastic cover liner. Rainwater collection barrels can capture large amounts of water (or at least be used as pre-filled receptacles like a bathtub) but you will need to filter the water before consuming it. Gravity-fed cisterns like the Alexapure Pro Stainless Steel Water Filtration System, and the nearly identical Big Berkey, can hold up to 8.5 liters of fluid while filtering out a wide range of potential contaminants and supplying potable water to as many as 16 people. Regardless of how well these devices claim to clean the water, it’s always a good call to keep a small supply of iodine tablets on hand as backup.
If you’ve got access to a water source with a steady supply of unfiltered but otherwise clean water, take a look at the Portawell, a high-capacity water pump/filtration system that can produce up to 60 gallons of water every hour, using just 35 watts of power. Its 2-stage filtering process removes “100 percent of cysts including giardia, cryptosporidium, and 99.99 percent of pathogenic bacteria (including cholera, typhoid, coliform, chlorine, metals, and volatile organic chemicals),” down to half a micron in size, according to the product’s page. The optional 50W 12V solar panel comes bundled with a charge controller for an extra $170, a 12V battery to put that energy can be either lead-acid (car) battery or a Li-Ion brick and can be purchased at a local automotive or electronics store. All together, you’ll have a high-throughput water distribution device that can hydrate myself and a significant portion of your neighborhood indefinitely — or at least until the filters fail — and do so up to two and a half times faster than hand-pumped filters like the Katadyn Vario, the gravity-fed Platypus GravityWorks, the squeezable Katadyn BeFree or TIME’s “2005 Invention of the Year” winner, the LifeStraw Personal Water Filter can.
Fire, heating and cooking
The stress of displacement is going to take both a mental and physical toll, but you’ve already got light, a place to lay your head and a slake for your thirst. Next you’re going to want to square away your three squares a day.
If just your power is out, keep using your fridge as normal, assuming you have a generator (which we’ll get to below). Otherwise, standard power outage rules apply here: eat in order of perishability — refrigerator, then freezer, then canned — opening the doors as little as possible.
Having a smaller secondary cooler on hand for often-used items like milk, condiments and produce can help preserve the fridge’s contents for longer by reducing the number of door openings. Hydroflask’s $129 20L Day Escape pack cooler is easily portable and can keep items cold for up to 36 hours, while the $76 Coleman Xtreme Portable Cooler can keep ice in form for up to 5 days. If you need something more substantial, the $275 RCIT 65 QT hard cooler is a Wirecutter award winner and the $375 YETI Tundra 65 is sturdy enough to accommodate dry ice, which can keep food cold for up to three times longer.
For important items that will immediately spoil above a specific temperature, like insulin, consider investing in a powered refrigerator like the Dometic CFX3 35 or the 65W Whynter FM-45G. They’re nearly as expensive as regular kitchen fridges and you’ll need to have a beefier generator/solar array to accommodate their additional draw but they do offer added peace of mind knowing that your life saving medication will be viable when you need it.
Eating cold beans out of a can loses its whimsey after the third or fourth spoonful and unless you plan on eating takeaway for the duration, you’re going to need something to cook with — whether that’s with your existing grill, over an open fire, a propane cooktop or electric hotplate. The RoadPro Portable Stove, for example, can heat food up to 300 degrees (like a Bizzaro-world CFX3) and runs through a vehicle’s 12V outlet. The Cuisinart CB-30P1 hot plate is equally at home in dorm rooms, RVs, and campsites but with a 1300-watt draw, you’ll need to use it sparingly.
The Solo Stove Ranger outdoor fire pit, conversely, will run for as long as you have fuel to feed it. The double-walled design maximizes combustion while minimizing smoke production, and can be converted into a woodfire grill with an optional cast iron griddle. At 16 pounds and 16 inches in diameter, it’s easily portable. It’s also $250, which seems expensive for what can be replicated with bare ground and a ring of stones. The INNO STAGE 15-inch portable fire pit is more affordable at $80 and can also run on wood pellets in addition to logs. Or if you want something more streamlined and durable, the Wolf and Grizzly Campfire Trio offers 120 square inches of cookspace and can hold up to 30 pounds — ideal for cast iron skillets and dutch ovens.
The Biolite line of firepits and camp stoves are unique in that they can convert thermal energy into electrical charge thanks to their incorporated heat converters. The Campstove 2 generates 3W of power which is stored in a 2600 mAh while still being able to boil a liter of water in under four and a half minutes. The larger FirePit+ offers a 12,800 mAh battery and can burn both logs and charcoal. If you want to stick with propane as your primary fuel source, check out the 7,000 BTU Coleman Gas Camping Stove which pulls double duty as both a wok and a grill. Of course, having a cook station is no good if you don’t know how to use it. Download a recipe app like BBC Good Food (iOS, Android), Epicurious (iOS, Android) or SideChef Recipes (iOS).
Whether the smoke is coming from your cooking fire or the wildfire, you’re going to want to keep a supply of filtration masks at the ready for when the air quality dips into dangerous particulate levels. Standard Covid rules apply: cloth works in a pinch but n-95 is the superior choice if you can get your hands on them.
First aid and hygiene
Roughing it means just that. With many of the conveniences of modern life inaccessible as long as the lights are out, you’re going to be doing a lot more manual labor which means a litany of bumps, bruises, aches and pains along the way. And while you likely won’t have to concern yourself with performing surgery in the field — the power’s out, you aren’t marooned on a desert isle, just drive to the damn ER — a well-stocked first aid kit is essential to any bug out bag.
In the case of the My Medic 20L Survival Kit, the first aid kit is the bug out bag. This all-in-one healthcare suite offers more than 110 products spread across the National Park Service 10 essential first aid categories, but is both bulky and expensive. If you’ve already got your hands full, maybe consider a less wide-ranging kit. Something like the AMK Mountain Series Hiker Medical Kit, which can accomodate the normal injuries a pair of hikers might see over two days, or the Red Cross’ Family First Aid kit that contains more than 115 items. And if you have pets, you can bet there’s a Medpack for them too. You might consider keeping duplicates of important medical documents — immunization records, allergy information and such — tucked into the kit with the originals locked safely away somewhere secure.
In the event that you do need to be admitted to the hospital, or are interacting with FEMA or other government agencies, you’ll need to have your ID and other critical documents close by — and very preferably not on fire. The Thomas & Bond fireproof safe protects up to two pounds of documents from both fire and water damage thanks to its silicone-coated fiberglass construction. Maintaining a safe deposit box in the next town over is another, more extreme option.
Much like cold beans from a can, the musky scent of an unwashed human — especially mixed with sweat, wood smoke and despair — can get real old, real quick. But when the power goes out, your water heater might stop working as well, which means you could be in for a whole bunch of cold showers. Solar camping showers like those from Advanced Elements or Coghlan’s can help bridge the gap.
Assuming you live somewhere that gets bright sunlight throughout the day (ie, not San Francisco), these devices can heat up to 5 gallons of water to a yelp-inducing 110 degrees F in about 3 hours. They’re less great at retaining that heat so you’re going to need to (ahem) “get ‘em while they’re hot.” Nothing says that just because they’re heated outdoors they have to be used there as well — simply hang the heated bundle from your shower curtain. Be careful though, as 5 gallons of water is quite heavy, weighing 41.6 pounds. It could snap the curtain rod and leave you recreating that Flashdance scene with a bag of scalding hot water — and again, you’re probably going to have a bad time.
But hey, maybe showering outdoors turns out to be your jam. First off, good on you finding that bright side in the midst of a climate emergency. Second off, it just so happens that Amazon sells a 5.5-gallon heated outdoor shower system that runs off a solar panel and a garden hose, not for nothing.
Your body isn’t the only thing that’s going to get soiled and stinky while roughing it. If you don’t have access to a laundry or coin-op, the Wonder Wash can at least keep your socks, undies and other small items fresh — and up to bath towel-sized items, if you do them one at a time. Tie off a length of braided cotton rope between two uprights and you’ve got yourself a functional clothesline.
To reiterate, this is a power outage, not The Revenant. You are not a bear, so please do not dump in the woods without at least bringing a trowel — maybe a pop-up poop tent and travel bidet for good measure.
Electronics
With the power out and no word from PG&E on when it might be coming back on, you’ll simply have to make some of your own. But before you go jury rigging your Peloton to a daisy-chain of lead-acid batteries and trying to stationary ride your way to electrical self-sufficiency, step outside. The sun in your eyes and wind in your face can just as easily be harnessed to put electrons in a battery pack.
Thanks to steady advancements in materials and engineering technologies today’s solar panels and home wind turbines are smaller, more efficient, and more affordable than ever — as are the battery systems that hold the excess charge for use when the sun isn’t shining and wind isn’t blowing. The 15W, 12V Survival Wind Turbine Generator from Pacific Sky Power is fully portable and only weighs 3 pounds. Larger turbines like the 400W Primus Air 40 and Pikasola wind turbines will produce more power but at the cost of mobility — they’ll need to be statically installed somewhere windy to be most effective and then wired into the property’s grid.
The same holds true for renewable solar. But unless you need to keep your crypto mining operation running nonstop through the outage, plenty of battery backup systems can provide the power your family needs without having to affix permanent panels in your yard or on your roof. The $3,600 Jackery Solar Generator 2000 Pro, is essentially a ruggedized 2.1kWh power cell with six, 200W solar panels feeding it electricity.
“I feel like I could keep my refrigerator running in an emergency for quite a while,” Engadget Managing Editor Terrence O’Brien, who was sent a review unit for a separate post, said of the model. “I laid out four panels in my yard and charged it to 100 percent in a few hours and it’s been going for two months without a recharge.”
“It’s basically a giant battery,” he continued. “It’s quiet, so it’s not like running a regular generator.” The 2000 Pro is the biggest and baddest that Jackery makes and, “probably overkill for most people who aren’t using it for emergency purposes,” O’Brien noted.
Similarly, Geneverse and Bluetti Power both make solar generators parallel to Jackery’s offerings, and at roughly the same price point. But if you’re looking for something even more robust than that, Goal Zero offers a range of solar backup systems that can keep your house running up to 3 days without interruption. But be warned, anything beyond the starter kit is going to need installation by a professional electrician.
On the other hand if you’re under evacuation, a 23-pound power brick might not be the best traveling companion. In that case, scavenge the power you need off of nearby outlets using a USB adapter like the 20W Anker Nano, the 40W Anker PowerPort 4, or the RavPower Pioneer offering both USB-A and -C ports. And to save some of that power for later, the INIU Portable Charger holds 10,000 mAh for just over $20, as does the Anker Portable Charger. Be sure to keep a small pouch of common adapter types in your pack as well, just in case you need to share your supply.
Phone charges shouldn’t be the only thing you’re sharing during the event — accurate information will be a vital resource as well. At the very least, you’ll want a solar or hand-crank emergency radio like the Midland ER310 — it’s got a rechargeable 2600 mAh battery, solar panel, integrated flashlight, and an ultrasonic dog whistle for search and rescue canines. DaringSnail’s 4000 mAh emergency radio doesn’t have nearly as many bells and whistles, but it also costs half as much as the 310. The Eton FRX3+ can be powered through a variety of means — USB, Li-Ion battery, solar, and hand crank — and will automatically broadcast NOAA weather alerts for your area.