Best Home Emergency Kit for Families

A 20,000mAh bank with a USB-C cable built into the body, so there is one less loose lead to lose in a grab bag. The capacity is enough for several phone recharges, and the higher-wattage output will also top up a tablet or small laptop. A practical middle-ground bank for a power cut or a weekend off-grid.

• Roughly four to five phone charges from a single fill
• Built-in USB-C cable means one less lead to misplace
• Fast enough output to charge tablets and small laptops

A rechargeable LED lantern that throws a wide, even light rather than the narrow beam of a torch, which makes it the better tool for lighting a room or a tent during a power cut. It runs off its own built-in battery and recharges over USB, with brightness and runtime settings so you can trade light output for a longer burn. A sensible backup to keep charged on a shelf alongside your torches.

• Wide 360-degree light for rooms and tents, not just a spot beam
• USB-rechargeable so there are no batteries to buy
• Adjustable brightness to stretch runtime when it matters

A wind-up AM/FM emergency radio that also charges from solar, USB or its 2000mAh internal battery, so you can keep hearing local broadcasts during a prolonged power cut. It doubles as a small torch and a top-up charger for a phone in a pinch. Crank output is modest, so treat the hand-crank as a backup to the built-in battery rather than the main power source.

• Four ways to power it: hand crank, solar, USB charge and internal battery
• AM/FM reception for local emergency and weather bulletins
• Built-in LED torch and USB output for an emergency phone top-up

A workplace-standard HSE first-aid kit in a wall-mountable box, sensible as the anchor kit for a home, office or workshop. It covers the everyday cuts, grazes and dressings you actually reach for, rather than trauma-only contents. Buy it as your base kit and add bleed-control items separately if you need them.

• Meets HSE workplace first-aid guidance
• Wall-mountable box keeps contents organised
• Covers common cuts, grazes and dressings

A pair of 10-litre rigid jerry cans for putting by a household drinking-water reserve ahead of a burst main, supply fault or planned outage. Stackable and fitted with a spout, they hold a sensible reserve without relying on flimsy bottles — roughly a fortnight of drinking water for one person across the two. Keep them dedicated to water only (never mix with the fuel these cans are also sold for), and refresh a few times a year.

• 20 litres total — a meaningful household reserve for outages
• Rigid, stackable cans store more tidily than loose bottles
• Spout makes dispensing water easy without spills

Fifty compact tablets that make questionable water safe to drink when you can't boil or filter it. Each treats around a litre, so a single pack covers weeks of emergency use and weighs almost nothing in a grab bag. A cheap, long-life backup to keep alongside a proper filter, not instead of one.

• 50 tablets, roughly one litre treated per tablet
• Tiny and light for a grab bag or glovebox
• Long shelf life for a set-and-forget backup

A single-burner butane stove that runs on Campingaz CP250 cartridges, giving you a stable 2,200W ring for boiling water or cooking a hot meal when the power is off. It sits flat on a sturdy outdoor surface and packs into its own carry case, which makes it a practical backup for camping and longer winter outages.

• 2,200W burner boils water quickly for meals or hot drinks
• Wide, stable base suits a firm outdoor cooking surface
• Piezo ignition means no matches or lighter needed to start

Air-activated single-use warmers that put out roughly 10 hours of gentle heat once you open the packet. A bulk box like this is the sort of thing you want stashed in a coat pocket, glovebox and grab bag before winter, especially if you're stuck at a cold bus stop, a match or a breakdown. They're disposable rather than reusable, so treat them as a backup rather than your only plan for staying warm.

• Around 10 hours of heat per pair, no charging or fuel needed
• 40 pairs means you can spread them across bag, car and coat
• Air-activated — just open and shake, works straight from storage