We unpacked each grab bag and evaluated its comprehensiveness (completeness) and quality. A score is assigned for each, and those two scores are then averaged to provide the overall score.
We created a DIY kit list, which is a combination of what’s recommended by the National Emergency Management Agency and some additional items we think are especially useful.
We think a commercially made grab bag should contain everything in that list, except those things that can’t be supplied by kit retailers, such as pain killers, clothing and personal items.
Since there are items that can’t be supplied in a pre-made grab bag, it’s essential that those kits include a clear and complete checklist of items that need to be added.
To get the comprehensiveness score, we compared what’s in each grab bag against the DIY kit list (excluding pain killers), including a checklist of items to be added.
We assessed how well each item in a grab bag does its job, how easy it is to use, and how durable we think it is. Each item was assigned a quality score. The overall quality score for a grab bag is based on the average of the quality scores of all the items it contains.
We paid close attention to what we regard as essentials in a grab bag. That includes the bag supplied, torch, radio, first aid kit, food rations and the checklist of items to be added. For the essentials, we assessed:
This report is free thanks to funding from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Toka Tū Ake EQC.
We've tested 6 emergency grab bags and made one of our own. Find out how they compare.
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