Emergency grab bags

April 2022

Grab & Go

1 person emergency kit

Price

$109

Score

Why is this free?

This report is free thanks to funding from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Toka Tū Ake EQC.

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A good value starter kit. But you'll need to add quite a few items, including food rations and most toiletries, and the overall quality was the worst in our test. You'll also need a larger backpack to complete the kit and because this one doesn't fit larger people. It has the worst-performing radio and torch in our test, and the first aid kit isn't as good as others in our test. You're better off building your own grab bag from scratch than using this as a base.

Test results

65

Comprehensiveness
67

Quality overall
46

Quality essential items

Good points

Good value - it would cost around $30 more (plus shipping or petrol) to build this kit yourself.
Backpack's square shape and white plastic lining makes it showerproof and easy to organise gear.
Two 750ml drink bottles included.
Kit includes other useful items - multi-tool and light sticks.
Excellent checklist of items to be added.
Includes kit list.
Includes step-by-step guide to making an emergency plan.

Bad points

Backpack too small to add supplies to complete the kit, it doesn't fit larger people, and the square shape makes it awkward to use.
Terrible torch performance, and the rechargeable batteries of dynamo models deteriorate in storage. Battery powered models are better.
Terrible radio performance - the worst in our test. It's also a dynamo model, and their bulit-in batteries deteriorate in storage.
No food rations supplied.
While the kit quality is ok, all other kits were better.
Doesn't include any toiletries or hand sanitiser.

Model

Bag volume

20L

Essential items scores

Bag

40
Torch

30
Radio

10
First aid

60
Food rations

-
Checklist of items to add

90

NEMA or Consumer NZ recommended

Torch
Radio included
First aid kit
Food rations included
Checklist of items to add included
Torch and radio's batteries included

N/A (wind-up dynamo)
Extra set of batteries

N/A (wind-up dynamo)
Rain poncho
Water container
Water purification
Foil blanket or bag
Whistle
Pen or marker
Notebook or paper
Masks
Hand sanitiser
Wet wipes
Tissues
Soap
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Thick plastic bags
Ear plugs
Work gloves
Pain killers

N/A
Kit list
Emergency planner

Other useful supplies

Multi-tool
Light sticks
Rope or cord
Tampons
Latex gloves
Hi visibility vest

More info

Notes

This kit also includes matches, playing cards and a car windscreen ice scraper. There's no candle to go with the matches, but we don't recommend flame-based products for safety reasons.
Availability

Available from grabandgo-kits.com, shop.aa.co.nz, and moorewilsons.co.nz.

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