You know the drill. Maybe you've even participated in it once or twice. As a natural disaster looms, everyone in town makes a mad dash for the grocery stores, home improvement stores, and gas stations. Demand overruns stock in a capitalist's nightmare, and most people leave empty handed, without enough flashlights, batteries, or cookware to ride out the approaching hurricane, blizzard, or wildfire. It's better to stock up in advance and avoid the battle royale. We've rounded up all the essentials for your emergency kit.

Updated June 2022: We added the Coway Airmega 200M air purifier, Garage Boss 5-gallon gas can, N95 and KN95 face masks for wildfires, Mountain House Adventure Dehydrated Meal Kit, and Petzl Actik headlamp.

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The Fenix E20 V2 ($45) is my top pick for an affordable emergency flashlight, but the ThruNite Archer 2A V3 ($25) is another solid choice. At 350 and 500 lumens, respectively, they're bright enough while remaining compact, and they last long on lower-light settings—200 hours at 5 lumens for the Fenix and 51 hours at 17 lumens for the ThruNite. Both use two AA batteries, and in an emergency your main concern is to have a good supply of replacement batteries.

If you're using alkaline batteries, remove them from the flashlight if it's going to sit unused for a long time, otherwise they'll leak and cause problems. Store them near the flashlight so you can easily find them. Try taping the batteries to the flashlight barrel.

Pro tip: The best-performing flashlights are built specifically to use lithium-ion batteries or have nonremovable rechargeable batteries, which won't do you any good if the power is out for a long time. Rechargeable nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) AA batteries maintain their performance better over the lifetime of the battery, whereas alkalines’ performance drops off more as they deplete, so buy some Panasonic Eneloops ($40). They're better for the environment, but if they run out of charge you can still use regular alkaline AAs.

You may prefer to keep a headlamp handy. The Petzl Actik ($50) is my favorite model and has never let me down, from snowy mountains to dusty deserts. It runs on three easily found AAA batteries and has three brightness settings, the brightest of which is more than powerful enough for emergencies around the home.

Flashlights do a poor job when you need to light up a whole room, or if you need your hands free for a task. Diffused light is what you want, and the Coleman Divide+ Push Lantern ($16) does a very good job of it. It's smaller than the typical Coleman lantern, which is nice, because it'll likely spend most of its life in storage. There are two settings: 425 lumens on high for 40 hours of run time and 50 lumens on low for 330 hours of run time. It uses three D-cell batteries, which sounds like a lot, but next to other full-size battery-powered lanterns, such as the Coleman Twin LED lantern that uses eight D cells, it's economical. 

You can leave the batteries in this one, even if you're using alkalines. When not using the Divide+, you can rotate the battery compartment to separate the batteries from the contact terminals so they won't corrode in storage. There's also a foldaway wire handle so you can hang it on a carabiner or a hook.

If you want to save batteries or just prefer hanging out by gentle flickering candlelight, keep a spare emergency candle or two. The Coghlan's 36-Hour Survival Candle ($10) has three wicks that'll last for 12 hours each. Keep a lighter or some matches nearby.

Most of the time, your water supply will work even when the power goes out. But major natural disasters can knock it out or damage it, and you might get dirty water. The Grayl Ultralight Compact Purifier Bottle ($70) is a solid and fast one-person filter that’ll last 300 uses—a total of 40 gallons—before you need to swap the filter. It’s what I trust when traveling to countries with no guarantee of water sanitation.

Another option is the Katadyn Steripen Adventurer ($100), which purifies using ultraviolet light. Dunk it in your water and stir. It won’t filter out sediment, but it’s small, lightweight, and runs on replaceable CR123 batteries. You can also try Katadyn Micropur tablets ($16). They're cheap and easy to store. Drop them in water and wait briefly. The taste isn’t great, but no water-treatment tablets or droplets are, in my experience.

Another option is LifeStraw's Personal Water Filter ($16)—just sip out of it like any regular straw and it'll filter out 99.99 percent of waterborne bacteria for up to 1,000 gallons of water. If you have a large household, you may prefer something like the MSR AutoFlow XL Gravity Filter ($110). Gravity filters take longer to purify water. You can boil water, but it won’t filter out sediment, and boiling uses fuel and takes time.

Wildfires are becoming an annual hazard, especially on the West Coast of the US, and they can spread dangerous amounts of particulate throughout the air. Homes aren't very airtight at all. Keep that toxic, carcinogenic junk out of your indoor air (and out of your lungs) by purchasing an air purifier for your home. The Coway Airmega 200M ($149) is my favorite affordable model for an average-size room. Check out our Best Air Purifiers guide for more recommendations from the WIRED Gear Team.

You probably already have some face masks at home, but if you don't and you live in a region susceptible to wildfires, you should pick up a box of disposable, medical-grade masks so that you can breathe easier if the air becomes saturated with smoke. Fortunately, the best masks that protect against Covid-19 also protect well against smoke. We recommend the Kimberly-Clark N95 50-Pack ($47) and the Opecticid KN95 60-Pack ($19). If these are out of stock, as many masks frequently are, check out our Best Disposable Face Masks guide.

Safety note: Don't use any of these stoves indoors. All of these fuels give off potentially deadly fumes that can accumulate and kill.

Still made in the US, the classic Coleman Propane Camp Stove ($48) really hasn't changed much over the years. Propane is easy to use if you remember to stock up, and it's clean-burning. If propane is not your thing, get the Coleman Guide-Series Dual Fuel Camp Stove ($178). Camp fuel (also known as Coleman fuel and white gas) burns relatively cleanly, is easy to find for sale, and is an ideal camp stove fuel. 

You can also use gasoline in the Dual Fuel, but gasoline contains a lot of additives that gunk up the stove's internals, and you'll need to clean the stove out much more frequently. Get a Coleman Filtering Funnel ($10) if you purchase a liquid-fuel stove.

The Sterno Outdoor Folding Camp Stove ($11) folds up so small that it's an easy option for people without room to keep a full-size stove around. It's an inexpensive backup that's handy to have, even if you've got a nice camp stove or a backpacking stove like a Jetboil Zip ($88). It's a pain to cook dishes big enough to serve several people on a Sterno, but for a pot of ramen or making hot chocolate while waiting out a storm, it's more than capable.

Your regular cooking utensils, eating utensils, and metal, plastic, and wooden cookware can all be used during an emergency, but glass or ceramic drinking glasses and plates are a different case, as they can shatter. It'll be tough cleaning up the pieces with no power. When the lights go out, switch to this enameled steel dishware, such as the GSI Outdoors Pioneer Table Set ($75). If somebody drops a piece, no big deal. For more drinkware, check out our Best Insulated Travel Mugs and Best Reusable Water Bottles guides.

Stock up on items that don't require refrigeration and have long shelf lives. Rather than making a grocery run for eggs and milk, pick up foods such as instant rice, dried fruit, and oatmeal. If you don't have room for a camp stove or live in a busy city where it may be tough to cook outside when the power goes out, or if you just don't like to cook, pick up a Mountain House 3-Day Adventure Dehydrated Meal Kit ($104). All you need to do is add water.

If the power does go out, keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible, to keep the stuff inside fresh for as long as possible.

You'll need more beds if other folks stay with you during an emergency. Generally, I hate how inflatable mattresses deflate under my body weight by the early morning hours. The only exceptions I've found are Coleman mattresses, which have air nozzles designed to seal tighter when bodyweight is on top of the mattress. When I used the Quick Bed Single High Mattress Full-Size ($47) last, I slept three nights before having to top it off with more air. Pick up a manual air pump if you don't already have a bicycle or sports pump. 

There's also the Coleman Pack-Away Camping Cot ($85). Unlike most cots, this one doesn't have horizontal bars across the head and foot ends. Bars like that are evil; I've whacked my head and ankles on them enough for two lifetimes.

You can use a rectangular sleeping bag (instead of a mummy bag) so that you have more room to stretch out. The Coleman Brazos 30 Sleeping Bag ($47) and Kelty Catena 30 ($60) are solid options that won't break the bank. Keep in mind that temperature ratings on sleeping bags are often overly optimistic, especially for women, who tend to sleep colder than men.

Anker makes my favorite power banks, which I use when traveling and during power outages to keep my phone topped off. That's important during emergencies for communicating with people. You can get by for days with a slim model like the Anker PowerCore Slim 10,000-mAh Portable Charger ($40), but if you know you'll be on your phone much more or using an iPad, steer toward the PowerCore 26,800-mAh ($31). Remember to check it periodically, pre-emergency, to keep it fully charged. Read our Best Portable Chargers guide for more.

You'll also want a portable radio, such as the Sony Portable AM/FM Radio ($22), to hear weather reports and emergency broadcasts. Even if you don't ordinarily listen to terrestrial radio, you should have one and not rely on your phone. Like with the flashlight, take the batteries out and store them with the radio.

Make sure you’ve got warm clothing to wear indoors if the power goes out. The Uniqlo Fluffy Yarn Fleece Jacket (men, women) for $30 and REI Co-Op 650 Down Jacket 2.0 (men, women) for $100 are insanely warm, as are Uniqlo’s Heattech long john tops (men, women) for $30 and bottoms (men, women) for $30. If you end up outside cutting up trees and fixing busted fences after a disaster, you might not want to get your regular jacket torn up or muddy. My Carharrt Duck Sherpa-Lined Coat ($130) is very warm and very tough; I’ve subjected it to all kinds of abuse. There's a similarly tough Carharrt Duck Sherpa-Lined Coat in women's sizing for $120. Fjallraven is another tough outerwear brand that makes jackets we like. 

While you’re at it, check out our gift guide for people who're always cold. Don’t forget a cozy blanket, such as the L.L.Bean Wicked Plush Throw ($30), and keep your feet warm with Glerups' Wool Slippers ($100) and Darn Tough wool socks ($22). They're expensive, but they’ve kept my feet warm through a few disasters. 

Mr. Coffee and Keurig don't work when the power's out, but you'll still want your morning cup of joe. I'm one of WIRED's many coffee-worshiping zealots, and my favorite coffee grinder is the manual Hario Skerton Pro ($52). Its base is made of thick glass that's survived more than a few drops onto my hardwood floor, and you can adjust the grind size to be suitable for anything from espresso to French press. For pour-overs, the ceramic Hario V60 Size 02 ($24) is perfect for making a big cup for one person at a time. 

If you do pour-over, you'll need to keep coffee filters ($8) around, and you'll need a gooseneck kettle to control the pour. The best stovetop one I've used is the Hario V60 Jino Gooseneck Kettle ($42). For French press, the Frieling 23-Ounce ($120) is my pick. It's double-wall insulated, so you won't burn your hands, and it's big enough to make a couple of big cups of coffee at a time. The AeroPress ($40) also comes highly recommended by another WIRED coffee addict. 

Check out our Best Insulated Travel Mugs and Best Portable Coffee Makers guides for more.

Your shower is likely to work just fine, but the Simple Shower Gravity Shower Kit ($15) is an inexpensive, compact backup if your home loses its supply of clean tap water. This kit screws onto a common soda bottle. Hang it upside down and it'll feed water onto the bather. You can use it anywhere, but you may as well set it up in your regular shower. If you hang it off the showerhead pipe, just make sure the weight won't tear it out of the wall or bend it.

Toilets usually will still flush fine in an emergency, and if they stop refilling you can flush a toilet by pouring water into the back tank (not the bowl). If your home's water supply is broken for days, eventually you'll need somewhere else to go. Buy a Luggable Loo Toilet Seat Lid ($17) and a 5-Gallon Bucket ($5) to construct a makeshift toilet. Don't forget waste bags ($14) to line the bucket. Keep a bag of kitty litter nearby, along with a cheap trowel ($3) for scooping it into the bucket after each use, extra toilet paper, and hand sanitizer.

Most of the time, you can get by without a generator and manage to stay warm, cook, and keep some lights on. You have to maintain generators, make sure you store enough fuel, and empty their tanks before they sit unused for a long time—or use a fuel stabilizer ($8). If you need a generator for medical equipment or think the luxury is worth the hassle, Honda makes excellent ones; Briggs & Stratton motors are solid too. But honestly, if you have to buy a big, hulking generator that’ll sit unused most of the time, and you’re watching your pennies, you can get by with a cheap one such as the Champion Dual Fuel 3650-Watt ($594).

Pro tip: Change the spark plug to a brand-name one as soon as you bring it home. The stock spark plugs that come with these Chinese generators tend to be junk. Just remember that gasoline spoils relatively quickly, needs to be prepared for inactivity with fuel stabilizers, and must be drained after a year. This is why, for most people, a generator isn't worth it (especially if you follow the rest of this guide).

You should keep some spare gas around, as well. Whether you need it for your generator or your car, buy a fuel can that's made specifically for storing fuel safely. The Garage Boss Press N Pour ($25) will hold 5 gallons of gasoline and comes with a safety nozzle that only releases fuel when the spout is pressed to the gas tank opening. Just remember that cans are typically color-coded to the types of fuel they hold, in order to reduce the chance of costly or dangerous mix-ups. Gasoline goes in red canisters, and diesel goes in yellow.

You probably have most of the medical essentials such as bandages and ibuprofen, but the Adventure Medical Kits Mountain Series Explorer Medical Kit ($62) will cover all your bases comprehensively. They also make medical kits that include directions for pets and their humans ($53). If someone gets hurt badly, you might not be able to get to a hospital right away. It's a good idea to learn some first aid. You can take NOLS Wilderness First Aid courses through REI. From my experiences over the past four years, NOLS has fantastic instructors and a thorough hands-on curriculum.

Don't forget to spruce up your place, too. Check out our guides on how to winterize your home and how to stay cool without air-conditioning. If your heat or air conditioner goes out, these tips can make a world of difference. We also have a guide on putting together a home toolkit, which can come in handy during emergencies.

Finally, you should read WIRED reviews editor Adrienne So's article on why the best emergency gear is other people. Having a network of people to communicate with and who will check in on you is incredibly important.