I’ve been an amateur radio operator for about thirty years, and my interest in portable power stems mostly from dipping my toes into ham radio emergency communication from time to time. Being able to set up an off-grid ham station also makes it easy to charge cellphones, laptops and so on. Later in life, I became keenly interested in backup power for sump pumps, after we suffered through a pump failure and the resulting flood.

1) Know your needs and wants. First, know your load: It’s vastly different to charge a cellphone a few times versus running your sump pumps to keep your house from flooding during a storm. Neither generators nor power banks (no matter what they’re called) do well when overloaded. Second, duration: Being ready for a few hours’ without power is very different from being without power for a week, or longer. Be ready for different forms of power — some devices are fine on 12VDC, some need 120VAC, and still others need 5V USB. If you’re planning to recharge batteries for flashlights and whatnot, have the charges and the cells squared away in advance.

2) Know who you’re buying from. I’d be very reluctant to spend real folding money on something from a manufacturer I’ve never heard of. In general, I prefer to buy from US manufacturers, especially ones with clear and honest specifications, and excellent customer support.

3) Backup power at any scale beyond a drawer full of primary batteries is an ongoing effort, it’s not something where you can buy a thing and be done. Most larger batteries (like for computer UPS’s, portable jump starters, and “portable power station” devices) need to be replaced on a regular schedule, typically between two and five years. The replacement schedule depends on usage, load, capacity, battery chemistry, manufacturing quality, and other things. You can often get away with less frequent replacements if you design your system with extra capacity. Also, batteries need to be maintained, and fuel usually needs to be stabilized, used, and replaced. Generators need to run periodically and be maintained correctly.