Ryobi's Storm Preparation Kit Is Coming Out Soon — How It Might Help In Emergencies During Cold Months

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With shorter days occurring and winter on the horizon, you may throw yourself into prepping your houses for potential storms during the upcoming season. Preparing for an unexpected emergency situation at home after a winter storm, such as an extended power outage, is extremely important. One of the best power tool brands, Ryobi, has a new tool kit that will soon be available for purchase and it can simplify preparing for winter's harsh weather. Ryobi 18V One+ Storm Preparation Kit carries a 4-inch fan, portable light, and USB power source (along with a battery and charger) to ensure you have some protection if you suddenly lose power at your house.

At the time of this writing, Ryobi has not announced a date that the kit will be available for sale or a price. Bought separately, the kit's pieces are available at Home Depot and cost $60 for the fan, 2.0 Ah rechargeable battery, and charger; $30 for the portable light; and $35 for the USB power source for a total of about $125. However, Ryobi's kits are usually offered for a lower price than individually purchasing each component, so it's same to assume the kit's price tag probably will be less than $125.

When a winter storm hits, heavy snow, freezing rain, and strong winds can weigh on power lines, potentially causing the system to break down. If you don't have a generator available, the Ryobi LED Compact Area Light in the storm kit can at least give you some illumination while you wait for the main lights to come back on. With the right 18V Ryobi battery, you could receive up to seven days of light. This unit is a better option than a flashlight because it works more like a lantern and sends the light in all directions, rather than using a focused beam. It's also safer than lit candles.

If you don't lose power but risk having frozen pipes after extended low temperatures, this kit could also help. If your pipes are in a crawl space or other difficult area to access, using a portable heater to try to increase the temperature in the immediate area could be challenging. Use the Ryobi portable Clamp Fan to direct the heated air into the area of the frozen pipes, making the heater more efficient.

Additionally, you could put the kit in your a car so you'll always have essential emergency supplies handy. Pair the USB power source with a USB-chargeable portable heater, and you could keep the car a little warmer if you're stuck for hours in a winter storm. Or keep your phone charged with the Ryobi USB power source while you wait for help. Plus, having the light source is useful if you need to see at night to dig yourself out of a snowbank.

Although the Ryobi Storm Preparation Kit can help in an emergency, you may want other options. If you failed to charge all your Ryobi batteries before the storm knocks out the power, for example, this kit will be rendered useless. You have to plan ahead to effectively use it. A whole-home or stand-alone generator is always ready to go and will deliver far more power if you lose electrical service in a winter storm. A whole-home generator costs several thousand dollars, though.

One of the benefits of using Ryobi power tools is that you can share the 18V batteries you own among all of the One+ tools. Those 18V batteries that you use with your Ryobi drill and saw are also compatiable with the components in this winter emergency kit. This is important to note, as the 2.0 Ah (amp-hours) capacity battery included in the kit probably won't be all that useful during an extended storm.

When operating tools with a 2.0 Ah battery, you can expect it to last for 30 to 45 minutes under normal continuous use. If you're in a serious storm that knocks out the power for a day or two, you'll want several larger capacity batteries available. If you aren't already a Ryobi tool user, it might not be cost effective to purchase extra batteries just for the emergency kit to prepare your house for a winter storm. An extra Ryobi One+ 18V 8.0 Ah battery costs $179, for example. However, it should deliver power for roughly four times as long as the 2.0 Ah battery.