Going off the grid for longer lengths of time, whether for a month-long campout or an endless plunge into the wild, necessitates rigorous planning and preparation. There are various reasons to abandon civilization, but whether you’re looking for meditative quiet or fleeing a multi-state warrant issued after that run of bank heists, you’ll need the same items out there on your own. If you’re planning to live off the grid, you’ll need the items on this list to make your new life safe, sustainable, and possibly enjoyable.
Water Filter with a Large Capacity
You’re in big trouble if you don’t have access to clean water. When you leave civilization, you can bring many liters of water with you, but you’ll need to start creating your own fresh water sooner or later. A reliable water filtration unit is the best way to do so, and of course we should not forget about the camper hot water heater to keep us warm during the cold season or if you plan to travel in colder places.
There’s a lot of shelf-stable food
Planting your own frontier garden, hunting for game, and fishing the neighboring rivers, lakes, and streams are all options, but having a substantial stock of shelf-stable food is a safer bet. You don’t have to eat oatmeal, freeze-dried beef stroganoff, and hard tack for the rest of your off-grid life; in fact, you may keep a fairly regular pantry.
Take a peek around your kitchen and you’ll see that many of the things you eat on a regular basis have ridiculously long expiration dates. Beans and soups in a box or can, pasta and rice, canned fruits and vegetables, tuna or chicken, and a variety of other items that taste fresh when cooked can keep well if kept away from extreme heat or cold.
Effortless Fire Starters
Simple fire-starting equipment, while useful and always nice to have on hand, can’t be the only ones you bring off the grid with you. A solar fire starter never runs out of material to burn, although it is worthless at night or on overcast or wet days. A ferrocerium striker starter will operate in almost any situation, but it will not last indefinitely. And so forth. You’ll be set with a variety of fire-starting instruments, including a reliable lighter and matches.
Solar Powered Generator
Going off the grid means using less technology, but let’s be honest: you’re not going back to the days of the pioneers. If you prepare ahead, all of your powered equipment, from your torch to your radio and can even bring your best outdoor tv to have a starry night movie marathon with your partner or your friends, that will run on rechargeable batteries.
That way, all you need is a device to charge them; you may require an electric generator capable of running ordinary 120 volt AC equipment and capable of holding its charge for a year. It can also charge itself in around half a day with the addition of a solar panel.