Apartment Therapy Unplugged | Best Solar Powered Emergency Gadgets

We hope you're prepared with an emergency kit or two around the house. Better safe than sorry (and living in California, you'd be foolish not to be prepared for earthquakes). But while we've got our emergency water, food and medical provisions covered, we realized we should be preparing for the absence of electrical power. Below are several solar powered options that might come in handy while the power is out:

Crank It Up! Dynamo Solar Radio: most solar powered products are pretty utilitarian looking. Not this retrotastic hand crank and solar powered radio. Crank dat, solar boy!
Sun Cook: we like the compact form factor of this sun-powered oven. When the gas and electrical are out, this might come in handy for boiling all that "emergency" Top Ramen.
Solar Flashlight: 5 bright LED lights and a built-in compass make this a useful backup light when batteries might be in short supply [continued]

Guide Gear Pop-up Shelter with Solar Shower: we were going to describe how convenient and useful this product might become after a disaster where running water becomes unavailable. But we'll be honest. What really won us over was one of the Amazon comments: "I made out with my girlfriend in one of these things in the wild. It was the best (blank) we've ever had."

Solar Spark Lighter: matches and lighters might be eventually run out, but you're unlikely to run out of sun to get your fire started.

Innergy Power's Emergency Solar Power Kit: After a disaster, you'll likely want to attempt to use that cell phone, laptop or even your digital audio player. Keep it charged with your own portable solar pack.

And finally, if you happen to be displaced from your home, you might be extremely grateful having one of these solar powered tents with it's own solar panel and integrated, interior LED lights.