Schumacher gadget haul: Lights, camera, action!

Have you ever thought what you'd do if the power goes out like it did for millions of people in the Midwest recently? How would you protect the food in your refrigerator? How would you stay on the Internet, or recharge your cell phones? A few gadgets like those from Schumacher can really make your life a lot easier. Here's a video of the latest haul they've sent me:

Overall I'd say I'm pretty in-tune with the need to avoid power outages, having suffered through a 10-day outage after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, 7 days after lightning struck our house in 1987, and a 2-day outage in Raleigh, NC after Hurricane Fran. Since I moved to Pennsylvania, I've had a few outages lasting 8 hours or so. Whether in the Winter when it's too cold inside, or the Summer when it's too hot, I'm driven nearly mad without modern conveniences.

Since 2006, 182,000,000 people in the U.S. have lost power (because of poor reporting procedures, the number is almost assuredly above 200 million). With the price of electronics continuing to come down, you don't have to be a victim -- Schumacher provides low-cost convenient solutions to keep you in power.

The highlight of the haul is definitely the (aptly named) Schumacher Storm700 back-up power system which you can buy at Lowes. Unlike dangerous gasoline generators, this unit will power anything you need during a power outage, from a fridge for four hours to your cable modem for four days. It's also portable, with a handle and wheels, if you need to take it out in the yard, camping or to a football game -- anywhere you need power. It features:

• Built-in 700W pure sine wave inverter with 1400 peak watts

• Two 120V AC household outlets

• Two 2.1A USB ports

• 12 Volt DC outlet

Storm chaser Ron Shawley also reviews the 700 on his YouTube channel.

I talked in the video about a gadget that has really saved my butt a dozen times this year is the Schumacher 1200 Peak Amp Car Battery Jump Starter, which you can get on Amazon (before Christmas it went on sale for $80!).

It's a lightweight, small jump starter that you can keep in your trunk. If you accidentally drain your batter (as I keep doing because the "your lights are on" alert in my car stopped working), you simply clip the red clip to your battery, black to ground, and start the car.

I'm not going to lie though, I really liked the Schumacher LED road flares. I get a kick out of things with lights, and it could save your life if you're pulled over at the side of the road (broken down or storm chasing). Ron also has a review of this futuristic-looking device on his YouTube channel.

Watch my haul video at the top of this blog for more information on the following additional Schumacher products:

• Red Fuel Rechargeable Spotlight/Lantern

• Red Fuel 360 Led Cordless Work Light / Magnetic Torch

• Red Fuel Jump Starter

• Red Fuel SL1 Jump Starter

• Red Fuel USB Fan

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