Why Sanne (34) now always brings her emergency radio along on vacation
When Sanne from Utrecht bought an emergency radio last year, to be honest, she never expected she would use it much.
I actually bought it because you kept hearing more and more about power outages and emergency kits. Everyone was talking about it, and I thought: for that small amount of money, I might as well have it at home.
After receiving it, the radio then largely disappeared from view.
I charged it up, tested it a bit, then put it in a closet. That's actually what most people probably do.
To her first classaunt of the year.
We brought the radio along without any real plan
Sanne left for Southern Europe for a week. While she was packing, she noticed the emergency radio lying out.
I actually don’t even remember anymore why I brought him with me. I just thought: oh, he’s just there anyway. Maybe he’ll som't comes in handy.
She tucked it between her chargers, sunglasses, and travel documents.
During the holiday, she didn't use it at all for the first few days.
To be honest, I'd forgotten all over again that I had it with me.
Surprisingly useful for a day trip
That all changed when she set out on a long day of travel
We were out and about all day. Took loads of photos, used Google Maps, looked up restaurants. By the end of the afternoon, my phone was almost dead.
Normally, that would mean she had to conserve her battery.
Then it suddenly occurred to me that that radio could also work as a powerbank.
It wasn't the reason she had bought it in the first place, but it turned out this was exactly the moment it came in handy.
Not everything has to be an emergency
What stood out most to Sanne in hindsight was that she used the radio precisely at times when there was no emergency whatsoever.
I think I always assumed an emergency radio was only useful if something serious happened. But in reality, those small everyday moments are exactly when you end up using it.
A phone that runs out of battery.
A walk that takes longer than planned.
An evening spent sitting outside where you could use some extra light.
These aren't disasters, but they are situations where it's useful to have something to fall back on.
When the power went out
Midway through her vacation, the hotel she was staying at experienced a brief power outage.
In the end, it didn't even take that long. Maybe an hour or so. But it struck me just how quickly everything goes quiet.
No lighting.
No wifi.
No chargers.
No information.
That was actually the first moment I thought: now I understand why people buy something like that.
She used the radio's flashlight to grab some items, and her phone still had plenty of battery thanks to the earlier chaaden. 
A permanent part of her luggage
Ever since that vacation, the radio hasn't been kept in the back of a closet anymore
These days, I always bring it along as standard. Not because I’m worried something might go wrong, but because I’ve learned by now that I always end up using it anyway.
According to Sanne, the value lies precisely in that feeling.
Naturally, you hope you’ll never actually need it. But once you’ve used it a handful of times, you’ll realize it’s simply a handy device to keep with you.
And that’s probably exactly why more and more people don’t just see an emergency radio as part of an emergency kit, but also as something that fits perfectly in with their regular travel gear.
My passport, charger, sunglasses, and these days also my emergency radio. It’s basically just standard gear I always bring along.
