Car survival kit list review

A breakdown or flat tire can happen to anyone at any time. And what’s in your car can make the difference between getting back on the road quickly and enduring a long, trying, even dangerous ordeal at the side of the road. We spent more than 60 hours researching emergency gear and common roadside problems, and we talked to safety experts and mechanics to get their advice. Whether the challenge is a flat tire, a dead battery, or traveling safely during a pandemic, here are the things you shouldn’t leave home without.

Yes, there are prepackaged emergency kits, but we don’t think they’re the best way to go. Many of the kits we’ve seen either leave out important items, include things you may never use, or seem like they’ll let you down when you need them. Others cost much more. It is best to select each item individually and build your own emergency kit. For this guide, we’ve also chosen a compact, soft-sided container, which can help keep things organized.

Of course, you may also encounter situations where you need assistance, such as roadside assistance or a tow truck. So, it’s good to make sure you’re covered. Most new cars come with free roadside assistance that lasts a certain number of miles or a certain number of years, whichever comes first. Check your owner’s manual. Organizations like AAA and Good Sam’s offer coverage to members regardless of the vehicle they drive. Many auto insurance companies also offer vehicle-specific roadside assistance, usually for a monthly fee. Some credit card companies offer a mix of supplementary and basic paid services, and even cell phone companies are now offering basic services to consumers: for example, the cost of Verizon’s roadside assistance plan. It’s $3 per month and covers any vehicle, as long as the phone is there. Most of these plans have limits and plenty of fine print to study, so review your coverage carefully before hitting the road.

• research
• Maintenance and repair
• Roadside safety
• Gear for your glove box
• For long journeys
• Sources
• Maintenance and repair

Checking tire pressure and oil levels frequently will help you anticipate and anticipate common hiccups that can derail your road trip or daily commute. Still, when a flat tire, a dead battery, or a severed radiator hose wears out, having the basic necessities (and the occasional helpful gadget) can get you back on the road faster than waiting for AAA to arrive. . For maintenance and repairs, we’ve tested and selected a few key items for when you’ll need them most.

Lifeline AAA Exertion Road Kit 4388AAA

Best roadside car emergency kit overall

The American Automobile Association, known as AAA, rescues approximately 30 million stranded motorists each year. It knows a thing or two about roadside emergencies, and that makes this wide-coverage roadside car kit a great place to start. This includes a good first aid kit with a guide, good quality 8 gauge jumper cables, an aluminum LED flashlight (with batteries), cutting blade, bungee cords, zip ties, a roll of duct tape and a basic tool. Kit included. Flared reflective triangles, work gloves and rain ponchos. Yet one thing that sets this auto emergency kit apart from others is its compact, 12-volt-powered air compressor, which allows you to refill tires wherever you happen to be. There are even woolen scarves, gloves and winter hats to help keep you warm if you’re waiting.

Given its generally wide coverage, the Lifeline AAA Excursion Car Kit has two things that stand out. A tire sealant or any type of puncture repair, so you’d better have a spare tire with air, or add a bottle of tire sealant. The other is the Mylar emergency blanket. Sometimes called space blankets, these thin, foldable sheets measure 84 x 52 inches. They are windproof, waterproof and capable of reflecting 90% of your body heat. They can also be made into an emergency shelter. Check them out here.

Finally, if the thought of fixing flats and emergency shelters makes you a little nervous, the AAA Excursion Roadside Emergency Car Kit offers another valuable item: a discounted auto club membership brochure. , so rescue is never far away.

$110 on Amazon.

Lanexen Roadside Assistance Emergency Kit

Best roadside car emergency kit for the money

We like this roadside kit because it packs a lot into a compact soft case for a very modest price. The Lianxin Roadside Assistance Emergency Kit contains all the emergency items needed: 8 feet of jumper cables, a tow strap with hooks, an emergency blanket, reflective clothing, gloves, tape, a seat belt cutter and a window breaker safety hammer, a (very basic) First aid kit with adhesive strips and flashlight — this case is hand-cranked, so you don’t have to worry about batteries. The tool kit has a metal hammer and solid snapping pliers, and there are extras for the unusual safety kit. These include 12-volt fuses, a plastic broom/snow shovel, and even a compass if your phone dies.

On the downside, the Lianxin emergency car kit lacks two of the most valuable items: an air compressor and tire repair capability. Yet for that price, you can buy a small 12-volt tire inflator and a bottle of Slime and still beat the cost of some more expensive car emergency kits.

$45 on Amazon

Hi-Fike Emergency Roadside Tool Kit

Roadside car emergency kit for winter

The Haiphaik Emergency Roadside Toolkit is a perennial top seller on Amazon, and it’s not hard to see why. It has all the necessary equipment, including 12 feet of jumper cables and 10,000 pounds of tow rope. The tool kit is top-notch, with a fully adjustable wrench, allen wrenches and a tape measure. There are even anti-covid face masks. What sets this emergency car kit apart, however, are the under-tire traction strips and a genuine, compact, military-style speed shovel with a saw blade edge.

Oddly enough, for a winter kit, the Hi-Fike Emergency Roadside Toolkit is missing something crucial: that emergency Mylar blanket. It can be easy if you’re stuck in a blizzard on the South Dakota prairie. You can add four of them here for around Rs.15.

• $48 on Amazon

• Ready America
• Ready America Emergency Kit 70280
• Roadside car emergency kit if you’re stranded or you plan to make your own.

This car emergency kit doesn’t include anything that might set you back on your way during a roadside emergency — no jumper cables or flat tire repairs, no tow ropes, no utility tools, traction. No aids or flashlights. But in the worst-case scenario none of these tools will get you going anyway, and what’s actually in a Ready America emergency kit can mean waiting for things to succeed or…well, you. have understood

Its content? A decent first aid kit, two emergency Mylar blankets, face masks and latex gloves, a whistle and two 12-hour glow sticks. Then there is enough food and water to last two hungry people for three days. A serving of cholesterol-free nutrition bars is 4,800 calories. The water is packaged in multiple 125ml pouches that fit neatly into a small, backpack-style carrying case. This survival kit contains both food and water packaged in temperature-resistant plastic foil with a five-year shelf life.

Like we said: Ready America Emergency Kit A roadside emergency kit is perfect if you’re stranded, and if you plan to make your own roadside emergency kit, Shro.

Tire pressure gauge

A man checking tire pressure with a manual gauge on a silver car

Underinflated tires can cost you 1 mpg or more and lead to dangerous handling. All the pros we spoke to recommend the Accu-Gauge 60 PSI for routine testing. Photo: Kayleigh Waldman

• Accu-Gage 60 PSI with shock protector
• Our choice
• The favorite gauge of all the tire professionals we interviewed.

• $20 from Amazon
• $36 from Walmart
• The risk of underinflated tires creeps up on you, unnoticed. If you let the problem linger too long, it can sideline you with no warning, a flat tire or a blowout. And in the meantime, it can hurt your fuel economy, wear out your tires, and make your car’s handling unpredictable and dangerous, especially if you’re on the road. Had to reverse to avoid something. Oh! You can avoid all of these by checking your tire pressure (including the spare) regularly. We recommend doing this at least once a month. And a good tire pressure gauge makes the job quick and easy.

We asked three tire shops what gauge they use, and they all pointed us to the Accu-Gage 60 PSI with Shock Protector. After our testing, which included road tripping with the tool itself, the Accu-Gage has emerged as our favorite tire gauge over the years. It’s accurate and durable, and unlike a digital gauge, it has no batteries to drain. The Accu-Gage is available in several different configurations, but the performance is largely the same. We prefer the version with the hose attached and straight chuck because this design makes it easier to hold the gauge and check tire pressure at the same time. Our favorite version also has a removable rubber bumper if you drop the gauge.Accutire MS-4021B

Our digital gauge pick

• A digital display is more accurate than analog, but the pros we interviewed all use analog gauges.

• $18 from Amazon
• May run out of stock.

• If you prefer digital, get the Accutire MS-4021B. The digital readout is easier to understand than the analog dial (although it is rounded to the nearest 0.5 psi) and the device is cheaper. But you need to consider the recurring cost of two watch batteries. According to owner reviews, they need to be replaced every six months. Other reviewers complain about Accutire’s durability.

Duct tape

• Duck Brand MAX Strength Duct Tape
• Our choice
• Super strong and sticky, flexible enough to wrap around corners, and easy to tear in a clean, straight line.

• $12 from Amazon
• $8 from Walmart

As any MacGyver fan will tell you, duct tape is an indispensable tool. We tested the hell out of 10 rolls of duct tape and chose Duck Max Strength over the competition for its perfect combination of attributes: high material strength, a strong adhesive, and high overall flexibility, which makes it unique. makes Makes it easy to wrap around rough shapes and curves. . Surfaces It also rips in a nice, straight line and makes short-term roadside repairs on your gear as well as the interior and exterior of your car.

We’ve used duct tape for everything from emergency short-term patches on radiator hoses to reconnecting loose wires and trimming routed bits. While this isn’t a permanent solution, it can get you home, or at least to a mechanic or a safe place for repairs. Duct tape can also handle first aid duties when the right material is not available for the job.

Roadside safety

The last thing you need when hitting the trail is for something else to go wrong. These roadside safety accessories will help keep you visible and prepared for most emergencies when you’re pulled over. We’ve also added cleaning requirements to make sure you don’t bring roadside repair mess back into the car with you.

• Head lamp

• Petzl Actic Core
• A rechargeable headlamp
• A bright light with high beam quality that lasts for days on a charge—whether you charge it with USB or AAA batteries—makes it perfect for backpacking trips.

• $70 from REI
• $75 from Backcountry

Being stuck in the dark with a malfunction is bad enough, but trying to fix it one-handed while stuck with a flashlight is even worse. A better solution is to use a headlamp with an elastic strap that leaves both hands free to work. We think the Petzl Actik Core is a good option to keep in your car because it’s rechargeable, unlike our top pick Black Diamond Spot 350. A USB car charger on hand. (It can also use regular AAAs.) The Actik Core’s 450-lumen light quality was the brightest in our test group, and it had excellent optical quality. A few things we didn’t like were the flood feed feature (which is helpful for camping) and the less than expected weather rating.

Flare alternative

• Stone Point LED Emergency Beacon
• Our choice
• Crush-proof and water-resistant, and safer than traditional flares.

• $22 from Amazon
• (sum of three)

When your car is stuck on the side of the road, it’s important to give other drivers as much warning as possible so that a minor problem doesn’t turn into a major one. Battery powered emergency beacons are a safer alternative to traditional magnesium flares for both your health and the environment around you. We recommend making the Stone Point LED Emergency Beacon part of your roadside emergency kit.

The emergency beacon on the road ahead of the car pulled into a long stretch of desert highway.

Highly visible, compact, and crushproof, the all-weather StonePoint LED emergency beacon is safer to use and more environmentally friendly than magnesium flares. Photo: Kayleigh Waldman

It is important to give as much warning as possible to other drivers.

The StonePoint set gives you three separate lights that are water-resistant, magnetic, crushproof up to 6,000 pounds, and easy to set up and turn on. Magnets let you attach beacons to your car, helping other drivers see your vehicle more easily and reducing the intensity difference compared to sharp magnesium flares. By placing one on the road (preferably high above something and located about 100 feet in front of your vehicle), one on the trunk, and one on the hood, you can create a very safe environment with very little risk to drivers. Can only make a visible starter. will generate a warning. Fire

Work gloves

• Ammex GWON Gloveworks Orange Nitrile Glove
• Our choice
• Strong, disposable protection for your hands.
• $46 from Amazon

As important as it is to carry the right equipment for roadside emergencies, protecting your hands is just as important. Ammex GWON Gloveworks Orange Nitrile Gloves are stronger and more puncture resistant than their natural rubber counterparts, and are also more resistant to oil, grease, chemicals and other toxins you might be dealing with on your hands. And for all their power, they’re thin and flexible enough to handle small parts and work in close quarters under the hood. An embossed diamond pattern on the surface helps provide a good grip, and a powder-free polymer coating on the inside makes the gloves easy to put on and take off. Available in sizes M to XXL and in boxes of 100, these disposable synthetic rubber and latex-free gloves are a top-rated choice for Amazon reviewers, many of whom report using the same pair over and over again.

Storage bag

• Black+Decker Matrix Wide Mouth Storage Bag
• Our choice
• Keep your emergency supplies organized and ready.

• $32* from Home Depot
• At the time of publication, the price was $29.

Once you’ve assembled the pieces of your roadside emergency kit, you’ll need a container to keep everything handy and organized. A soft-sided tool box will conform to the shape of your trunk better than a metal box and will be easier to pack around. Its contents are also less likely to rattle. Measuring 21 x 5 x 8½ inches, the Black+Decker Matrix Wide Mouth Storage Bag is large enough for all the items in our basic kit. Unlike some other tool bags, this one opens wide to accommodate larger items and allow you to easily see inside. This is important, especially when you are retrieving objects of different sizes in the dark. It has inside and outside pockets for small gear, and comes with two removable dividers secured with Velcro. Sporting both a carry handle and shoulder strap, this bag also has a rigid bottom for easy transport.

Gear for your glove box

A well-equipped glove compartment or console should hold everything you need to deal with a backseat boo-boo or an on-the-road emergency, without having to reach out of your trunk to find a Band-Aid. Required. While local areas are still managing the spread of the coronavirus, making sure to have the proper sanitary items on hand will make trips to the gas station a little easier, and if you find yourself on the side of the road Help will help prevent viral spread if needed. We think these items are useful for both everyday care and being easily accessible for more extreme situations.

• Surface wipes
• Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
• Best disinfectant wipes
• Effective, EPA-approved, and (usually) easy to find, these pre-soaked wipes require only four minutes of contact time to neutralize the coronavirus.
• $14* from Amazon
• $14 from Home Depot
• $15 from Target
• At the time of publication, the price was $11.

Most disinfectant wipes are similar. Although we recommend Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, we recommend that you get any pack of wipes that contains an EPA List N disinfectant (most contain bleach or a quaternary ammonium base). Is). During non-pandemic times, Clorox’s bleach-free wipes are usually sold in a canister or in four-packs at various retailers. These wipes can kill the coronavirus on hard surfaces—countertops, door handles, and bathroom fixtures—in your home, car, or motel room, but not on clothes or other soft materials.

• Surface spray
• Lysol disinfectant spray
• The best disinfectant spray
• The aerosol works in 10 minutes and is fabric-safe, but it’s only guaranteed to kill the coronavirus on hard surfaces.
• $7 from Amazon*
• $8 from Target

* At the time of publication, the price was $8.

Instead of bleach, which can damage car interiors, Lysol disinfectant spray uses quaternary ammonium. It’s safe on hard surfaces and most fabrics, and it’s gentler on the skin than bleach. It also produces less harsh fumes—which is good if you’re disinfecting the same area frequently. The spray kills the coronavirus in 10 minutes on hard surfaces, but on soft surfaces it only disinfects (kills most but not all pathogens). Wide coverage of fog works well in cars and small spaces.

Face masks

The “best” cloth face mask is one that you will wear and not worry about. However, based on our research and testing, we have some recommendations for adjustable masks that we believe will cover most faces comfortably and work well when worn properly. Any mask is better than no mask to help reduce the spread of the coronavirus. We consulted many authorities—from fashion designers and textile experts to aerosol scientists and infectious disease experts—to zero in on the small but important design details that matter most to how the mask fits and feels.

 affect, and by extension, how it helps prevent person-to-person viral transmission. We then conducted independent lab tests to evaluate the filtration performance and breathability of a variety of cloth masks and filters, including our picks. If you want to read more about choosing your own mask, check out our full review here. For more information on breathing masks, here is our review of them.

First-aid boxes

• First Aid Only 299 Piece All Purpose First Aid Kit (FAO-442)
• Our choice
• The kit is packed with bandages and cleaning supplies that are perfect for casual occasions.
• $21 from Amazon

A good first aid kit should have everything you need to take care of minor cuts and scrapes on the road, and should also be helpful for treating more seriously injured people until they are treated by a medical professional. Don’t get help. We love the First Aid Only First Aid Essentials Kit. Although it lacks some of the high-quality tools we recommend for a wilderness first-aid kit, it has the modest cuts of four people.

Some people, if they drive long enough, can say they’ve never broken down on the side of the road. One day, you can turn the ignition key and nothing happens, or you hear a pop and hiss as your tire does its best impression of a sad hot air balloon. Keep these wired-tested items handy in your trunk and you’ll be back on the road in no time, rather than a long hike down the highway to the nearest tow truck. Everything here can be used by anyone, but it never hurts to open a car manual or look up a how-to on YouTube.

Be sure to check out our many other guides, including the essential home toolkit and the best emergency gear to keep at home.

Updated May 2022: We’ve added new picks like the Noco Boost Plus GB40 Jump Starter and the Carhartt Trade Duffel, and we’ve added a new section with roadside tips and tricks.

If you make a purchase using the links in our stories, we may earn a commission. It helps support our journalism. learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED.Check your air pressure.

Milton S-921 Pencil Tire Gauge

Your car tires will lose about 1 pound per square inch of air pressure each month. Driving on underinflated tires affects your fuel economy, braking, handling and tire life. But it will also happen if you fill them too much. I keep one of these Milton pencil gauges in the glove box or trunk of every car and bike I own. It is lightweight, foolproof and reliable.

Check each tire’s air pressure with a gauge once a month, and use it when refilling your tires at a gas station air pump. Your tire pressure will be listed in the owner’s manual and on a sticker (most likely) on the driver’s door, assuming you’re using the manufacturer’s recommended tires. Check your tire pressure every time your car leaves the shop.

• $7 on Amazon
• $11 at Advance Auto Parts
• Image may contain cell phone electronics mobile phone phone and adapter.
• Photo: Home Depot
• Jump your car … with another car
• Husky 20-foot 4-ga jumper cables

If your car battery dies, you can jumpstart it by hooking it up to another car, which will at least get you to the store to buy a replacement (if you don’t turn off the engine again). . Larger, four-gauge wires allow electricity to flow more easily, such as using a thicker straw in a milkshake. These husky cables are copper-clad aluminum wire, not as good as solid copper, but solid copper jumper cables are hard to find these days.

Figure out how to connect the cables (ideally before you get stuck on the road, because you won’t have a cell signal wherever you break).

• $29 at Home Depot
• Noko Boost Jump Starter
• Image: Amazon
• Or jump start your car with it.
• Noco Boost Plus GB40 Jump Starter
• The downside of jumper cables is that you need another working car and its willing driver in case your car dies. If you plan to travel to a remote area or don’t want to trust strangers, you can go with a battery-powered emergency jump starter instead. It’s bulky and expensive with cables, and you have to periodically make sure it’s charged, but this model is reasonably compact and weighs just 3 pounds. Note that it is rated to jumpstart petrol engines up to 6.0-litre capacity and diesel engines up to 3.0-litre capacity.

• $100 on Amazon
• $100 at Walmart
• Popular at the moment

How does trash get from the trash can to the landfill?

• The most popular

• Gear
• Give your back a break with our favorite office chairs.
• Julian Chokkato

• Gear
• The best Nintendo Switch games for every type of player
• Wired staff

• Gear
• The best iPhone 14 cases and accessories
• Julian Chokkato

• Gear
• 23 Smart Steam Toys for the Techy Kids in Your Life
• Simon Hill

• Image may contain bottle.
• Image: Amazon
• Repair the flat.

Fix-A-Flat Tire Sealant

If your car doesn’t have a spare tire—which is more common than ever—you can use an aerosol product like Fix-A-Flat. You attach the can to the valve stem of the punctured tire. Sealant is sprayed from the inside of the tire to patch the hole and then re-inflate the tire. Don’t expect the tires to be as good as new. Its purpose is to get you to the nearest mechanic so you can have them repair or replace the tire — not drive on it too long.

• Fix-A-Flat is easy to use. As long as you can get the tire valve stem on and off (you can), you can use a can of Fix-A-Flat if needed.
• $8 on Amazon
• $8 at Walmart
• Image may contain machine and cylinder.
• Photo: North Toll
• Pick up the car

Strongway 4-Ton Hydraulic Bottle Jack

Bottle jacks are compact, and strong enough to lift a heavy SUV or van for a tire change. If your car came with a jack, replace it with this one. Never go under a vehicle when it is supported only by a jack and not by separate jack stands. You shouldn’t be there to change a tire anyway.