By BCR Staff
January 2019
Every sixteen-year-old kid with a new license should know a thing or two about the importance of car safety and maintenance. Yet, even people who have had been driving for years fail to prepare for car troubles or unforeseen emergencies. Once considered a necessity, tools like jumper cables, tire patches, and emergency blankets were in the trunk of every driver’s car. And most had the know-how to take care of common car issues themselves.
Hardly anyone wants to spend the time on assembling their own kit like that, and many people don’t have the experience to know what they need, what to look for, or the time to buy everything individually. Everyone deserves to drive safely, so we’ve done the research and put together this list to help you find a good overall emergency car kit.
1. Marcala
LED Safety Flare Kit w/ Batteries, Carry-Case, Screwdriver tool, and Extra Battery Set
The Marcala Safety Flare Kit is a bit of an outlier compared to most of the sets here; instead of cables and wrenches, it provides quality LED lights, flares, and a screwdriver set. It’s not an all-in-one solution, but it hits an important, underlooked facet of travel safety – ensuring that if you get lost, you can quickly and easily be found. It’s also a great utility on camping trips, and you’d do well to combine it with one of the all-in-one kits on your next road trip so that you can be prepared for any situation that you might face.
2. INEX Life
Ultimate All-In-One Survival Solution Auto
Speaking of all-in-one kits, the Ultimate All-In-One Survival Solution put out by INEX Life is a great place to start. It has an extremely high count of tools with its 112 piece set, and it even has some underappreciated items like a window breaker/seatbelt cutter, to break yourself out of your car in an emergency. However, it reaches the high count of items with many duplicated tools – which isn’t bad but is often unnecessary. It’s a fantastic gift for the outdoorsman in your life, but it might be too much for people who don’t drive often.
3. WNG Brands
Roadside Assistance Car Emergency Kit
If winter weather is the only thing giving you trouble, this lean travel kit is for you. It provides all the basic necessities in a small, easily stored package, but also has some specialty gear for repairs performed in cold, wet weather. It is a thrifty and straightforward option, and the winter specialization is useful for those who live in cold climates.
4. Thrive
Thrive Roadside Assistance Auto Emergency Kit
Thrive is an aptly named company, as their versatile kit will help you survive and thrive in an emergency. It’s an affordable, quality set with proper equipment and a well stocked first aid kit. An emergency blanket, whistle, gloves, and high-quality jumper cables are included in this kit. If you need something simple and reliable, this is one of your best options.
5. Lifeline
Lifeline AAA Excursion Road Kit
Lifeline is a significant name known for their commitment to safety, and AAA has provided their members with the means to travel safely. The Lifeline AAA Road Kit is a result of the two companies coming together to make one of the best road safety kits on the market. It offers a range of high-quality equipment that’ll get you out of any jam; the chief drawback is that its bit pricier than the others.
6. Diamond
Diamond 108-Piece Roadside Assistance Emergency Car, Truck and RV Kit
This is one of the largest kits on the market, and it boasts a solution for every problem. You’ll never encounter a problem you can’t solve with this, and it balances the massive variety of tools it offers with an affordable price point and a good balance of quantity and quality. The more casual, laidback driver will be better served by one of the more compact kits, as this one is very comprehensive.
7. Blikzone
Blikzone Premium Auto Roadside Assistance Emergency Car Kit
With this kit, you’ll be something like the Batman of roadside car repair. That is, you’ll ready for anything and everything with the almost unreasonably diverse range of tools in your ‘utility bag.’ While the sheer amount of equipment here might lead you to worry that they’ve skimped on quality, they’ve hit all the bases on must-haves like long, heavy duty jumper cables and they manage to offer unique bits of kit like an air compressor and tire repair equipment. It’s a fantastic pick for a serious driver who would never be caught dead asking for help, but to those with more modest abilities, it probably isn’t the best choice. It has all the tools anyone will ever need, which is more than many people will ever need.
8.FMS
FMS Basic Emergency Roadside Assistance Kit
Compared to feature creep of the Blikzone kit, the FMS Basic Emergency Roadside Assistance Kit specializes on providing one crucial thing and does so very well. That is, it focuses on safety. While it doesn’t offer much in the way of bells and whistles, it has a razor focus on making sure that you’re equipped to put out all necessary warning signs and resolve common emergencies. It benefits from being one of the leanest yet most practical kits on the market because a new driver or the mechanically uninclined under the stress of handling a breakdown will do best when they’re equipped with what they need and nothing extra. It’s the best option for a parent to give their teen driver, and to give themselves peace of mind in doing so.
9. Ideas In Life
Ideas In Life Car Roadside Auto Emergency Kit
With this handy toolkit, Ideas In Life has provided a space-efficient offering that’s high on utility and suitable for general maintenance and emergency repair alike. While most kits are sold in bags, this one is fit in a neat, organized shell case that’ll keep the items within it safe. At the low price of $20, it’s an excellent gift for any driver.
10. Top Gear
Top Gear Premium Roadside Assistance Kit
With this car kit, GearTOP put out the gold standard with an affordable assortment of practical, high-quality tools. The jumper cables that come with it are of high quality, and the fourteen function multitool balances reasonable cost, high effectiveness, and ingenuity. The excellent space efficiency of this sixty-six piece roadside repair kit is so great that it’s able to fit a wide array of items in the sturdy, easily carried bag. It’s the perfect solution to any trouble that’s likely to befall you on the road this year.
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