A car emergency kit can come in handy, whether you are taking a trip across the country or to your friend’s house only a few towns away. While it might seem like common sense, a lot of drivers forget to pack an emergency car kit, or they think that due to the short distance they need to travel, an emergency car survival kit won’t be necessary.
Driving the newest model car and having a roadside assistance plan aren’t excuses to skimp on a vehicle survival kit, either; there are plenty of disasters and situations that could cause you get stuck in your car.
Contents
- 1 What to Look for in Emergency Car Kit
- 2 Car Emergency Kit Reviews
- 3 AAA 42 Piece Roadside Assistance Kit Review
- 4 Top Gear Premium Roadside Assistance Kit Review
- 5 AAA 76 Piece Excursion Road Kit Review
- 6 First Secure 90 Piece Roadside Emergency Kit Review
- 7 Performance Tool Deluxe Roadside Assistance Kit Review
- 8 My Vote for Best Emergency Roadside Kit
What to Look for in Emergency Car Kit
The best car emergency kit for your car will contain the most important items and touches on key essentials for survival, including hydration, nutrition, warmth, and the ability to stay safe in case of a car accident.
These kits provide essential items, food, and water, that you will need to stay safe, including emergency blankets, first aid kits, and even emergency roadside kits that allow you to put up flares in case of car trouble.
Car Emergency Kit Reviews
I this article, I will discuss some of the most popular and highly reviewed car emergency kits. I will list the pros, cons, and prices of the kits on the list. Also, at the end of the description of each kit, there will be a bulleted list that will talk about certain points of the product, to allow you to compare them.
These bulleted points include:
- Type: What type of product the item is categorized as
- First Aid Kit: Whether the emergency kit includes first aid items
- Car Repair Supplies: Whether or not the kit includes basic car repair supplies
- Size and Weight: The size and weight of the item
AAA 42 Piece Roadside Assistance Kit Review
The AAA 42 Piece Roadside Assistance Kit is an emergency kit that is great for dealing with car troubles, as it includes jumper cables, a flashlight with batteries, a safety vest, duct tape, fuses, a screwdriver, and an AAA car care guide (along with a AAA membership brochure).
The vehicle emergency kit also includes a very limited first aid kit…only nineteen pieces.
While the first aid kit part of the emergency car kit is lacking, this kit does come with an assortment of supplies for repairing minor car troubles, such as jumper cables and a set of twelve fuses. The kit also comes from AAA, the company that is well known for their roadside assistance for their customers. At only $23, this kit is a nice kit to put into your trunk in case of emergencies, but might need to be supplemented with another, especially a proper first aid kit.
- Type: 42 Pieces
- First Aid Kit: Very limited
- Car Repair Supplies: Yes
- Size and Weight: Size: 6.4 x 12.5 x 6.8 inches, Weight: 6 pounds
Top Gear Premium Roadside Assistance Kit Review
The Top Gear Premium Roadside Assistance Kit comes in several different sizes, but the 66-piece gear kit is only $37 and includes many of the essentials that should always be stored in a car in case of emergencies.
All 66 pieces of this kit are contained neatly in a handy carrying case, making it easy to take along with you and store the included supplies.
Included in this bag are a reflective safety vest, a hand charged LED flashlight (no batteries are needed to use the flashlight, making it a handy piece of equipment), a set of jumper cables, safety cones, a small first aid supply kit, work gloves, and a multi-tool that allows you to free up space by carrying this handy piece of equipment that takes the place of fourteen other tools.
Other handy tools included in this kit are emergency rain ponchos and an emergency survival blanket – perfect if you get stuck somewhere on a cold day and night and need a way to stay warm.
- Type: 66 Pieces
- First Aid Kit: Mini kit
- Car Repair Supplies: Yes
- Size and Weight: Size: 16.4 x 7.4 x 6.1 inches, Weight: 4.2 pounds
AAA 76 Piece Excursion Road Kit Review
This $59 kit contains all of the essential items that you need in case your vehicle breaks down, including car repair supplies and a first aid kit. The AAA name brand gives consumers a bit of reassurance, and the supplies within the case are things that you will find yourself relying on in an emergency situation.
Included with the AAA 76 Piece Excursion Road Kit are a small first aid kit complete with a first aid guide, bandages, antibiotic ointment, sting relief pads, and gauze pads, emergency rain ponchos, and plenty of car care supplies, such as jumper cables, an air compressor, an aluminium flashlight, an emergency warning triangle, work gloves, screwdrivers, a utility knife, pliers, shop cloths, and bungee cord.
Along with the items listed any many more include a AAA car care guide and a brochure for AAA roadside assistance.
- Type: 76 Pieces
- First Aid Kit: Basic kit
- Car Repair Supplies: Yes
- Size and Weight: Size: 12.5 x 10 x 6.2 inches, Weight: 7.2 pounds
First Secure 90 Piece Roadside Emergency Kit Review
A bit higher of a price range than other kits on the list, the First Secure 90 Piece Roadside Emergency Kit with Safety Tools and Accessories costs about $70, but does include quite a few things that you would find yourself needing in an emergency situation.
Notable about this kit that is absent in many others is the expanded first aid kit – this kit comes with 48 pieces, including gloves, a variety of bandages, antiseptic pads, a sling, mini scissors, safety pins, iodine prep pads, and adhesive medical tape.
Also included in the kit are plenty of important car repair supplies, such as jumper cables, a reflective warning triangle, a nine piece multi tool, electrical tape, bungee cords, a headlamp, an air compressor, and a tire repair kit.
This kit truly does have multiple emergency situations covered, and if you have a family, the expanded first aid kit makes it even more valuable.
- Type: 90 Pieces
- First Aid Kit: Large kit
- Car Repair Supplies: Yes
- Size and Weight: Size: 14.8 x 3.7 x 11 inches, Weight: 8.2 pounds
Performance Tool Deluxe Roadside Assistance Kit Review
Priced at $32, the Performance Tool Deluxe Roadside Assistance Kit is a relatively basic car emergency bag that will do in a pinch, but is lacking some of the more advanced equipment and supplies that some of the other kits have.
This kit contains tools that you will need to jump your car or tow it, an ice scraper, a basic flashlight, a utility knife, a screwdriver, pliers, electrical tape, and a very limited first aid kit.
While the small size of this kit makes it a nice choice as a backup or as a spare to keep in another car, it is lacking a lot of the features that make the other kits so popular. It is a nice basic kit to purchase if you are not too handy with car repairs, as it does have the jumper cables and tow rope, but if you are skilled in automotive repairs you might find yourself investing in a better, more complete kit.
- Type: 49 Pieces
- First Aid Kit: Very limited
- Car Repair Supplies: Yes
- Size and Weight: Size: 11 x 9.2 x 6 inches, Weight: 4 pounds
My Vote for Best Emergency Roadside Kit
While each emergency auto kit listed above has your basic car repair supplies and at least a very limited first aid kit, including bandages, I believe that it is important to consider all possible situations when purchasing a car safety kit.
I would personally avoid the ones with the limited first aid kits, especially if there is more than one person in the car, as you might find yourself needing more than just a few bandages and an alcohol pad.
The larger road safety kits have better car repair supplies in them, and their first aid supplies make the extra cost worth it. Because of this, I am going to have to go ahead and recommend the First Secure 90 Piece Roadside Emergency Kit with Safety Tools and Accessories, because it is loaded with supplies for both car repair and first aid that aren’t seen in several other kits.
Safety is the number one thing you should focus on when driving, so why not make sure to have all of your bases covered in case of an emergency?
This road emergency kit is definitely worth the extra cost!