Roadside Emergency Kit?

[Darcy]

Any suggestions on good roadside emergency kits? I think one thing I could do without is the backpack or duffel bag of questionable quality that the tools/supplies come in. Maybe that's a vote for piecing together such a kit oneself?

[Fat Crip]

Hi Darcy, Car or Bike?

[Fat Crip]

By the way Darcy, surely it should read:

Siquid mantica non capit, adepto allus pera?

or ... adepto a maior pera?

or ... adepto a Tom Bihn pera?

or even ... adept a Aeronaut?

Latin scholars please feel free to correct my grammar, but its 30 years since I last sat in Mr Kullman's class!

[Twitchy]

So Tom doesn't have one of these in the pipe line??

[Darcy]

Car.

Twitchy: Tom's working on some pretty cool road trip bags, but I don't think we'll be offering the innards of such a kit.

[Fat Crip]

Sorry, I'm much better with bike kits. I was always the tool donkey. I had the first aid kit, the tools, the spares and the skills to use them. Every one else seemed to trust to luck! With the car I trust to an RAC card (Royal Automobile Club)!

Mind you in Spain, by law, you have to carry a hi-Viz jacket for each person in the car, a spare bulb and fuse set, at least one, but it might be two, reflective triangles as well as a spare tyre and the kit to change it. But, hire a car, as I do, and you're lucky to get the jack and wheel brace! We keep a little pack in our villa with the jackets and bulbs/fuses, together with a warning triangle. Then we try to remember to, one, put them in the car, and, two, to take them back out!

Cheers,

Eric

P.S. I was only pulling your leg about the Latin!

[maverick]

Any suggestions on good roadside emergency kits? I think one thing I could do without is the backpack or duffel bag of questionable quality that the tools/supplies come in. Maybe that's a vote for piecing together such a kit oneself?

hi darcy!

• first aid kit
• flares
• flashlight
• gaffer's tape
• jumper cables
• tool set
• water bottles
• non-perishable food
• blanket
• change of clothes

if it's winter time, it's a good idea to keep a snow shovel, gloves, and a bag of sand in the trunk of the car if you or someone else gets stuck.

[Fat Crip]

Hi Maverick,

I thought where I lived was pretty remote! You've got provisions for the long haul. I do agree with the snow shovel and I take warm clothes, boots etc if its snowing/likely to snow, but I've never been stuck longer than over night. The local farmers come out in the morning to clear the roads to get at their animals.

Mind you our snow has already started, and if its anything like last year it could go on till May. The migrating swans arrived two weeks earlier this year - a sure sign of a hard winter. I'm off to Spain!

Cheers,

Eric

[Frank II]

You might want to check out your local AAA office. They usually have a few different ones for sale.

[keb]

Mav lives near DC, right? He needs a shovel year round, not just for snow!!

[dclawyer]

Costco sells roadside emergency kits at very reasonable prices. That's where I got mine.

[moriond]

You might want to check out your local AAA office. They usually have a few different ones for sale.

Mav lives near DC, right? He needs a shovel year round, not just for snow!!

The Potomac branch of the AAA (downtown Washington D.C. office) used to feature a product called track treads that were lightweight, rectangular grille mats you could put down under your tires. The closest product I could find in a recent search were the Bear Claw Tractions Mats. (Just one item that seemed missing from maverick's winter list, that's a bit easier than a snow shovel and a bag of sand.)

moriond

[MtnMan]

For a hoot, you might want to check out the FAK (first aid kit) videos put out by TNP (The Nutnfancy Project). Nutnfancy is a YouTube video personality like Maverick, but worlds apart. Nutfancy is apparently a military officer, and he is really big into guns, knives and wilderness adventures.

I discovered some of his FAK videos and they make certain practical sense, as far as first-aid-away-from-home goes. His "Level One" FAK video is targeted at short-range hikers/backpackers. He bases his FAK inventory on practical considerations (packable size and weight, possible FAK use scenarios) the methodology of which he refers to as POU (philosophy of use).

It may not be a perfect fit for what this thread's subject matter, but it does offer food for thought. Nutnfancy also offers a series of videos for his larger "Level Two" FAKs.