AAA EXPLORER 70 PIECE ROADSIDE ASSISTANT KIT INCLUDES:1 AAA car care guide, 1 AAA membership brochure, 1 8 gauge 10 foot heavy duty booster cable, 1 hand crank flashlight, pair of gloves with grips one side for better gripping 1 emergency poncho, 1 emergency whistle, 1 roll of duct tape, 1 Phillips screw driver, 1 flat head screw driver, 1 utility knife, 1 bungee cord, 2 shop cloth, 10 cable ties, 45 pieces of first aid, 1 premium double sided padded carry bag with handle. 13.5 x 10 x 6 in
Only useable thing — jumper cables,
I got this kit from amazon because it came with a bunch of stuff I wanted to use — jumper cables, usb powered air pump, reflective triangle etc. While the kit seems comprehensive, the quality of products is very low. The usb powered air pump is completely useless, every time I’ve tried it, all it does it just rattle around, with no difference whatsoever to my tire pressure. While I’ve never had to use the reflective triangle; but it seems very unstable; and just a single one won’t be any good anyways. I’ve since bought emergency beacons (or you could buy flares etc.), also from amazon, which use a bunch of AA batteries, are magnetic so you could stick it to the vehicle itself if you want, are much shorter in height, and way brighter and eye-catching (blinking). The only thing I’ve really used is the jumper cable; they don’t seem very high quality; but they’ve always done the job. I could have used a bit longer cables though; but we’ve always been able to push the dead car so make it closer to the live one.
Overall, this is what I’ve bought over time and use — good jumper cables, emergency flares, tire pressure gauge, first aid kit (voodoo tactical is good). I no longer bother with the air pump, you can always just change the tire; and if there’s something stuck in the tire, filling air only won’t help. I also keep a torque wrench (80 bucks from lowe’s), because it makes it trivial to change tires, and ensure the correct pressure on the lug nuts.
Btw, DO practice changing the tire in your garage. Knowing you can change the tire on your own, gives a big relief to mind when you make that big trip. From my own experiences, while road side assistance seems plentiful in the day, at night things are not the same. There’re generally only one or two towing agencies working in the night per city (which means lot of calling around to figure out who’d come), and the minimum wait that you’d have to do for one to arrive would be at least 45 minutes; that is if you have cell reception in the area where you’re stuck and can call. If you know how to change tire, its more like a 15 minute affair. Practicing the tire change also lets you figure out where is the jack in the car (lot of people don’t know that), where to put the jack (most of the people don’t know that), and how to use wrench etc. or, if you even have the wrench.. (or the owners manual for that case).
Anyways, bunch of the other stuff in the kit, I’ve no idea when I’d need them. There’re some bandages etc, but even a basic first aid kit is better than what this kit has in terms of tackling injuries. So, this was an okay starter kit when I didn’t know what to keep in the car, but now that I do know, I think its a waste of money. However, this is still better than not having anything, a good first step to safety.. so giving it 3 stars.
Was this review helpful to you?
Great gift for new driver,
I bought this as a gift for my 17 year old nephew who was a new driver (ugh) with a older type car. He was equally amazed how many useful items came within this bag. Add this with a cell phone and an ’emergency-use-only’ $20 bill and you’ll be able to breath alittle better when he’s on the road.
Was this review helpful to you?
comprehensive enough for me!,
This road assistance kit is great; comprehensive enough for my needs. I mainly bought it because it has jumper cables and a flashlight that works without batteries – pretty sweet considering I probably (hopefully) won’t be using it often. It has some first-aid stuff and even a poncho if you get caught in a rainstorm while changing a tire! I feel more prepared for the unexpected having this kit in my trunk.
Was this review helpful to you?