The US Safety Kit All-in-One Car Emergency Kit with 5BC Fire Extinguisher for Ultimate Road Safety goes beyond providing the tools to put out car fires with the ability to pump up a flat or nose around the engine bay in the dark. Its first aid supplies and tools are a bit skimpy but the roadside kit includes small water packets as well as the expected jumper cables and tow rope.
Packaged in a plain red backpack, is the $100 emergency kit enough to keep a crash from becoming a tragedy?
Packaged in a generic red backpack, the All-in-One Car Emergency Kit with 5BC Fire Extinguisher for Ultimate Road Safety takes up 13.0 x 11.1 x 7.8 inches, making it too big to slide under a car seat. Its 12.7 pound weight is on the high side and the nylon backpack’s skimpy shoulder straps make it unlikely to comfortably carry it for long. It has a handle that’s more appropriate for responding to a crisis.
Sadly, the pack lacks reflective tape for nighttime visibility but has four empty external pouches, perfect for adding extra items. On the other hand, the pack’s zipper only extends about two-thirds of the way down making finding what you need frustrating and time-consuming, particularly in an emergency. In fact, I found that to get to anything other than the items that floated to the top, I had to pour out its entire contents.
Its 12 major items include work gloves, a poncho and a “Call Police” poster for the windshield in an urgent situation. For nighttime emergencies, there’s a surprisingly bright LED flashlight with batteries as well as a glow stick and four way reflective triangle for putting next to a disabled car.
The center of attention is the kit’s dry chemical fire extinguisher. Made by First Alert, it carries a 5BC rating and can help put out gas, diesel or electric car battery fires. It has a readiness gauge and a bracket for attaching to the back of a truck or car.
In addition to the expected tow rope, the US Safety Kit has a generous 12-foot long set of jumper cables for reviving a dead battery. The cables are color coded for polarity but the terminal clips lack positive and negative markings that might help reduce a jumpstart mix up.
For flats, the kit’s air compressor has a pressure gauge and it’s 9-foot cord should reach all four tires on most cars and light trucks. It does without tire sealant to quickly get back on the road.
It first aid kit comes up short compared to the best with one exception: it includes three 125ml water packets for a desert breakdown or cleaning a wound. On top of latex gloves, a mask and a mylar blanket for getting through a cold night, the kit has small bandages, alcohol and antiseptic pads as well as burn cream.
Meanwhile, the supplied tools are a big disappointment, particularly due to the extra space available. There’s nothing more than a utility knife and a small roll of duct tape that might come in handy to temporarily fix a coolant hose or electrical short.
With its fire extinguisher, air pump and flashlight, the All-in-One Car Emergency Kit with 5BC Fire Extinguisher for Ultimate Road Safety comes close to my ideal way to deal with a roadside calamity. All it really needs is a toolkit to live up to ultimate status. Fortunately, at $100 and with space in its backpack, there’s room for growth.
