Originally Posted By: Bingley

[*]16' 6 gauge 500 amp jumper cable


Among the many weaknesses of the commercial kits are their short and wimpy jumper cables. Good choice for the heavy duty, long cables. I once was on a single lane, dirt road, with a mountain on one side and a cliff on the other and had to jump the car ahead of me. I was happy to have jumper cables that would reach to the front of the car in front of me.

Originally Posted By: Bingley

Now, I'm not sure of the following things
  • Road flares vs. magnetic strobe that you can mount on top of the car. Do I need both?
  • Tools. I home-improve and repair my computers, which often results in repairing both the home and the computers some more, but I have no experience fixing cars. What sort of tools will I need? I found the standard list of screw drivers, plier, wrench, etc. But these guys vary a bit.
  • An even bigger question is how I can gain the knowledge to use them. As Eric points out, some of these items are useless without that knowledge. Are there manuals, or "automotive first aid" classes?

I'm trying not to have too much stuff in the kit, but the list just grows by itself...
Da Bing


I carry flares and triangles. Now they have some new triangles with built in flashing LEDs and I am contemplating those. I like having both. Flares are quick and easy and very bright. Triangles take a little more time to set up, but are useful in situations where you might not want to introduce fire (spilled fuel, etc). Also, they last longer than flares. Oh, and flares can be great fire-starters . . .