Cool Stuff To Have In Your Car

Like the “Cool stuff for your living space” post, this is open to suggestions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3VHtWWAitw4

Logistics and Emergency Supplies

First, here’s a handy visual guide from the Art of Manliness. And here’s a guide from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

You can also cross-reference this with Wirecutter.com’s Helpful Gear for Any Emergency directory.

• License and registration. Have them both handy and within arm’s reach should you ever be pulled over.
• An umbrella. You can get a cheap one for like 5 bucks at Wal-Mart, just to have in your car.
• Jumper cables. And know how to jump a car.
• Tire-changing equipment. A spare tire, a jack, and a lug wrench. Your car may already have some or all of these items; check your manual or in your trunk.
• Cell phone charger. Make sure it works for your relevant phone. It wouldn’t hurt to have a prepaid cell phone for emergencies, either.
• Flashlight. MagLite. Or a hand-crank flashlight/USB charger combo.
• Emergency radio. Sometimes you can get a flashlight/radio combo. Lifehacker has a guide on picking a good emergency radio. Make sure you know the emergency stations in your area–or simply write them down and post them on the radio or in the car. Here’s a handcrank radio that also charges your phone.
• Two-way radios.
• Road flares. You have options here, including LED flares like PowerFlare. Wirecutter recommends pairing the AAA warning triangle with LED warning lights.
• Food/bottled water. If you ever drive somewhere remote and need to wait a long time for emergency assistance, you’ll be glad for it. Buy food that can stay a long time while wrapped, and avoid food that will melt.
• Wool blankets or space blankets. A military wool blanket would be nice.
• First aid kit. You can even make your own.
• Folding shovel.
• LifeHammer. If you get stuck.
• Miscellaneous helpful things. A toolbox with duct tape, a knife, paracord, and the basics like screwdrivers and such won’t hurt.

For winter, I’ve also seen people recommend having a bag of sand or kitty litter for adding traction in the snow.

Affordable Cool Stuff

Gadgets for your car obviously depend on your needs and car model.

• Dash cam. Check your local dash cam laws. Wirecutter.com recommends the G1W.
• iClever Bluetooth audio kit. A cheap way to set up bluetooth. This one is also incredibly simple.
• USB car charger.
• Effective wipers. The rain doesn’t stop James Bond. Wirecutter’s recommendation. Make sure it fits your car before you buy it!
• Bag hanger. Sounds lame, but it beats plopping down a plastic bag on the seat and having the stuff move around. What is being suave if not having solutions?
• Car socket extender. Turns your one electrical socket in the car into four–and a USB charger.
• Heads-up displays. Project your speed or other information like GPS directions onto the windshield itself. There are a lot of options here and I’m working on finding a cool one for a link.

Expensive Cool Stuff

• LoJack security products. Expensive and hard to set up but worth mentioning if you want to be smarter than the criminals who steal your car.
• Radar detector. Expensive, but slick. Check local laws–I believe they’re banned in Virginia.