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A car escape tool is one of the rare purchases you hope to never use. For that very reason, many drivers think buying one in the first place is unnecessary, but a simple $10 tool could make the difference between life and death in a bad wreck. But with existential level stakes, you don’t want to simply buy any car escape tool. You want the best, most reliable, user-tested options out there. That’s where we come in. Through scouring forum posts, industry research, and user reviews, we did the groundwork for you in finding the best tools available on the market. From affordable, minimalist glass breakers and seatbelt cutters, to multi-tool level escape flashlights and knives, we found the best car escape tool for every situation.
Summary List
Best Overall: Resqme 2-in-1 Keychain
Best Value: Swiss Safe 5-in-1 Hammer
Honorable Mention: StatGear SuperVizor XT
Best Escape Knife: Kershaw Barricade
Best Escape Flashlight: NPET T10-5
Our Methodology
When it comes to car escape tools, you’re primarily evaluating two basic functions: breaking a window and cutting a seatbelt. Just about every escape tool performs reasonably well for the latter of those functions, but design and build quality can greatly affect a tool’s glass-breaking ability. When making our picks, we tried offering a variety of different escape tools, each with a different emphasis. From there, we employed The Drive’s review methodology to pick the best option for each category. We focused largely on user reviews. Does the tool do everything it claims to? Does it stay together long enough for a user to test it? We also considered research from AAA about what designs are most effective in car escape tools.
Best Car Escape Tools Reviews & Recommendations
Best Overall
Resqme 2-in-1 Keychain
Best Value
Swiss Safe 5-in-1 Hammer
Honorable Mention
StatGear SuperVizor XT
Best Escape Knife
Kershaw Barricade
Best Escape Flashlight
NPET T10-5
Our Verdict
If you’re looking for the best, no-frills car escape tool then the Resqme 2-in-1 Keychain is easily one of the best options on the market. If you want an even more affordable option for a couple of vehicles in your household, you can’t go wrong with the Swiss Safe 5-in-1 Hammer.
The Laminated Glass Problem
Modern cars have traditionally used a combination of laminated glass, commonly for front and rear windows, and tempered glass, for side windows. Laminated glass is useful because it can maintain its integrity even after the glass itself cracks thanks to the plastic layer between the two panes of glass. This is helpful for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn’t create individual pieces of loose glass that become a hazard to passengers. Second, and most importantly, it can help prevent passenger ejection during an accident. It’s for this second reason that new safety standards, such as Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 226, are pushing vehicle manufacturers to include laminated glass for side windows. Of roughly 350 2018 models, 115 now have laminated side windows installed. This is a 67 percent increase since 2008.
When it comes to car escape tools, laminated glass poses a problem. The same resiliency that makes it effective against ejection makes it virtually unbreakable by consumer-grade escape tools. In AAA research on car escape tools, every tool tested failed to break a pane of laminated glass. For this reason, AAA recommends that in the event of water immersion, passengers should not attempt to break their laminated windows, but rather follow the air bubble in the car until the pressure equalizes and you’re able to open the door. You can find which of your car’s windows are laminated or tempered by reading the sticker attached to the glass.
From the perspective of escaping a car, the proliferation of laminated glass may seem like a bane to safety rather than an aid to it, but accident statistics would suggest otherwise. In 2017, there were a total of 20,800 fire and water submersion-related crashes, resulting in 10,800 injuries and 1,872 deaths. That same year, there were 21,400 occupants fully or partially ejected from a vehicle which resulted in 11,200 injuries and 5,053 deaths. With ejection posing a fatality rate 2.6 times that of fire and water immersion-related crashes, the increased usage of laminated glass seems to be a net benefit, even if it makes the glass-breaking capabilities of consumer-grade escape tools largely ineffective.
Things to Consider Before Buying a Car Escape Tool
Storage
Among all the factors to consider when buying an escape tool, storage options might not seem like a particularly critical one. But, the best design doesn’t do anything for you if you can’t easily and quickly access a tool after an accident. Smaller escape tools are often designed to be clipped onto a keychain or stored in your pocket, while others are meant to be stored in a glove box or attached to a sun visor. If you will be frequently changing the vehicle you’re driving or riding in, it would be beneficial to look for an escape tool that can stay on your person. But, if you exclusively drive one vehicle, then a sun visor attachment can be a useful way of keeping your tool readily accessible in your vehicle
Hammer vs. Spring-Loaded
The glass-breaking feature on escape tools comes in two main designs. First, a hammer-style design relies on the user to swing the tip with enough force to break the window. This design is generally effective, but it loses functionality in the case of water immersion when the added resistance stops users from swinging the tip fast enough to break a window. Second, a spring-loaded design only requires that the user press the tool against the window until it releases the tip and a spring shoots it into the glass. AAA research has shown the spring-loaded design to more reliably break glass, but some users still prefer the simplicity of the hammer-style design.
Added Features
A glass-breaking tip and seat belt cutting blade are generally considered the only two essential features of an escape tool, but depending on your exact situation, it could be worth looking for an escape tool with added features like an alarm call or whistle, flashlight, knife, pepper spray, or power bank. With these extra features, your escape tool can double as a self-defense device or simply a convenient tool for day-to-day uses. When considering these additional features, you want to spend some time considering what your specific situation could benefit from. If you’re frequently driving in remote locations then you will want to look for different features than, say, someone who frequently takes taxis or Ubers to their destination in a metro area.
Car Escape Tool Pricing
For a simple escape tool with nothing more than a glass-breaking tip and a seatbelt cutter, you can expect to spend anywhere from $5 to $15. Prices can vary significantly once you start including additional features. Across all of the escape tools listed here, prices ranged from $5 up to $42.
You can save yourself money by first considering what features your specific situation would require or benefit from. If you don’t have any use for things like a flashlight, knife, or alarm call feature, then save yourself the bulk and cost and look for a more minimalist escape tool.
FAQs
You’ve got questions. The Drive has answers.
Q: Where should I keep my escape tool?
A: The storage location for your escape tool depends on your situation. If you’re only ever in one vehicle then you can reasonably store it in the vehicle itself with something like a sun visor holder. But if you’re frequently in different vehicles then you would be better suited to keep it on a keychain in your pocket or bag.
Q: What do I do if my car has laminated glass?
A: Because consumer-grade escape tools are incapable of sufficiently breaking laminated glass, AAA recommends following the air pocket in your car until the pressure equalizes if it is submerged in water, allowing you to open the doors to escape.
Q: Does an escape tool work underwater?
A: A hammer-style escape tool would likely not work underwater because of the added resistance stopping users from generating the force needed to break the glass. However, a spring-loaded tip should work equally well underwater as it does above ground.
