I just ordered a couple of these RAC emergency breakdown beacons. I went for the the yellow casing with orange/amber LEDs. I tried it out at the weekend and I've got to say for £15, or £20 for a rechargeable version, these cannot be beat. The plastic housing is very robust and the unit is waterproof. It is magnetic plus it has a loop fixing in the casing so it can be mounted easily on your vehicle or clipped to clothing or placed in the road as a warning. I fitted mine to the back of my quad trailer by the magnet option only and it did not come off even while bouncing around on and off-road.
There are ten different flash settings which are selected by holding down the on/off button. In a comparison test with a traditional traffic cone 6 volt amber beacon in unlit roads there really is no comparison. Youtube has some demo videos but I'll try and get out this evening and post up a video of the RAC beacon up against my traditional 6 volt beacon.
http://www.heinnie.com supplied mine.
Car Bag
- CynicalSurvival
- Posts: 189
- Joined: Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:39 pm
- Location: Scotland
Re: Car Bag
Noticed this tow rope which is cheap on Amazon but gets really good reviews:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Towing-tonne-st ... 969&sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Towing-tonne-st ... 969&sr=1-1
The last taboo is the myth of civilisation. It is built upon the stories we have constructed about our genius, our indestructibility, our manifest destiny as a chosen species. - The Dark Mountain Project Manifesto http://dark-mountain.net/about/manifesto/
Re: Car Bag
You could make up a couple of flasks with just boiling water before you leave home and then replace before you leave work. I used to do this and also took some tea bags, coffee, powdered milk, cuppa soups and a couple of chocolate bars. You could also consider getting some snow/ice grippers for under your footwear and a walking pole. I know blankets have been mentioned but you could add a survival blanket to your list.
- Briggs 2.0
- Posts: 675
- Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:35 am
Re: Car Bag
A few posts up I mentioned how pleased I was with the RAC beacon I bought to add to my winter car kit. Here's the video of the RAC beacon next to a standard 6v beacon like you see on top of traffic cones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W26cjtRFL1E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W26cjtRFL1E
Off-Grid & Living Outdoors
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- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Car Bag
Briggs 2.0 wrote:A few posts up I mentioned how pleased I was with the RAC beacon I bought to add to my winter car kit. Here's the video of the RAC beacon next to a standard 6v beacon like you see on top of traffic cones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W26cjtRFL1E
That's rather bright
Saw these a while ago
http://www.emergencyequipmentshop.co.uk ... afety-lamp
Was tempted by blue as everyone seems to respond to blue lights and if on a person or the ground from what I've read is legal as its just a torch rather than trying to impersonate a emergency service vehicle
I did get verbally abused about 2 years ago I pulled off a main road into a village which had a narrow D shaped road off the main a road to sort a offside puncture
I had stopped triangle behind amber led light bar on the roof hazards on yellow highvis jacket and trousers on
Idiot came belting round the bend and anchored up window down I was f ing stupid etc ect my lights were blinding in short he was traveling too fast and crapped himself when he saw the lights and yellow clad bloke fixing his car .....
The diplomatic reasoning didn't work he got note and more vocal to the point I decided to pick up the long knuckle bar and matched his verbal onslaught at which point he screached off
Just be aware people manage to hit these..
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
- Briggs 2.0
- Posts: 675
- Joined: Tue Apr 22, 2014 11:35 am
Re: Car Bag
It is quite bright, I agree but I'm all for being seen and not run over!Yorkshire Andy wrote:Briggs 2.0 wrote:A few posts up I mentioned how pleased I was with the RAC beacon I bought to add to my winter car kit. Here's the video of the RAC beacon next to a standard 6v beacon like you see on top of traffic cones.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W26cjtRFL1E
That's rather bright
There is dimmed down setting where only the lower half of the unit is illuminated and not flashing. I reckon this would be ideal if forced to walk on foot on unlit roads.
Off-Grid & Living Outdoors
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- Posts: 9237
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Car Bag
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
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- Posts: 9237
- Joined: Thu Oct 03, 2013 4:06 pm
Re: Car Bag
Well I got a pack of 6 blue RAC lights in a charging case on offer the amber and red were £120 blue cost me £60! http://www.personalhazardlight.co.uk/pr ... rging+Case
very impressed with them
very impressed with them
If your roughing it, Your doing it wrong
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Lack of planning on your part doesn't make it an emergency on mine
Re: Car Bag
I'll have to post a picture of the contents on my storage area (the car has runflats so the compartment that used to hold the spare tyre in previous models is now a secret storage area.
a few things I have in there are:
CO2 fire extinguisher (half size)
20 litres of diesel
6 cell mag light
steel tow rope
self heating drinks, and self heating tins of food
hand warmers
Guernsey
ski gloves
High Vis winter jacket
crow scarers
catapult
towels
rug
flares
to name just a small portion of it.
plus a BOB with some interesting stuff in it.
a few things I have in there are:
CO2 fire extinguisher (half size)
20 litres of diesel
6 cell mag light
steel tow rope
self heating drinks, and self heating tins of food
hand warmers
Guernsey
ski gloves
High Vis winter jacket
crow scarers
catapult
towels
rug
flares
to name just a small portion of it.
plus a BOB with some interesting stuff in it.
Area 6 bordering to area 8
'Time is a poison - too much of it and you die'
'Time is a poison - too much of it and you die'
Re: Car Bag
oh and something I always keep in the main part of the car.....
Urine bags, crystal self sealing (with she-wee attachment, which my wife is horrified about)
Urine bags, crystal self sealing (with she-wee attachment, which my wife is horrified about)
Area 6 bordering to area 8
'Time is a poison - too much of it and you die'
'Time is a poison - too much of it and you die'