If you’re a car guy, your vehicle’s no doubt already stocked with all the obvious stuff you need in case of emergency: the first-aid kit, the blanket, the jumper cables. But there’s one clever piece of gear for the truly savvy that you might wind up using more than all that other stuff put together. The key word here is versatility—and nothing’s more multipurpose than a high-quality Rescue Tool from Victorinox, the makers of the Original Swiss Army Knife™.
While the classic Huntsman model can assist in everyday challenges—like tightening the loose screw on your sunglasses or cutting open a package of beef jerky—the Victorinox Rescue Tool can do more. Developed with first responders and designed with implements that can help you escape from a car in an emergency or rescue trapped occupants from a wrecked vehicle, the Rescue Tool is one you’ll want to have on hand in a tricky situation.
Rescue Tool
Here are five reasons why the Rescue Tool is an essential piece of equipment for every vehicle:
1. Side-Window Escape
Car-door windows are made of tempered glass, designed to shatter into round-edge pieces that won’t slice like regular glass shards. Its most important characteristic, however, is its strength: Tempered glass is about four times stronger than untreated glass, which makes it difficult to punch or kick your way through—and even more so if your car is sinking in water. The Rescue Tool features a window breaker with a sharp metal point that allows you to concentrate the force of your exertion with glass-shattering effectiveness.
2. Windshield Extraction
Automobile windshields are made of a different material, shatterproof glass, which consists of a thin layer of vinyl sandwiched between layers of glass. This makes them strong, resistant to shattering, and very tough to break. If you come across a crash and can’t get to the occupant through the door, removing the entire windshield intact might be the best approach: Use the Rescue Tool’s knife to cut away the rubber seal, then pry out the glass with the screwdriver head.
If you can access a side window, that can be quicker to break through than a windshield. But punching it with the window breaker will send glass spraying into the interior. To reduce the risk of injury, apply rows of duct tape or other adhesive tape to the exterior to keep the fragments bound together before you hit the glass.
3. Windshield Cutaway
If you can’t remove the whole windshield, you can still get someone out by cutting an opening. The vinyl laminate makes this tough—but the Rescue Tool can handle it. Use the window breaker to punch a couple of holes into the glass, then rip a line from one to the next using the tool’s glass saw. Repeat until you’ve created an opening large enough to extract the occupant. Warning: You’ll want to wear heavy gloves for this one.
4. Cutting the Cord
Injured or unconscious crash victims might not be able to unbuckle their own seat belts. The Rescue Tool’s seat-belt cutter makes quick work of the polyester webbing.
5. Jump-Start Assistance
Whether it happens to you or someone you just happen to be driving by, a dead car battery can be scary—especially if it occurs on a busy street or highway. Use the Rescue Tool’s wire stripper to connect the working engine to the dead car battery, then head to the mechanic as soon as you can. (A jump-start is only a temporary fix for a larger issue.)
And of course, the Rescue Tool also features many of the classics we’ve come to expect from a Swiss Army Knife™: reamer, tweezers—and, yes, bottle opener. So at the end of the day, you can pop the top off your favorite beverage and savor the satisfaction of a versatile tool well employed.
