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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program I bought a LifeHammer The Original Emergency Hammer (Orange) for one of my cars and thankfully I've never needed it, so when I got a second car I thought I'd try for something a little more compact. Unfortunately I'm less than impressed with this tool.
The tool measures 2"x3 1/2" (same as a business card) and is about 3/4" thick so it will fit neatly into even the smallest storage spaces in your car. Its construction is plastic and certainly has a cheap feel to it, though it easily survived several drops and half-strength tosses against my basement wall without a scratch. I do not find its shape terribly ergonomic; the plastic has a matte finish with very little grip to it. I feel this is a significant concern; if you're in an accident where you'd need this tool, your hand will likely be sweaty (or worse) and I can easily see this tool being difficult to hold.
Feature-wise it's a nice assortment. I am reasonably sure the safety hammer works as advertised. I was able to test it against an old car door and it left is nice little dimple so if it can dent steel that easy it should be good enough to shatter glass.
The flashlight is weak, using only a single white LED for illumination. Good for finding a dropped quarter on the floor or signaling location but that's about it. It won't light the way more than 2-3 feet in front of you. The white LED shares its space with two red LEDs that strobe brightly, to be used as an emergency beacon. It's no match for an emergency flare but on a dark road it can be easily seen.
The panic siren is LOUD and is arguably the best part of this tool.
The tire pressure gauge is digital and accurate to within .1 psi when compared against my rotary tire gauge, so I deem it accurate. Unfortunately the port that connects to the valve stem is plastic and I can see it easily being damaged over time as the metal from the valve stem scrapes away the plastic.
The safety belt cutter is revealed by pulling away a small plastic tab (to which is also attached a keychain loop). I had no problem cutting through a few lines of sisal string but it was definitely not as easy as my LifeHammer or the Leatherman that I carry around. I think the shape of the tool was more of a hindrance here.
Finally, the tread wear indicator is literally just a little sticker attached to the aforementioned small plastic tab. This is the weakest part of the package; it's a tiny sticker after all. Get it a little wet and it'll dissolve. Over time the glue will dry out and the sticker will fall off. You're better off using a penny.
One very perplexing thing was Swiss+Tech's decision to make this a keychain device. It's WAY too large to actually be attached to someone's keychain, and if someone was silly enough to try it they would be hitting the flashlight and/or alarm buttons every time they reached into their pocket. The tread wear gauge slides out with even a small tug so it would constantly be falling off the keychain. I suppose it's possible that Swiss+Tech intends people to put this on a lariat and hang it from the rear view mirror or something, but if that's the case why not provide a lariat? So I really don't know what they were thinking when they put the keychain bit onto it.
Overall this isn't a bad tool so why only two stars? The overall cheap feel of the tool is a big factor; the flashlight, belt cutter, and tread wear indicator seem practically useless in the field. But an important part of it is because it's awkward to hold and use, and for an emergency tool "awkward" is the last adjective you want to pair it with. Maybe they're not maybe it's just my perception of things, but if I don't have confidence in the tool then how useful is it really going to be when it matters?
In an emergency I have confidence in my LifeHammer. I have confidence in my Leatherman. I don't have confidence in this tool, and THAT'S why I only give it two stars.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program My husband and I recently talked about how we need to have window-breaking devices in our cars because we've realized there are more roadside bodies of water around us than we thought ("Oh, hey, look, there's actually water under this bridge!"). So I was really happy to get this tool. Unfortunately, it tries to do too many things, so it doesn't do any of them particularly well.First off, the primary purpose for me is the window-breaking feature. Apparently there is an awl-type of thing embedded within the device, and when you push firmly against a window, it springs out. As other reviewers have tried, I was able to deploy the awl into a stack of cardboard, and it did make a nice hole that I think would probably shatter a window. I wanted to try it out on a real window (I have access to some junk cars), but the instructions warn that the awl is meant to be used on a window only once, and then it should be replaced. Hopefully I didn't wear it out on the cardboard. I had to push pretty hard to activate the awl, so it's *probably* not likely to deploy accidentally, but do you really want to carry a spring-loaded spear in your pocket, or even in your hand? Quite frankly, I'm a little afraid of the thing. I think LifeHammer has this tool beat HUGELY for this function.
The seatbelt cutter is a good thing to have in conjunction with a window-breaker, but the arm on this one is so flimsy, I'm concerned about it breaking, especially during the frantic, aggressive movements I have to think I'd be making if I ever found it necessary to cut through a seatbelt. Again, this is something that I can't really test out because it's a use-only-once tool. If you try it out, the blade might become too dull to cut through a seatbelt if you ever actually need it (to be fair, LifeHammer's seatbelt-cutter is also a one-use device, but the material surrounding their blade is MUCH more solid).
There is a built-in flashlight and emergency flasher. I actually kind of like these two things, but because the batteries would be a hassle to replace, I probably will avoid using this feature except in an emergency (and hopefully at that point the batteries are still good since they will have been standing around unused for years). The Amazon description says this device takes an A23 battery, but I opened it up and found three LR44 batteries (also known as A13, not A23). These are tiny little "button batteries." The battery compartment itself is difficult to access, requiring a micro Phillips screwdriver. The tiny screw is not attached to the door, so be careful that you don't drop it and lose it (I almost did).
The tread-depth indicator is one of those "why not?" sort of things, but it doesn't really add much value. A penny is just as good.
The panic alarm seems like a great idea, but it's far too easy to unintentionally activate it when handling the device, digging for it, or trying to turn on the flashlight. The flashlight button is raised up a bit, whereas the panic button is flush with the surface of the device, so that helps a little, but it would have been much better if you had to slide out the cover over the seatbelt-cutter to arm the button (I wish the awl were similarly protected from accidental deployment). It's nice and loud, though. Be aware before you try it out that you have to hold the button down again for a few seconds to get it to shut off, and it seems like FOREVER.
I guess the pressure gauge is a handy thing. I already have one, though. And do I really want to burn up my tiny batteries using this one?
The cover over the seatbelt cutter has the hole through which you would supposedly thread the ring of your car keys. Good idea in theory, but the cover slides off way too easily, and this thing is really too bulky to carry around on your keychain (and you'll probably wear down the batteries by accidentally turning on the flashlight in your pocket; or stab yourself with the awl). The optional visor clip seems like a better idea, but it should have been included. On Swiss+Tech's website, it's $2.99 (not including shipping, which I could not determine because their shopping cart was not working; I couldn't actually add the clip to my cart).
This might make a cool gift for a Secret Santa exchange or some other small-gift occasion, and, overall, this isn't a terrible device, but there are better options for what it does.
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Once we got this, we basically just threw it into the glove compartment and used it only when we needed. The tire gauge was accurate to the two we tested it against. The siren is seriously loud. The flashlight is okay, though not that bright, so you couldn't rely just on this item alone if you needed a flashlight. The signal flasher light also didn't seem quite as bright as I would have hoped, though in the dark on a road it might have more visibility than it seemed just testing it in our driveway. The belt cutter worked fine cutting some thick fabric we had around. The tire tread indicator is just a little marker you put next to your tires -nothing worth advertising, and it seems a bit deceptive to even have it on the package as one of the seven tools here. You don't want to put this on your keychain, though, and the keyring included is really not very useful.Honest reviews on Swiss+Tech ST81562 BodyGard Platinum Series XL 7-in-1 Auto
Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program For a small item, this sucker is really awesome! I love all of the many tools and the flashlight came in handy almost immediately as I lost power after it was delivered. The siren is loud, the cutter is sharp and I trust the punch works (I didn't test it). It's a great amount of tools in a small package and a great stocking stuffer idea for christmas.The major downfall here would be that it's really not designed for ease of use on a keychain. When I originally placed it on my keychain I tossed my keys into my purse and accidentally bumped the siren and scared the crap out of myself and my cat. The downfall to this is that no matter where I place it in my car, in the event of an accident I'm not sure that I could find it as it could easily fall or move in any unconfined space.
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