MileCheckEvery gear pick, on one page
The 15 products our guides recommend for the trunk, the glovebox and the windshield. Each one links to the guide that explains why it made the list, and to Amazon. Nothing here is required to use MileCheck.
Tire chains for mountain passes
By wheel-well clearance and how easy they go on. Read the guide.
Security Chain Company SZ143 Super Z6 cable tire chain
Built for cars, pickups, and SUVs with limited clearance around the tire. It's a cable chain, not a link chain, so it sits lower against the tire — the difference that matters if your last set rubbed the wheel well. Installs without needing to move the vehicle first, which is the part that actually saves time on a cold shoulder.
König XG-12 Pro
A self-tensioning design, so there's no crawling back under the car to re-tighten once you've started driving — the step that trips up most people the first time they chain up. Costs more than a basic cable chain, which is the tradeoff for not fighting with it in the cold.
Glacier 1038 cable tire chain
A basic cable chain for a car that sees snow a handful of times a season, not a car that lives on a mountain route all winter. Covers the same "chains required" checkpoint as the pricier options — it just asks a little more patience to put on.
Winter car emergency kits
From the smallest kit that still covers the basics to everything in one box. Read the guide.
CYECTTR roadside emergency kit
Under 4 pounds, and it still covers jumper cables, a tow rope, a safety hammer, a reflective triangle, a safety vest, a tire pressure gauge, gloves, and a hand-press flashlight. It's the kit that actually stays in the trunk because it doesn't take up the trunk.
Vetoos roadside emergency car kit
Cold-rated jumper cables with a thick inner core, plus a multi-function whistle that folds in a compass, a thermometer, and a magnifying glass. A widely-used, widely-reviewed middle option — more coverage than the lightest kit, without going all the way to a 170-piece box.
VCANENERGY 170-piece complete kit
Built to cover nearly every roadside scenario in one kit, not just the winter-specific ones. Heavier and bulkier than the other two — the tradeoff for not having to assemble your own kit piece by piece.
Portable jump starters
By the size of the engine you actually have. Read the guide.
NOCO Boost Plus GB40
1,000 peak amps, spark-proof reverse-polarity protection, and about the size and weight of a small hardcover book. Covers gas engines up to roughly 6.0 liters and diesel engines up to 3.0 liters — the range most passenger vehicles fall into.
GOOLOO GP2000
Enough power for small-to-midsize passenger cars and SUVs at a lower price point than the premium options. A solid choice if your car is the only reason you need one.
NOCO Boost HD GB70
2,000 peak amps — the step up from the GB40 for engines a standard jump starter isn't rated to handle. Worth the extra size and weight if you drive something bigger than a passenger car.
Portable tire inflators
Cordless, cheap, or tool-brand rugged. Read the guide.
Avid Power 20V cordless inflator
Set a target PSI and it shuts off on its own once the tire reaches it, adding a small margin before cutting power so you don't lose pressure disconnecting the hose. Cordless, so there's no fumbling with a 12V outlet in the cold.
AstroAI portable car air compressor
Plugs into a 12V outlet and covers the basic job — bringing a tire back up to pressure — without the cordless convenience or the auto-shutoff of the pricier options.
DeWalt 20V MAX tire inflator
Built on the same battery platform as DeWalt's power tools, so it's a natural add if you already carry that battery system for work. More rugged and more capable than the consumer-focused options, at a higher price to match.
Dash cams
Sharpest footage, easiest setup, or footage that survives the camera. Read the guide.
Viofo A139 Pro 2CH
A Sony STARVIS 2 sensor and true 4K HDR on the front camera, with a rear channel included. The sharper the footage, the easier it is to actually read a license plate or a signal color after the fact — which is the entire point of having one.
REDTIGER F7N Touch
4K front plus 1080p rear, with a touchscreen and voice control so you're not digging through a menu with tiny buttons to change a setting. WiFi makes pulling a clip off the camera onto your phone straightforward, without pulling the memory card.
Nexar One with rear camera
4K front-and-cabin recording with built-in LTE and automatic cloud backup — the clip from an impact uploads on its own instead of depending on a memory card that could be damaged, lost, or overwritten. Matters most for exactly the situation described in what to do if you hit a deer, where the footage becomes part of the insurance claim.
Know exactly where you are — live
Your mile marker shows even offline. Live state DOT feeds and the nearest camera on your route are part of MileCheck Premium and need a connection to update. Runs on CarPlay and Android Auto.