"Life Hammer" for breaking window glass too flimsy?

I wanted to get myself one of those gadgets they sell for breaking the
glass in a car door if you're trapped in the car, e.g., in an accident.

I searched the Web and ended up ordering this:

http://www.5starshine.com/info-auto-emergency-tool.html

When it arrived and I opened the box, my first reaction was, "Gee,
this seems like a piece of crap." The thing I am most concerned about
is that it is made out of what feels like rather flimsy plastic and
has no weight to it at all.

Perhaps I am confused, but I expect a hammer whose purpose is to
shatter car windows to have a little heft to it, and this thing weighs
almost nothing. Of course, there's no practical way for us to test it,
but my gut tells me that were my wife or I to swing it at a car window,
the hammer would be more likely to break than the window.

I'm suspecting that maybe I should send it back and order either the
ResQMe:

http://www.resqme.com/

or the "real" Life Hammer:

http://www.lifehammer.com/

instead. Does anybody have any advice or opinions to offer?

--
Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

"Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
...
>I wanted to get myself one of those gadgets they sell for breaking the
> glass in a car door if you're trapped in the car, e.g., in an accident.
>
> I searched the Web and ended up ordering this:
>
> http://www.5starshine.com/info-auto-emergency-tool.html
>
> When it arrived and I opened the box, my first reaction was, "Gee,
> this seems like a piece of crap." The thing I am most concerned about
> is that it is made out of what feels like rather flimsy plastic and
> has no weight to it at all.
>
> Perhaps I am confused, but I expect a hammer whose purpose is to
> shatter car windows to have a little heft to it, and this thing weighs
> almost nothing. Of course, there's no practical way for us to test it,
> but my gut tells me that were my wife or I to swing it at a car window,
> the hammer would be more likely to break than the window.
>
> I'm suspecting that maybe I should send it back and order either the
> ResQMe:
>
> http://www.resqme.com/
>
> or the "real" Life Hammer:
>
> http://www.lifehammer.com/
>
> instead. Does anybody have any advice or opinions to offer?
>
> --
> Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)




Only an opinion....

Regarding the comparison between the unit received and
the subsequent keychain model; "if you don't like the unit
received, why would you think you'd like the smaller unit"?

Secondly, the unit you received(while I'm not actually hol-
ding the unit) is not meant to be "swung" at anything. The
usage for the unit is to press the pointed tip against the
glass, and then push quickly, with force, to pop the glass.

Regarding the testing, I suspect your neighbors would
probably frown on your practice on their cars left on the
street overnight<g>, you may have these options:

.. A vehicle junkyard, or a vehicle glass replacement shop.

Also, you could build you own test bed using some soft
linen material, and any kind of safety glass.

If you choose to look for a junkyard/glass shop, I'd call
first to field your request(s). If they could give you many
vehicle scrap windows(or pieces), you can use those for
a testing implementation. But, don't do any glass breaking
without proper safety equipment/clothing.

Regarding the unit you purchased, does the enclosed
material(s) not include usage instructions ?.

Also, here's some other escape unit offerings if you decide
to shop further.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...escape+tool%22
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...escape+tool%22

On Aug 3, 12:40*pm, "Anonymous" > wrote:

> "Jonathan Kamens" > wrote in message
> Regarding the testing, I suspect your neighbors would
> probably frown on your practice on their cars left on the
> street overnight

First of all, the only way I would test it on the neighbors cars is if
they are assholes. If so, then by all means test it on them. Also,
these gadgets are great for somebody that is having a hard time
finding work, needs money and wants to get into a car real quick and
swipe CD players or take the whole car to pay their bills.

Jonathan Kamens > wrote:

> I wanted to get myself one of those gadgets they sell for breaking the
> glass in a car door if you're trapped in the car, e.g., in an accident.

> I searched the Web and ended up ordering this:

> http://www.5starshine.com/info-auto-emergency-tool.html

> When it arrived and I opened the box, my first reaction was,
> "Gee, this seems like a piece of crap." The thing I am most
> concerned about is that it is made out of what feels like
> rather flimsy plastic and has no weight to it at all.

It doesnt need any weight. Its designed to fire a spring that hits the point into the glass.

Much more like an automatic center punch than a hammer.

> Perhaps I am confused,

Yes you are.

> but I expect a hammer whose purpose is to shatter car windows
> to have a little heft to it, and this thing weighs almost nothing.
> Of course, there's no practical way for us to test it,

You can test it on wrecked cars.

> but my gut tells me that were my wife or I to swing it at a car window,
> the hammer would be more likely to break than the window.

Its not meant to be swong, its internally spring loaded. Read the instructions.

> I'm suspecting that maybe I should send it back and order either the ResQMe:

> http://www.resqme.com/

I doubt thats got any real heft either.

> or the "real" Life Hammer:

> http://www.lifehammer.com/

> instead.

Thats certainly the sort of hammer you are looking for.

> Does anybody have any advice or opinions to offer?

I bet it works fine.

"Rod Speed" > wrote in > Thats certainly the
sort of hammer you are looking for.
> I bet it works fine.

Not on laminated windows it doesn't ****head. And nearly all newer
car windows are laminated, so prepare to drown in the canal or
wherever the **** you end up at.

wrote:
> Rod Speed > wrote

>> Thats certainly the sort of hammer you are looking for.

>> I bet it works fine.

> Not on laminated windows it doesn't ****head.

Fraid so, ****wit.

> And nearly all newer car windows are laminated,

Not the side ones, ****wit.

> so prepare to drown in the canal or wherever the **** you end up at.

You hardly ever end up in water, ****wit.

"Scott in SoCal" > wrote in message >
> A vehicle without a handicapped placard parked in a handicapped space.

Very funny. Have you noticed there are too damn many handicapped parking
spaces everywhere you go? I always park in one to avoid having to walk a
mile. What are the odds that 10 crippled fools will just happen to arrive
at about the same time?

> A vehicle parked in front of a fire hydrant.

The chances it will be needed are so slim that it isn't worth worrying
about. I parked in front of one today.

> A vehicle parked in front of a driveway.

I only do this if it is in the middle of a weekday when everyone has already
left for work.

> A vehicle parked in a fire lane.

Fire lanes should be done away with. They serve no purpose except to
generate revenue when a pig issues someone a ticket for sitting there. None
of the fire lanes in this area even have a hydrant along them.

> Any double-parked vehicle.

I also double park to keep the doors on my Cadillac from being dinged by
some scumbag driving a 20 year old rustbucket that doesn't belong on the
road and wouldn't pass a basic safety inspection. I've watched welfare scum
purposely park next to brand new vehicles so they can kick their doors open
into them. If this happened to my vehicle, the filth would be ****ting
their own teeth out for a week.

> A vehicle taking up more than one space in a crowded parking lot.

See the above. Precisely the reason one needs to double park a valuable car
(lot is crowded with scumbags driving junk heaps).

Shawn Hirn > wrote:
> In article >,
> (Jonathan Kamens) wrote:
>
>> I wanted to get myself one of those gadgets they sell for breaking
>> the glass in a car door if you're trapped in the car, e.g., in an
>> accident.
>>
>> I searched the Web and ended up ordering this:
>>
>> http://www.5starshine.com/info-auto-emergency-tool.html
>>
>> When it arrived and I opened the box, my first reaction was, "Gee,
>> this seems like a piece of crap." The thing I am most concerned
>> about is that it is made out of what feels like rather flimsy
>> plastic and has no weight to it at all.
>>
>> Perhaps I am confused, but I expect a hammer whose purpose is to
>> shatter car windows to have a little heft to it, and this thing
>> weighs almost nothing. Of course, there's no practical way for us
>> to test it, but my gut tells me that were my wife or I to swing it
>> at a car window, the hammer would be more likely to break than the
>> window.
>>
>> I'm suspecting that maybe I should send it back and order either the
>> ResQMe:
>>
>> http://www.resqme.com/
>>
>> or the "real" Life Hammer:
>>
>> http://www.lifehammer.com/
>>
>> instead. Does anybody have any advice or opinions to offer?
>
> Why not just buy a regular hammer from your favorite lumber yard and stash
> it under your drivers seat? A decent hammer shouldn't cost much more than $5.

You've obviously never tried breaking one of the side windows with one.

"Anonymous" > writes:
>Regarding the comparison between the unit received and
>the subsequent keychain model; "if you don't like the unit
>received, why would you think you'd like the smaller unit"?

Note that weight, not size, is the issue.

The ResQMe has a spring-loaded center punch, so its weight is
not an issue. The unit I bought does not -- it is designed
to be used as a hammer.

As for the "original life hammer," which is also designed to
be used as a hammer rather than having a spring-loaded center
punch, my guess is that it's probably more hefty than the one
I bought, but I don't know that for certain, which is why I
posted here asking for feedback.

>Secondly, the unit you received(while I'm not actually hol-
>ding the unit) is not meant to be "swung" at anything. The
>usage for the unit is to press the pointed tip against the
>glass, and then push quickly, with force, to pop the glass.

That's how the spring-loaded devices work, but I'm pretty sure
that's not how the hammer devices work.

>Regarding the unit you purchased, does the enclosed
>material(s) not include usage instructions ?.

No.

--
Jews for Obama (http://www.jews4obama.com/)

"Shawn Hirn" > wrote in message > Why not just buy a
regular hammer from your favorite lumber yard and
> stash it under your drivers seat? A decent hammer shouldn't cost much
> more than $5.

Let me guess......you graduated from a special needs school?