How effective is a pocket car window breaker?

[seazal]

How effective is this pocket car window breaker.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IE0F12/?tag=pfamazon01-20

What if your windows were tinted with UV film. Would it still be effective?

Are there calculations or independent studies to show how effective these really are?

Thank you.

 

[anorlunda]

When I was a fire fighter, we carried small lightweight tools like this in our pockets.

It is very effective on the side windows that use tempered glass. The device you pictured probably uses the same principle.

Once the window is broken, it is easy to push the window tint film aside.

 

[berkeman]

+1 on anorlunda's tool. I've carried one for the last 10 years in EMS (only came close to using it once, though). Notice the blunt tip compared to a drill press center punch tool...

Here are the videos associated with the Rescume car escape tool. I haven't watched the videos, but I'm assuming they show how effective it is.

https://www.google.com/search?q=res...Bu4vfAhVZFTQIHQeMCX4Q_AUIDygC&biw=728&bih=585

 

[seazal]

+1 on anorlunda's tool. I've carried one for the last 10 years in EMS (only came close to using it once, though). Notice the blunt tip compared to a drill press center punch tool...

Here are the videos associated with the Rescume car escape tool. I haven't watched the videos, but I'm assuming they show how effective it is.

https://www.google.com/search?q=res...Bu4vfAhVZFTQIHQeMCX4Q_AUIDygC&biw=728&bih=585

The Resqme is based on spring system. If the spring unit broke.. it can't be used anymore. So maybe manual hammer is better than spring based?

 

[berkeman]

The tool that @anorlunda and I have mentioned is also spring-activated. Have you ever used a center-punch tool to make a mark before drilling a hole in a material?

Are you going to start carrying a hammer or a crowbar in the passenger compartment of your car? You may have to explain yourself to any police officer who stops you for a traffic infraction...

 

[Klystron]

When I was a fire fighter, we carried small lightweight tools like this in our pockets.
View attachment 235309

It is very effective ..[snip!].

Learn something new ever day on PF! I've had a similar tool for years found in an old toolbox. Stored it with punches. I'll move it to the console box in my truck. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[DaveC426913]

They checked this myth on Mythbusters.

There are not a lot of things that surprise Jamie and Adam, but the incredible effectiveness of these things was one of them.

Adam tried with all his might to kick through a window with multiple kicks. I think he even tried a hammer.

But he barely touched the window with one of the these things and it veritably exploded, shocking everyone.

The real advantage with these devices is that they have a very small contact area. A hammer can break a window, but you need the room and leverage to get a good swing at it.

These things work with very little force required, meaning if you are in a busted car and/or have busted limbs, you can still break the window with a short or weak swing.

And that's why they're better than a hammer.

 

[seazal]

They checked this myth on Mythbusters.

There are not a lot of things that surprise Jamie and Adam, but the incredible effectiveness of these things was one of them.

Adam tried with all his might to kick through a window with multiple kicks. I think he even tried a hammer.

But he barely touched the window with one of the these things and it veritably exploded, shocking everyone.

The real advantage with these devices is that they have a very small contact area. A hammer can break a window, but you need the room and leverage to get a good swing at it.

These things work with very little force required, meaning if you are in a busted car and/or have busted limbs, you can still break the window with a short or weak swing.

And that's why they're better than a hammer.

But review like the following discouraged me to get one:

"Bought a 2 pack. 1 works, other is worthless and the spring is missing or broken, the metal pin is in the forward position. A company that makes life saving equipment should have better quality control. Spend the money on quality tools, these are cheap garbage."

What is the most reliable brand that even if the spring breaks, you could still use it in the emergency under water? Remember it's a matter of life and death. Can sledgehammer do it than hammer? maybe I need to put one in the back seat.

 

[DaveC426913]

What is the most reliable brand that even if the spring breaks...
Remember it's a matter of life and death.

Don't get one that requires a spring.

The hammer type has no moving parts.

Can sledgehammer do it than hammer? maybe I need to put one in the back seat.

So, your roof is crushed in and you can hardly move. Your arm is broken. Water is rising to your chest.

Go ahead, just reach into the back seat for that sledge hammer. With one arm. Under the crushed roof.

 

[seazal]

Don't get one that requires a spring.

The hammer type has no moving parts.

View attachment 235338So, your roof is crushed in and you can hardly move. Your arm is broken. Water is rising to your chest.

Go ahead, just reach into the back seat for that sledge hammer. With one arm. Under the crushed roof.

Ok. But why not just use any regular hammer?

 

[Asymptotic]

Ok. But why not just use any regular hammer?

@DaveC426913 has the answer.

The real advantage with these devices is that they have a very small contact area. A hammer can break a window, but you need the room and leverage to get a good swing at it.

Conical hammer heads concentrate force into a very small surface area as does a spring-driven punch tool. It doesn't take a lot of force to develop impressive pressures. For a 1 inch diameter hammer head (0.785 square inches), 10 pounds of force develops a pressure of about 12.7 PSI assuming even contact across the face. The same amount of force yields about 13,000 PSI when the contact diameter is 1/32".

In a distantly related example, a common rating for polymer melt pressure transducers is 10,000 PSI, but the diaphragm on the tip can be deformed and calibration shifted by a thumbnail pressed hard against it.

 

[Tom.G]

Maybe a Welders chipping hammer. USD$5 and up.

https://mobileimages.lowes.com/product/converted/725636/725636075177.jpg

 

[seazal]

Don't get one that requires a spring.

The hammer type has no moving parts.

View attachment 235338So, your roof is crushed in and you can hardly move. Your arm is broken. Water is rising to your chest.

Go ahead, just reach into the back seat for that sledge hammer. With one arm. Under the crushed roof.

Ok. I'd buy 4 of these orange conical head hammers. Some to give to relatives. Now what would you use to break the windshield in case of emergency?

 

[FactChecker]

The critical issue is to have a sharp point that is very hard compared to glass. It turns out that the porcelain in spark plugs is extremely hard due to the aluminum oxide content. Other porcelain does not work. (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llu-ckEe5cQ)

I assume that industrial diamonds would be even better since they are a little harder. So a small impact tool (hammer?) with a diamond tip would be good.

 

[seazal]

In the movies, you can see the actor just kicking the windshield and he gets out. So in real life, no amount of kicking can dislodge the windshield (unless you are the Rock)? And no device can do that? I'll buy many orange conical hammers and give them as Christmas presents to my relatives. I may include windshield breaker too if it's available or exist.

 

[DrClaude]

In the movies, you can see the actor just kicking the windshield and he gets out.

Never trust Hollywood on something like this.

 

[FactChecker]

Never trust Hollywood on something like this.

Chuck Norris can do it with just a stern look.

 

[seazal]

When I was a fire fighter, we carried small lightweight tools like this in our pockets.
View attachment 235309

It is very effective on the side windows that use tempered glass. The device you pictured probably uses the same principle.

Once the window is broken, it is easy to push the window tint film aside.

If the side windows tint are the dark ones used many places so the drives and passengers can't be seen. Does the conical hammer also work?

What kind of dark tint that won't make it work anymore?

 

[Borg]

Whatever you get, I would make sure that it floats. If you end up in the water, you're going to be trying to breathe whatever air is available and it's pretty handy if the tool to break the window floats right up next to you at that time.

 

[anorlunda]

The side windows use tempered glass. The windshield is laminated glass. The conical tool won't work well on the windshield.

Also, broken tempered glass fragments are usually not sharp and won't cut you. Broken windshield shards are very sharp and can cut you to shreds. It is better to focus on the side windows for escape.

Auto rear window? I don't know what type of glass those are.

It is common to see videos of police trying to use nightsticks to break side windows, and they fail. I wonder why they don't put a conical point button on the butt end of the nightstick specifically for breaking car side windows.

I use a device like this. Conical window breaker, flashlight, seat belt cutter, all in one. (The hammer in #9 also includes a seat belt cutter.) No springs. With the conical point, you don't need to hit with great force to break the window. IMO, cutting the seat belts may be more difficult than breaking the window.

Here in Florida, there are many roads that parallel a canal, so the risk of driving your car into water is heightened. Fear of upside-down-underwater-night-rescue-self-and-passengers is a great motivator to buy some kind of device and to keep it in your car someplace where it won't fly around and you can find it instantly. Most of us will never have the opportunity to practice using that device in a simulated emergency, so your first attempt better work or someone dies.

 

[russ_watters]

They checked this myth on Mythbusters.

It may be worth noting here that they also did a handful of underwater escape tests. The electrical system of a car continues to function for a surprisingly long time when submerged, and it is often possible to simply roll the windows down to escape the car in that situation.

 

[cjl]

Ok. I'd buy 4 of these orange conical head hammers. Some to give to relatives. Now what would you use to break the windshield in case of emergency?

It would be a very bad idea to try to escape out the windshield in an emergency. It is made of laminated glass, and even if broken, will stay together in one piece and be very difficult to break through.

 

[jbriggs444]

There are some cool videos of how you can throw bits of shattered spark plug through a tempered glass car window. You can google for "spark plug thrown through safety glass". See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_rocks

 

[jbriggs444]

In the movies, you can see the actor just kicking the windshield and he gets out. So in real life, no amount of kicking can dislodge the windshield (unless you are the Rock)? And no device can do that? I'll buy many orange conical hammers and give them as Christmas presents to my relatives. I may include windshield breaker too if it's available or exist.

The windshield is normally constructed of laminated safety glass, two sheets of glass with a flexible transparent sheet of plastic between. The side windows of tempered safety glass. Different animals.

You do not want tempered safety glass in a windshield because it is subject to impacts with gravel thrown up from the road. You do not want your windshield shattering into a thousand small fragments when a rock is kicked up. Instead, you want a chip or crack that you can still see past.

Edit: Arguably, you also do not want tempered safety glass in a windshield because of the risk of head injuries. As a child, I'd seen a windshield where a neighbor's head had impacted from the inside. The flexibility plausibly saved her life.

 

[Mark44]

Chuck Norris can do it with just a stern look.

Wouldn't a stern look break out the aft window?

 

[seazal]

A question I ponder before buying 5 pcs of these conical head hammer.

If the tint/film is thick and it's inside the side door glass. Won't it affect the strike PSI force.

Please give me data how it would behave if you strike it with thick tint of film between the bare tempered glass and the conical head hammer.

 

[DaveC426913]

Ok. But why not just use any regular hammer?

Conical hammer heads concentrate force into a very small surface area as does a spring-driven punch tool. It doesn't take a lot of force to develop impressive pressures.

And to reiterate why this is critical: in an accident situation, your mobility and strength can be very limited. You need room to swing a hammer, and do so with sufficient strength to break the side window.

Also, window breakers are small enough to fit in your console compartment, or anywhere within reach. A hammer - even under your seat - might be inaccessible if you're pinned in-place. Make sure it's stored within reach without having to move.

 

[Ketch22]

Ok. I'd buy 4 of these orange conical head hammers. Some to give to relatives. Now what would you use to break the windshield in case of emergency?

The previously mentioned spring type tools are very reliable and they work very well. Any of the side windows on your vehicle are tempered and they will come out in their entirety. Window films are a thin open polymer layer and they will tear free easily. One advantage is that tempered glass shatters with very few sharp edges. One can with a low level of risk just brush everything away by hand.
The orange hammer has the advantage that the plastic handle can brush away glass with significantly reduced risk. Also many of the modern vehicles have seat belt tensioners and locking mechanisms. These will often prevent you from releasing the latch. That little hook at the butt of the hammer is a shielded blade that can safely cut seat belt material. Advantage two, to the hammer.
As to the windshield (and some of the sedan rear windows) these are made of a laminated treated glass composite. They are quite strong and designed to dissipate impacts without total failure. If you happen to have the unfortunate situation of going into water the pressure outside even at very low submersion levels will usually prevent getting them out of the frame. The common tool of choice for emergency windshield removal is a Reciprocating saw with a Rescue tooth pattern.
Generally I like the punch and have carried one for many years. If you happen to come up on a need for one without your tool a great trick if available is to use the antennae. The old style whip radio antennas are a short metal wire with small (approx. 1.5 mm) ball tip. rip it off the car and a quick swing hitting the window with the ball will take out the window instantly. The only reason I take the punch as a tool is that I have gloves to handle glass and trauma shears to handle belts. The smaller lighter tool is less junk in my pocket. For General public use I have never seen a conscious person that was capable of self rescue that could not use their hammer device.

 

[Ketch22]

Note two. The film on the inside of the window does not affect the hammer strike. That film is a simple low strength polymer. The high point load of the impact will immediately breakthrough and strike glass. The shattering effect that tempered glass exhibits is caused by a process similar to pickling after the glass is shaped. Any high impact will cause the trapped stresses to release and it all goes "pow." It actually doesn't even take a strong swing with the hammer a well placed tap works great.
May I suggest another path for your questions? At my department we have a collection of "cut cars" that us rescue types practice on. These are usually in all sorts of disassembly. We also try to save our resources for training, It is not unusual for community people to approach us about this. We allow that (under supervision) they can come to a drill or stop by and try their device. Your local department may also do the same. Contact the fire department and see if they will let you try something out. Our experience is that more secure feeling occupants make better decisions and it pays dividends when we are on scene.

 

[seazal]

Note two. The film on the inside of the window does not affect the hammer strike. That film is a simple low strength polymer. The high point load of the impact will immediately breakthrough and strike glass. The shattering effect that tempered glass exhibits is caused by a process similar to pickling after the glass is shaped. Any high impact will cause the trapped stresses to release and it all goes "pow." It actually doesn't even take a strong swing with the hammer a well placed tap works great.
May I suggest another path for your questions? At my department we have a collection of "cut cars" that us rescue types practice on. These are usually in all sorts of disassembly. We also try to save our resources for training, It is not unusual for community people to approach us about this. We allow that (under supervision) they can come to a drill or stop by and try their device. Your local department may also do the same. Contact the fire department and see if they will let you try something out. Our experience is that more secure feeling occupants make better decisions and it pays dividends when we are on scene.

This is my car with very dark tint. See also https://www.wetintwindows.com.au/darkest-legal-tint/

What are dark tint film usually made of? Is it also low strength polymer?