Essential things to have in your vehicle?

Jump boxes allow you to rescue yourself when you have a dead battery. Or, they allow you to rescue someone else regardless of the parking scenario. No need to position the two cars such that the jumper cables will reach. When a car is nosed into a crowded parking lot, cables are a real hassle.

For me, I like knowing my wife can pop the hood of her car and jump box her car solo and not need to involve another party. Red to red, black to black, push the button until the light comes on, then go around and start the car. Super simple. No parking lot creeps. No well intentioned people arcing connections and such.

In reply to Cousin_Eddie (Forum Supporter) :

13ish yrs ago, I witnessed a coworker "helping" another coworker jump her car. He had red to black and black to red. The cables were hot and the rubber may have started to melt on them. Don't know how you live to be almost 60 and don't know how to use jumper cables, but yeah...

I have a full size van , so I have to much junk in it anyway , 

but if I had a regular commuter car I would have :

fix a flat ,

jumper box 

Zip ties , vise grips , duct tape , fire extinguisher

and since I live in  an Earthquake area where I might not be able to get home for a day or two ....

blanket / sleeping bag , canned food and can opener , cookies , water ,  extra shoes / socks, pants, shirt , jacket etc , matches , candle 

probably a bunch more ........

Jumper box and tire inflator combo is a must. They usually come with flashlights, you can use them as a usb charger for whatever runs out of juice.

Rescued a friend with it, the battery in his Mercedes died in an underground parking garage, nose against the wall, which of course he figured out as he was about to leave for a road trip to vegas. Started the car, gave him the jumper box for the road. 

Of course I still carry cables and a separate tire inflator that plugs in the car, since there is still space for them. Actually I think I have two sets of cables, one is in a box with essential tools that I got at some point.

A quilt. I live in Saskatchewan.