Best Glass Breaker Review and Buying Guide

Those people who have an emergency kit always in readiness know what is a glass breaker and why it is important to have one at home or, what is more important, in the car. It may be used in several ways in an emergency but its most important purpose is to break out the windows of a stuck car.

There were numerous occasions when this compact tool saved the lives of common people who got stuck in a sinking vehicle. So, consider having a glass breaker in order to protect your own safety: this is what will bring you away from an extremely dangerous survival situation.

Stay with us to find out the most useful tips about using glass breakers, which tools can replace them in an emergency, and what to consider when choosing your own tool.

Top 3 Best Glass Breaker

Here is the list of our top picks of the best window breakers with outstanding characteristics. The best car window breaker for us is the one that can make its deal easily and safely, which is compact and comfortable, and which has various useful features.

Lifehammer Brand Safety Hammer

Being one of the most popular glass breakers in recent years, Lifehammer will be one of the best suitable glass-breaking tools with a seat belt cutter. It is a hammer with two-sided tips, reflective tape, and a mountain bracket. It also has a case that can be easily worn off and will not cause harm to your car’s interior.

Ztylus Stinger Spring-Loaded Window Breaker

It is the best spring-loaded window breaker with a seat belt cutter. It has a detachable clip (mounting bracket) which you can attach to the pocket or to a particular place in your car. The distinctive feature of this tool is that it has both a spring-loaded mechanism and a hammer so you will find a way out of the emergency. It is also able to break the doors’ handles thanks to the steel tip.

RESQME Keychain Car Escape Tool

RESQME is a vivid small tool that definitely will not be lost during an emergency. It has mounting brackets that can be attached to a keychain. Surely, there is also a seat belt cutter that will not injure you. This mechanism is made especially for side windows and is not likely to be used on a windshield. To use it, you should press a blackhead against the side windows’ corner, after which it is needed to push the glass forwards.

Why May I Need a Glass Breaker?

There may be several various reasons for using safety hammers. Moreover, you can find multifunctional glass breakers that can not only break windows but also help you use a seatbelt and escape the car faster.

So, let’s start dipping into the topic. Glass breaker is a compact emergency tool that has a handle and a sharp-pointed tip made with tempered glass which is able to easily crack a glass. Many of them are included in handy multitools or flashlights and also have the seatbelt cutter. Moreover, many vehicles and buildings, especially office centers, have glass breakers already located inside of them.

There exist several types of glass breakers:

• Emergency hammers (also called bus mallets, dotty hammers, safety mallets, and bus hammers) are located in public transport and are connected to the electric alarms that make messages to the police about theft or another accident. They usually have a steel tip to break the windows when it is impossible to leave the vehicle through the door.
• A spring-loaded glass breaker is an emergency tool that is also designed as a hammer but reduces the necessity to swing the tool by applying heavy force as it lets to remove the window with the spring-loaded spike. Most glass breakers of this type are used if the vehicle has fallen underwater as it is impossible to swing the hammer in such conditions.
• Gunpowder-driven glass breaker sounds rather dangerous than an emergency tool, however, it is a worthy safety tool that works almost as a spring-loaded breaker, yet it uses a 0.22 blank cartridge with a firing pin. As well as a previous window breaker, it detonates the inner mechanism which breaks the glass, so you do not have to do anything.

As it can be seen, there exist even advanced types of window breakers, not just simple hammers. Spring-loaded ones must definitely be used in underwater conditions as it will be impossible to even try breaking glass under such a big pressure, so the automatic glass breaker should do it instead of you.

Car Window Breaker

As is mentioned, the most widespread purpose of using a glass breaker is to break the car window. A tendency like that appears due to the fact that many drivers tend to turn the car off to the side of the passenger seat. Therefore, the only way out of the car is not through the door but from the windshield.

We will discuss the difference between various accidents later in the article, so stay with us to know how to save your life in a vehicle emergency.

How to Use a Glass Breaker Properly?

So, now you know what are the types of window breakers and why they are considered to be a kind of safety tool. Most of them use tempered glass or a metal tip since they are approved materials that will spoil the window. Also, the force that you endow to the window breaker makes a huge difference and may change the game. There were cases when people were able to save their life by breaking a car window with just one hit!

Also, do not hesitate to acquire a spring-loaded car window breaker with a seatbelt cutter. It is easy to use and will give you more chances to escape the vehicle faster.

So, what you should do. It seems that a usual brute force is applied here, however, it becomes much tougher when you realize you have to pacify stress and sometimes move while being upside down.

Even though most vehicles have a window breaker in the initial emergency kit, it is better to examine the material on the end of your escape tool. Through our experiments, it came out that Tungsten carbide glass breakers are the most effective in the majority of cases. It is able to break both laminated glass, side window, and windshield from the first hit if you apply enough power. The metal tip is also a reliable escape tool, however, it usually requires more power to be applied.

What is about a seat belt cutter, it should be razor-sharp and always should be on the other end of the hammer. In conclusion, the best car window breakers include tungsten carbide, metal tip, and a seat belt cutter on the other end. These are the essential components of a successful escape plan.

Tips on Using a Window Breaker

There are perhaps only two essential tips that must become the first thing to remember when you are placed in a suitable situation:

1. Choose only the side windows, not windshields. Depending on the side on which the car fell, choose the opposite one. The windshield is covered with a special layer that will not let you pull the tool with enough force. Therefore, you will lose too much time even with durable materials.
2. Aim at the corner. No matter whether you are planning to save someone from a closed vehicle or rescue yourself, the main idea to deliver here is to make the window break by hitting its corner. The bottom corner and upper corner may be too dangerous, so probably choose the side of the window.
3. Use a reflective strip. Although most glass breakers have this option, you can customize one for yourself. It is a highly important part of the tool as it will help you to seek the window breaker underwater or in the darkness.
4. Safety is the foremost. Never forget that breaking glass usually causes serious injuries. Thus, when you break the side window upon yourself, cover your head and preferably dodge from the glass break.
5. Practice makes perfect. Except for exploring the material of the tip before starting the usage, it is better to practice the hitting technique. If you use a hammer, you should know which force is needed and how many hits you can make. If you use a spring-loaded escape tool, try to see how the mechanism works at all.

Best Glass Breaker Summary

All in all, you should be ready for any kind of emergency by preparing your car in advance and practicing. You should consider all the needed equipment that will help in case of emergency and check whether your window breaker has all the necessary characteristics and the material suits your window glass.

Also, remember that there are several types of glass breakers which include spring-loaded and hammer breakers. And always get to know how the mechanism works before the emergency happens.

Frequently Asked Questions – FAQ

What Is a Glass Breaker Called?

It can also be called an emergency breaker and is aimed at breaking glass (vehicle windows, for example) by pushing your manual force towards a window. They can be of different mechanics and materials, which affect the result.

What Do Cops Use to Break Vehicle Windows?

Cops prefer to use a hammer or spring-operated glass breakers as they cannot harm the victim or a suspect by breaking the window at them. Therefore, they have to operate carefully and accurately.

How Do You Use a Glass Breaker?

You simply break the side window by hitting it with a window breaker. If you use hammer tools, hit the window glass with a metal or tungsten carbide tip. If you use a spring-loaded breaker, point the tip towards the windows and pull the arrow.