Another option is to but a newer Subaru. The Outback and the Ascent (and probably the others) have a way to program a button so you can lock the key in the car. You press the combination on the button to unlock it.
Me too, Mazda CX5 mini-wagon with the 6-speed Miata stick gearbox. Totally a blast to drive and 35 mpg highway. Had it 6 years now and still shifts like silk. I’d have preferred it with a regular ignition key but all they had at the time was the danged fob, which I hate.
Lincolns don’t have an interior door handle which would manually open the door?
Has emergency pull handle like trunks now have.
He just couldn’t find the door pull. No way there wasn’t one
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After stowing my keys in a ziplock bag, I then put them in a SEA TO SUMMIT waterproof cell phone bag. This I place on a lanyard and have it around my neck. I find this better than putting it in PFD pocket, as I take off the PFD when we stop for lunch. I know I will always have my keys safe on my person!
a pelican, or the like box, with a rubber seal. I use one that I put smaller items that I want on kayak journeys to keep dry. Glow sticks, first aid, and the like. keeps dry and if not over filled will float.
I always keep mine in a ziploc bag in my paddling pfd. Depending on the trip there are certain things I always keep on my person when venturing outdoors. Something for fire and something for signal and some form of a knife and of course my keys. When training search and rescue volunteers we would always ask them to walk away from camp with us about 100m and then ask them to build a fire or make a shelter etc and this would show them how easy it can be to become separated from your pack or canoe and how important it was to carry a few necessities on your body . Plus I have had 2 different people ask for a ride after they lost their keys into a rushing river lol.
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Some cars, like my old Toyota PU, deactivate the interior handles when the door is locked. I think it was a safety feature to keep kids from opening the doors when someone was driving.
Feedback on the “Scuba cylinder” Amazon.com: Scuba Choice Scuba Diving Snorkeling Waterproof Cylindrical Dry Box with Clip, Yellow: Toys & Games
This thing is much larger than I imagined. Outside dimensions are D 2.75" x H 7". It’s too bulky for my PFD pocket. It does, however, easily fit my key fob with several other keys. Appears waterproof with a very brief test.
I had several keys made at the hardware store and have attached 1 to each each PFD with a rewinding string device . They allow me to lock and unlock the car, but not start it. Then I lock my fob in the car and use the PFD key to lock and unlock the car. I also have another key attached to each of my boats with a zip tie as further backup.
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As a backpacker I learned early on to have essential emergency gear on my person, not in my pack. I admit, as a poster pointed out, that a key in my PFD isn’t really on my person, but it seems safer than around my neck.
Under some circumstances, losing or damaging your car key might be highly inconvenient and expensive rather than life threatening, but I’ve been in a number of scenarios where one error or another, combined with things like falling temperature or the sun setting, put me into a situation that was uncomfortable, then turned toward dangerous, especially in the late fall with short days and low nighttime temperatures. If you’re cold and wet at the launch, getting into your car is important.
As for mechanical car failures you mention, I’ve had that happen at remote launches more than once. Lousy experience but often not predictable or preventable other than by having a decent car and maintaining it.
Actually, if I’m going to a remote place I do try to plan for all foreseeable contingencies that are within my control and part of the normal paddler’s/backpacker’s safety habits. To wit: extra food, emergency kit with my version of the 10 essentials, my car mechanic’s phone number in my wallet, spare car keys in and on car, etc. I don’t carry an anti-meteorite arsenal though.
Car keys can trip you up in multiple ways: lost key, magnetic box falls off bottom of car, valet key doesn’t work (see my original post), spare fob programmed incorrectly, etc. I do like to plan for those contingencies. If you have four ways to get back in your car, you can have some faith that at least one will work. If you only have one way, that’s risky.
I have keys on the bottom of all my vehicle’s duct taped.
I have a great clear waterproof bag that I put my key fob in before I get out onto the water.
It has a Tri-Fold feature with Velcro locking that locks any potential water from getting into the bag. Whatever you decide to purchase make sure you test it by placing a paper towel or Kleenex into it and weigh it down in a bucket or sink.
After a few hours check to make sure the items are totally dry before you fully trust the item you bought and go out onto water.
Before I discovered the HitchSafe, I used one of these bolted to the side of a frame member on my truck:
https://www.keysafeusa.com/key-safe-original.html
It’s a little on the small side for key fobs though. There was just enough room for the key for my 2000 Ford Ranger. They now make a larger one, “KeySafe Pro”. I also mounted one on the bottom of a frame member on my wife’s car, and the rubber cover held whatever water splashed on it, and it ended up corroding shut. (In fact, when she finally needed the spare key, she crawled under the car, opened the rubber cover, and it dumped a cup full of muddy/rusty water in her face. Oops!) The side mounted one on my truck apparently drained better. It held up for about 10 years with no noticeable corrosion.
I like leaving the key secured on the vehicle in a small combination safe. Even if I lost my boat and everything in it, even if I had to strip off my clothes with my key in a pocket to get unpinned from an underwater strainer, if I can hike back to my car, I can get in it where I’ll have a change of clothes, food and water, gas, and some cash to get me home.
Yes, someone with a big prybar and hammer might be able to get the key out, but I’m more concerned with the casual thieves. Neither the KeySafe or HitchSafe is going to fall off like a magnetic key box or duck taped key might.
Go to a real locksmith and have them make you a door key out of brass. Get a small screw gate carabiner and attach it somewhere on your vehicle that it can’t be seen. Leave the electronic fob in the car.
A real locksmith should be able to cut a key that works. A brass key won’t rust away. Make sure the carabiner is a dull color so it doesn’t stand out.
I had one attached o the backside of the front bumper of my Ranger. It would sit up behind a lip. After a week of driving you had to know it was there to find it.
My current truck has a touch pad on the door. I just leave the keys hidden inside the truck.
I just got my first kayak, and still figuring things out, but this is what I do:
- I created a paddling set of keys on a lanyard that i keep around my neck. It has a valet car key, my condo keys, condo FOB, and the thing to access my city’s public bikes. When I paddle, I have two things around my neck and tucked between my clothing and PFD: my whistle and keys.
- I have my essential cards and a bit of cash in a bright yellow buyoant wallet that i keep in my PFD pocket.
- I keep my phone in a transparent dry bag and then in another zippered dry bag backpack which is usually attached to my boat. (I’d like to keep my phone closer to me in case I swamp and have to abandon my boat… but haven’t figured that out yet…and I haven’t been on isolated water yet.
Before COVID, I did a lot of dragon boating. And at that time I didn’t have the valet key - only a car fob. I often got really wet while dragon boating. I put my keys and essential cards in separate small ziploc bags and kept them in my PFD pocket. I never use my PFD pocket while on the water to hold snacks or anything - so there is no risk of my keys and cards falling out while taking something else out. I would regularly get soaked while dragon boating - but I’ve never fallen in the water / off the boat. My keys were never wet.
Hope that helps!
Compounding the headache of electronic keys in general, sidewinder keys like mine are especially difficult to get copied as they require a laser cutter, an expensive machine that many key places, including dealers, locksmiths, hardware stores, etc. don’t have.
As these kinds of keys get more common, I am seeing more traditional locksmiths and even hardware stores invest in the equipment. At least around me. I suspect their interest in staying in business long term will see this improve.
Sidewinder laser cut keys are becoming more common and more locksmiths are able to cut them now. There is no laser involved they are cut with a mill/router type cutter.
Most of the locksmiths will offer replacing with a full fob key and also a basic sidewinder key that only works manually and is safe to get wet.
At a real key shop they will test your key at locking and unlocking your door as well as starting your car before you leave.
If you live in a small town they may not have the key cutting machine yet, and yes a dealer is going to charge you a crazy amount for a key if they can.