The 20 Things Every Man Should Own

Small problems are cheap when you have the thing. A dead battery is twenty minutes with jump leads and three hours without them. A cut hand is a plaster and a lesson, or a taxi to the emergency room at eleven at night. The gap is not dramatic. It is just expensive.

The point is not to be ready for everything. The point is to stop being the guy who has to ask.

1. It has to do a job. If you cannot name the job, do not buy it.
2. Buy the cheap version first. Replace what breaks. The first version is a test.
3. Keep it where you will need it. A torch in the drawer you would actually open at 2am.
4. Check it twice a year. Batteries die. Gloves disappear. Documents expire.

1. A flashlight that works without your phone. A €20 LED torch and a pack of batteries. Keep it in the drawer you would actually open in the dark.
2. A basic tool set. Hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, a box of screws. One box, not a wall of tools.
3. A fire extinguisher within reach of the kitchen. One 2kg ABC extinguisher. Check the date. Learn where the pin is.
4. Spare keys. One set with a neighbour, one in a drawer. Not under the mat. You are not in a film.
5. A first aid kit that is not a box of old plasters. Gauze, tape, antiseptic, painkillers, gloves, a thermometer. €25–40.

1. Jump leads. A dead battery is a twenty-minute problem if you have them. Keep them in the boot, not in the garage.
2. A tyre pressure gauge. €8. Check once a month. It saves fuel, tyres, and the argument at the petrol station.
3. A warning triangle and vest. Legal in most of Europe. Useful everywhere. Put them where you can reach them without unpacking the boot.
4. Warm gloves and a scraper. Winter does not care about your schedule. A €10 pair of gloves and a €5 scraper.
5. A charger that lives in the car. Not the one you keep forgetting. A €15 cable and a 12V adapter.

1. A wallet that closes. Not a cardholder with three cards and a prayer. One that holds cards, cash, and a spare key without bulging.
2. A pocket knife. One blade, one job. Legal where you live. €30–60. Skip the tactical version.
3. A pen that writes. Metal body, one refill. €10–20. Stop asking for one.
4. A watch. Any watch. Just something that is not your phone. A €40 quartz watch tells the time and keeps you out of your pocket.
5. A small notebook. For the thing you will forget by 3pm. €5–15. One that opens flat.

1. €100 in cash, somewhere you can reach without lights. Not in the bank. Not in the wallet you left in the car.
2. Copies of your ID, insurance, and a spare passport photo. Paper, in a folder, in a place you know.
3. A power bank that holds a full charge. €25–40. Check it every six months. A dead power bank is a brick.
4. A written list of three people to call. On paper. Your phone may be the thing that died.
5. A one-page plan. Where to go, who to call, what to grab. If the power goes out, you do not want to improvise.