The bag is sturdy and contains three pockets that safely hold each Flare Alert until you are ready to use them. (There's also room to store batteries inside if you don't want to actually put them into the light until you need to use it.)
You do have to get the batteries firmly in place, nice and straight. The top of each beacon doesn't have enough space to accommodate batteries that stick up. This wasn't a big deal to us.
The kit also doesn't come with batteries but many products don't come with batteries so I didn't assume it contained batteries. The only decision we had to make was whether to install the batteries ahead of time or have them ready and waiting in the storage bag which comes with this product. In an emergency, it seems desirable to turn on the beacons and get instant safety. But if you install the batteries ahead of time you do need to remember to check them often enough to avoid battery leakage and potentially ruined beacons.
There is both a flash and steady option for the lights. If you use the flash option, you are supposed to get 60 hours of battery life. Thankfully, we needed only a few hours of time. If you use the steady light option (no flashing), you get only 20 hours of battery time. I think the flash option would attract more attention and that is what we used when in our emergency situation.
A MAJOR advantage is that the beacons are compact and come in a storage bag. Just stick the bag in your car's trunk or somewhere in the back seat or an over the seat storage pack and you're good to go. I'm definitely getting one for a son's car as well as my spouse's vehicle.
The FlareAlertTM is as simple as it gets!!! No fire, no fumes, no fuss!!! And none of the hidden costs associated with incendiary flares (damaged streets and uniforms, injured personnel, etc.). The FlareAlertTM also saves you from the hassle of dealing with hundreds of incendiary flares. Consider this: One FlareAlertTM provides approx. 20 hours of safety before a battery change is needed. You would have to strike 80 incendiary flares, one after another, to achieve the same 20 hours of safety. Just think of the mess!!!