If you need a jump starter you can rely on, I can personally guarantee that each of the following will pay for itself the first time you use it… as you won’t be waiting around for a tow truck, will you?
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. NOCO Boost HD - 12V 2000A (up to 8.0L Gas or 6.0L Diesel)
Top-rated: 22,577 ratings | 875 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Ultra-compact and lightweight design, weighing just 5.0 pounds.
Helpful review: "I've been a pro auto tech for long enough now that all the normal tools have been bought and paid for. You start looking for other things that you never really wanted to spend the money on, but always irritate you when the shop you're at doesn't have one, or the one they have sucks.
I bought this because the place I was at, for a short time, reconditions and resells used cars. At any point in time we would have anywhere from 2500-5000 cars at the facility. It's a huge place, and a lot of dead batteries.
On a daily basis I would need to jump start 4-10 cars. Cars ranging from tiny electric cars to diesel trucks. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of cars I've needed to jump, only one of them would the Genius not jump. And this was only due to an extreme discharge (1v), and no direct access to the battery terminals. Only tiny remote jump posts were accessible.
The description claims that this will jump up to 20 cars on a single charge. I can vouch that this is an under estimate. I could use this all week, jumping 30 or more cars, before charging. I only plug it in when it reaches 25% according the to the LED indicators.
On a very regular basis I would need to jump electric cars. Electric cars have a regular 12V battery for starting, and the motors run off a special battery. More often than not, the 12V battery, and the motor battery would be dead. So I would use the NOCO to start the car, then leave it connected in order to drive it to the shop (up to 1/3 mile from where cars parked).
This little jump box will run an entire electric car with AC on full blast for several minutes and barely deplete its charge. However doing this multiple times throughout the day will deplete it more quickly. But if all you need to do is jump start, the charge lasts forever. Obviously you can use it in a similar way on a gasoline engine to run the car, when the alternator is bad.
Only a few, very minor, points to mention. The cables are a little shorter than I'd like. This makes it more compact, but sometimes finnicky to get connected to a battery.
The location, and ease of activation, of the light button make it entirely too easy to turn the light on. I found many times, I accidentally turned the light on without realizing it, and it stayed on for who knows how long until I noticed.
Also it's a bit heavy to carry around. And this I only say because I had to carry it around in a backpack with other tools, and things I needed to do my job. For the normal person, the weight isn't an issue. It is by far smaller, and lighter, than the traditional jump box. And lastly, it takes a long time to fully charge. The better part of the day, if mostly depleted.
So that's it. Those minor points are so minor, in no way should they deter you from buying this. I absolutely love this thing, and only hate that I waited so long to buy it.
UPDATE 1:
Been using this now for almost 2 years. Still going strong. Working in a normal shop now, so not jump starting batteries every day. The charge still lasts forever.
Also use to bench test starters. I now charge it probably once a month. It never goes dead, but if I see the charge is depleted when I use it, I will throw it on the charger. Still the best jump box I've ever used.
UPDATE 2:
I bought this in March 2017. I'm now buying a second one. I want one for home now, so I'm getting the new one for work, and taking the old one home. I really love this jump box. Still working on cars, still jump starting cars on the daily.
Now that this box is nearing 5 years old, the battery does need charged more often. Think of your old smart phone. But it's still kicking strong. The cables are still annoyingly short.
I charge this every few weeks, and use it pretty much daily. The rest of my previous review still stands strong. The only difference now, is I have to charge it more often because the battery is so old. But still perfect for home use, and now I'll have a fresh new one for work." — James Jameson
Get it from Amazon now: $249.95 & FREE Returns
2. NEXPOW - 12V 2000A (up to 7.0L Gas or 6.5L Diesel)
Top-rated: 21,182 ratings | 434 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Has reverse polarity protection, low voltage protection, high-temperature protection, and over-load protection.
Helpful review: "I am a dad with three driving-aged children, so we have SIX vehicles in our fleet, and I live in Nebraska so three of the cars have to sit outside in the COLD, COLD winter.
I originally purchased this device in January, after dealing with dead batteries, but didn't have an opportunity to really use it (which is a good thing, because you don't want to have to use this regularly). The device sat for 10 months in the case. I had trouble getting it to take a charge beyond one LED (out of four). My first reaction was, "well I guess I have to buy a new one," but before I did, I sent the support team a quick email. The team from NexPow responded quickly, and asked me to try a few troubleshooting steps.
Initially, the battery would not show any improvement, and Jane from NexPow asked me to try one last thing.
I completely discharged the battery pack (I thought) and tried charging it to no avail. I plugged a battery pack into it, left it over the weekend, and sent Jane a note saying it didn't work. She told me I could have a full refund or a replacement, and I opted for a replacement.
On Monday, I received a brand new unit, and NexPow asked if I could send the unit in so that they could analyze it to improve their products. Before shipping it in, I plugged it in one last time, almost on a whim, and the unit charged completely!!!
I have sent the NexPow team an email offering to buy the replacement unit, as we recently had a VERY cold snap, and I want to make sure we have more than one in case of emergency. I'll see what they have to say, but I want to call out BOTH the quality of the product (since I was able to get it charged) and customer service that was probably the best I have received for a $100 device on Amazon!
For those reasons I HIGHLY recommend this product. This is really an insurance policy for you to have in your car in case of emergency, so knowing that I have a reliable product with excellent customer service is fantastic peace of mind!!!
UPDATE:
I did use this on my wife's car which sat through really cold weather for a few days without driving, and the electronics in the car depleted the battery to the point where it wouldn't start. I connected it up and it fired up on the first attempt. This is a very simple solution to use, and it works just as I would have hoped." — Eric Huskle
Get it from Amazon now: $99.99 & FREE Returns
3. NOCO Boost Plus - 12V 1000A (up to 6.0L Gas or 3.0L Diesel)
Top-rated: 89,331 ratings | 1000+ answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Featuring high-discharge lithium technology for safe operation in any climate.
Helpful review: "My car battery was completely drained to the point I couldn't even remote-unlock my car. After trying a different product with mandatory reverse polarity protection, I knew I would need one that had the option of disabling the reverse polarity protection safety feature.
A jump starter that cannot disable, this feature will not shock a totally drained battery (because it won't shock unless it can detect the correct charges at the correct terminals, which is not possible in a drained battery).
This product DOES have the option to turn off the reverse polarity protection. However, it's important to know that the instructions leave out a vital part of how to do this. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW IS, to disable the reverse polarity protection, you must do so BEFORE attaching the cable clamps to your car's battery terminals.
Here are the steps:
1. Plug the cable into the jumpstarter, and turn on the jumpstarter via the power button.
2. Hold down the "!" button for at least three seconds, until you see the bar-shaped lights start to turn on and off. YOU HAVE NOW DISABLED THE REVERSE POLARITY PROTECTION, SO BE VERY CAREFUL.
3. Attach the clamps to the correct battery terminals, first connecting the red clamp to the positive terminal, then the black to the negative terminal.
4. Start your car!
If you try to attach the clamps to the terminals at any point before holding the "!" button down for three seconds, a red light will turn on, and the jumpstarter will NOT allow you to disable the reverse polarity protection, no matter how long you hold the "!" button down for.
This is not at all explained in the instructions. I had to scour the internet before I found out how to fix this problem, because the instructions make it sound like you hold the "!" button down after you have already attached the clamps to the battery terminals.
Anyway, this jumpstarter definitely did start my car, even though it was totally drained prior, once I figured that out! I knocked off a star for confusing instructions, but otherwise this seems to be a great product so far. It's not a super large size, it gets the job done, and it has an outgoing USB port as well to charge devices.
This product was about half-charged when it arrived, and it took maybe 2 hours or so to fully charge it. I honestly probably could have used it to start my car without having done that, though--starting my totally dead car battery didn't even take a quarter of this product's charge! I'll be hanging on to this and keeping it in my car just in case." — Max Klein
Get it from Amazon now: $124.95 & FREE Returns
4. STANLEY - 12V 1200A (up to V8 Gas or Diesel)
Top-rated: 16,914 ratings | 1000+ answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Includes an auto-stop 120 PSI digital air compressor to inflate tires with low pressure.
Helpful review: "This jump starter is absolutely amazing. I mean it. My car has had it's battery die on many occasions, due to a variety of circumstances.
I have never had a problem with it in its extensive use. Trust me, this thing takes a lot of abuse from me. It sits in my trunk 100% of the time, unsecured, in freezing cold temperatures, bounces around, and gets very frequent use (anywhere from daily use to once or twice a month).
The cables and alligator clips seem very sturdy, as well as the materials used for the casing, handle, and various switches. It is very reliable. I would wager that it is more reliable than my car's actual, brand new battery.
Now that we have it's sturdiness aside, I'm going to talk about it's performance as a jump-starter. Yes, it does come with some fancy frills, but let's be honest. None of those matter if it doesn't do it's intended job. However, that's not an issue at all, because it DOES do it's job, and it does it very well.
My car is a 1988 Mazda RX-7. These have a lot of electrical problems, due to Mazda's poor soldering and 27 years of corrosion on the grounding points. My battery will every once in a while drain for some unknown cause, it leaves a circuit closed after turning it off or something. Even when the battery is 100% dead like this, this jumpstarter can crank out enough power to turn it on.
If you try to turn the car on very quickly after connecting it (less than 10 seconds), it might not turn the motor over very quickly.
However, if you wait just a few seconds, it cranks it over just as well as a fully charged battery. Basically, when the battery is 100% dead, it takes a couple seconds to build up some juice. Which is fine.
Another thing, my car has a strange engine that is drastically different from any other car's engine (it has a rotary engine). These take a LOT of power to crank over. This jump starter is more than capable of turning it over.
In the winter, it is a common phenomenon that the rotary engines have trouble starting even with their own factory battery, fully charged.
They thick oil they use compounded with the high power necessary to start them renders them sometimes useless in the cold. In the winter, if the car doesn't want to start, I just pull this out, connect it, and it'll start faster than ever.
It gives a significant boost to the battery, and lets the car start much faster than usual in conditions when it would normally not even start at all.
Next, let's talk about charging, battery life, etc. It does not take long to charge at all. There are two ways to charge it, you can use a 12V DC "cigarette lighter" plug (included) and charge it in the car, and it also has an AC plug that you attach an extension cord (not included) to charge from a wall socket.
I haven't used the car plug, I have only used an extension cord. It usually has a "green light" in a few hours or less. Granted, I have never fully drained it, I've come down to the first LED out of the 3 that indicate the charge level). This leads into another great thing about it. It can take a lot of use before it needs to be charged.
I have had it for 3 months now, and I have charged it about 3 times. This may seem like a lot, but remember, I use it very, very frequently. I haven't actually counted how many times I can use it before I have to charge it. However, when it's very cold out, I use it almost every time I start the car.
This shouldn't count as a "full jump" though, because my car battery is actually fully charged. I'd count it as a "partial jump" because it IS using power from the jump starter. It gives enough "extra power" to get the motor started. Doing this, I have never actually had the indicator drop below the green "fully charged" level (or whichever it was currently at).
As for completely dead jumps, I tend to mix those in with the "partial jumps". I can't give exclusive data on that, because as is the case with jump starting, it occurs unexpectedly. However, I can definitely perform multiple completely dead jumps on a single charge.
Sometimes a full jump won't even take it below the "fully charged" green LED indicator. Sometimes, it will drop down to the 2/3 level.
If I had to take a guess, I'd say the jump starter would be able to jump my car (with a completely dead battery) reliably 3-5 times in a row before it can't do it anymore. Maybe even a bit more, if the car battery is not 100% dead, but doesn't have enough juice to either start the car or even turn it over.
I have also used it extensively to turn the motor over without the goal of starting the car. Sometimes my car has problems that require turning the engine over without actually starting the car. If you're familiar with cars, I have to take out the spark plugs or fuel pump fuse and crank the engine over. When doing this, if I turn the key, the engine just makes the "brrrbrrrbrrrbrrr" noise but never starts. This kills my car's battery, so I hook up the jump starter once it's dead.
Again, I have not collected any hard data, but I do have a general idea of the jump starter's capabilities through frequent use. If I had to give a figure, I would say that the jump starter (from a full charge) can turn the engine over all on its own for a total time of about a minute to a minute and a half before it gets to the first of three charge indicator lights. That is a minute and a half of constant "brrrbrrrbrrrbrrr".
To those who know that doing that for such a long time is bad, this is not all at once, it is spaced out over the period I'm working on the car. In summary, you barely have to charge this thing. It can easily take a couple jump starts before you even have to THINK about charging it. I'm gonna recommend that you keep it fully charged, and charge it after every use. It is definitely unnecessary, but I'm gonna say it just for the sake of saying it. I don't want anybody to get mad because "this guy online told me it would last exactly 4 jump starts! Now it's not working and he's an idiot and I'm stranded!". And it puts out a very generous amount of power as well.
Now, the fun little features that it has!
It has a USB port that you can use for charging phones, cameras, or even to power your USB desk back massager. I have never actually used it "for real", but I did test it out, and it works.
I don't know how long it would be able to power something like a phone, but if you are stranded somewhere, you will DEFINITELY NOT have to worry about your cell phone dying. If it can jump a car multiple times, it can probably power a phone for a very long time.
The built-in flashlight works pretty well. You can move it around and stuff, and it can actually really help at night if you need light for something. It's not the best flashlight in the world, because it's attached to a giant battery, but it gets the job done. It's more of an "oh crap I need light" thing than "I'm gonna be out in the garage tonight, I'd better bring the jump starter so I can see!".
The charge level indicators are a little weird, but it really isn't a problem. You just press a button, and 1-3 LED's light up to show you how much it has left. I can see how someone would think it's a little inaccurate (you couldn't have put like a couple more lights on at least?), but it gets the job done. You really do not need an exact percentage display of the battery life, and this reduces the cost because it doesn't need an on-board computer to run a display.
The last little thing it has is a mini air-compressor for filling your tires. The value of this depends on how you look at it. It is NOT good for filling up your tires. It will take forever. If I'm being honest, you're probably better off going to a gas station and paying a quarter.
Even though it's kind of awful, it is still easily my favorite feature of this jump starter. If you happen to notice that a tire is low, you can just fill it up. If you're like me, then it's always in the car with you, and you never have to worry about finding a way to fill your tires. If a tire is leaking air, but is still somewhat drive-able, it will be a lifesaver.
You can use this crappy little air compressor to limp your way over to a repair shop (or your house, if you're so inclined). It is a great thing to have in a desperate situation.
Now onto the negative things...which there aren't many of.
The switch for the air compressor is on the back. Under normal, not reckless use, it is 100% fine and there is nothing wrong with it. However, this thing sits in my trunk literally all the time.
It is not fastened down at all, and there isn't really anything else to hold it even remotely in place. As a result, it ends up flying around a lot. Not often, but occasionally, the air compressor switch will flip to the "on" position from a bump, hard turn, panic braking, etc. I would not consider this one a flaw with the product, it is more of a user error. I know I don't take care of it, and it really is a result of my negligence. It is still worth noting though.
To avoid this, you have some options. First of all, don't be like that random guy on the internet and let it fly around in your trunk. Second, if you do, place it so that the front (the side with the yellow buttons) is on the bottom.
It is much less likely for something to move the switch, because it would have to flip over. If you manage to flip it over AND move the switch while driving like a sane human being, then I honestly think you deserve to have your air compressor switch flipped. Lastly, you could put some tape over the switch or something if you absolutely cannot avoid stowing it recklessly and driving like a maniac.
Next issue, the size. For anybody who has a somewhat normal car, this is not really an issue. It may be able to power a car, but it is not the size of a car battery. It is much smaller.
However, I have a two-seater convertible that only really has a trunk because it's hard to sell a car without a trunk. It takes up a large portion of my trunk. It is DEFINITELY worth it, but again, it is worth mentioning that with the other various tools I need in there for my ancient car, I pretty much end up with 1/3 of my trunk space available for trunk-stuff. And that's after playing trunk-Tetris and getting everything to fit like a puzzle.
So be warned, if you have something like a Miata, S2000, or another tiny two seater, space might be an issue if you keep it in the car all the time. If you don't have a hilariously small car, then ignore everything I just said. You may have to take it out if you're planning on hauling a metric crapload of stuff, but otherwise it really shouldn't impede you.
Basically, the solution to this negative is (1) you could not keep it in your trunk (I don't suggest this one), or (2) don't drive a roadster. If you already have a roadster, I'm sorry, but you're just gonna have to sell it. If you can't deal with the 2-seater's now barely-existent trunk, then you have to pick between this jump starter and the car. And you should pick the jump starter.
Another negative thing I have is yet another thing that barely even counts as a negative. The flashlight is right above the thing you use to wrap one of the cords around. If you quickly try to wrap it up, you might get the cord caught on the flashlight just a tiny bit. Not really an issue, just something that I would change if I were to design a newer model.
One negative thing that I'm seeing on some reviews of this and other jump starters is that the alligator clips break. I may have gotten lucky, or they may have gotten unlucky.
Personally, I haven't had an issue with them, and I actually think they are built rather well. But it isn't worth glossing over, because if a lot of people complain about it, there may be some truth to it. Just know that even if some of them are bad, mine is proof that they are definitely not all like that.
One final negative I have is the air compressor. It is an awesome thing that they included, and it could really come in handy, but it objectively is a bad thing to use for filling your tires.
It is NOT supposed to be very good, after all, if you want a good air compressor, then you shouldn't be buying a battery jump starter. However, it is loud, I could hear it VERY clearly while driving, on the highway, with it in the trunk, that is a completely isolated compartment from the cabin.
The first time the switch flipped after a bump, the loud noise actually freaked me out, because I heard this huge vibrating noise that would not stop, and I thought it was coming from the car. It is also pretty low-powered (again, it is attached to a car jump starter that only supplies 12 volts). It takes a long time to fill up air, and it obviously struggles getting the tire pressure up once it gets to (relatively) higher PSI.
To summarize, this is an absolutely amazing device. It comes in handy in a lot of desperate situations. It can take tons of regular wear and tear as well as abuse (I would know, I'm not exactly nice to it).
It manages to jump start even cars that are pretty difficult to start, and it can do it time and time again without recharging. Still, for safety's sake and just in case, I'd recommend keeping it charged. Just know that it is definitely capable of multiple jumps if (1) you happen to need it multiple times in a row, and (2) you don't feel like charging it every time you use it.
It has some nice "extra" little features that you probably won't use a lot, but are definitely nice to have on the off chance you do need them. I keep this thing in my car literally all the time. It has not only saved my sorry butt more times than I can count, but it also allows me to use my car without worry in the winter when there's a less than 50% chance my car wouldn't normally work.
If you are even THINKING about buying this, stop thinking, and give Stanley your money already. Even if you aren't thinking about it, even if you don't have a car, buy it." — Jake Plumley
Get it from Amazon now: $129.99 & FREE Returns
5. Clore Jump-N-Carry - 12 V 1700A (425 Cranking Amps)
Top-rated: 16,231 ratings | 907 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 46-inch cable reach enables it to reach the starting points on vehicles of all shapes and sizes.
Helpful review: "Before I purchased this device, I did extensive research on the Lithium jump starters as well as alternate lead battery jump starters options with other bells and whistles like a tire inflator, light, etc. These are my findings as of the past couple days (Dec 4th & 5th) that hopefully will be useful to you.
I have a small turbo-charged 4 cyl vehicle. The battery is 3 years old & the water levels are perfect.
Unfortunately, I've had two jump starts from the auto club recently and it appears the battery won't hold a charge, despite driving around for better than 30 minutes each time thereafter.
I chose to buy this product because it was nearly half the price of the top of the line Lithium charging product. Granted, this is larger and heavier, and while it wasn't just a price factor for me, price was a large part of taking a chance on it.
I also bought it because the auto club mechanic advised me to invest in this type over the smaller Lithiums.
I also chose this product because I liked the beefier alligator clips as well as the DC meter gauge than what the Lithium equivalents provide.
I first read all the one-star complaints then read the five-star raves.
My issue was that if the auto club jump start worked and I no longer had a battery concern. It could be months before discovering the need to use this one I purchased in order to verify it does in fact work, and thus would miss my window to return it. Unfortunately, I did not have to wait long to test it because the battery did in fact die again.
The instructions on this product strongly advise you charge the device fully before first using it.
This task is a bit cumbersome to do because it has a 2-prong "male" setup right on the device, into which you must plug an extension cord of your own... or use the provided self-enclosed cigarette lighter cable, but who has a cig lighter anymore in their car?
Fortunately, I had a household extension cord available, and what's thoughtful about this device's design is the area into which you must plug the extension cord is somewhat widely recessed to accommodate an extension cord with multiple "female" receptacles on the end. I thought that was really nice.
So before I began charging the device I pressed the red button to see exactly how much charge the battery came with.
The reason I give this only three and not four stars is because after charging it for about 7 hours there was no appreciable or recognizable increase in voltage capacity when I pressed the red button again. Moreover, there are two lights and once I plugged it in to charge, the "CHARGED" light lit up. The "CHARGING" light never lit up.
I don't know if it's because it had a "full charge" from the factory or if for some reason the device was not in fact charging. Either way, the "Charging" light was not lighting and the DC electric gauge indicated that it was three-quarters charged.
The next day (today) I proceeded to use the device.
The instructions clearly state to attach the Positive (+...red) clip to the Positive (+...red) battery terminal first.
Then you are to attach the Negative (-...black) clip to the metal frame of your car (this is to prevent possibly inadvertently switching the clips b/c sometimes a battery can get so dirty you can't see the difference between Positive and Negative in the dark and could explode the battery). My car totally did not start like this.
Now, having had piece of junk cars in the past that often needing jumping, I decided to go old school and connect red-to-red and black-to-black (i.e. not connecting the black to the frame). Let me tell you, my car started up lickity split that way! It took no prisoners and did not blink an eye.
I then proceeded to drive it around for thirty minutes, stopped to run an errand, and my battery yet again had died, which clearly tells me something more is going on with it. Fortunately, I brought the jump start device with me and I did not find myself stranded. My next stop objective is to find an auto parts store that can test the ability of the battery to hold a charge.
I'm really happy with this product so far, with the exception that I could not discern if it was in fact recharging itself. This could be a problem down the road, but in the meantime it will have bailed me out a few times until potentially getting a new battery.
Personally, I feel that if you know how to properly inflate your car tires or pump gas yourself, you should be able to easily use this device.
Oh, one other really nice thing is that the manufacturer gives you an $85 coupon valid for one repair and shipping costs back to you. Of course, it's so heavy it might end up costing you $50 to ship it to them. haha.
UPDATE:
I decided to bump this device up to four-stars. Upon even further very closely reading the instructions, the device is in fact charged when the Green "CHARGED" light goes on.
The instructions explicitly state that you can leave the jump-starter plugged in and it appears that the DC power gauge won't ever reach the far right of the dial because it's not supposed to.
It's a power meter, not a meter that lets you know how "full" it is like a gas tank meter. In other words, the needle at the 3/4 mark means it has that much electrical power--which is in fact its max possible storable voltage.
This is also why they advise charging it after each use because stored power will eventually dissipate.
The only added bit of confusion was when charging it via the provided 12 volt cigarette adaptor. They advise NOT leaving it charging once it's "full", which, from an empty state would take about 5 hours. I chose to not give this product five-star because of the instructions were just not as clear as they could be (no diagram, etc.)" — Nemo Crockett
Get it from Amazon now: $137.99 & FREE Returns
6. NOCO Boost XL - 12V 1500A (up to 7.0L Gas or 4.0L Diesel)
Top-rated: 12,570 ratings | 282 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Rugged and water-resistant enclosure rated at IP65.
Helpful review: "How often did you forget to turn off the interior lights? For how long did you not drive only to find out your car would not start? I lost count. My family, coworkers, strangers, and I all had that happen before, and when it did:
- Was a jump start cable available?
- Was anyone available to lend their car to power yours up with?
- Did you know how to jump start a car?
- Did you have a AAA membership, and did you have time to wait for a technician to arrive and help?
My dad bought me a battery-operated jump start kit decades ago when I was in college. It was large and constantly lost its charge. Technology had changed since and small powerful batteries now exist that can start a vehicle as large as a truck.
MODEL GB40 PLUS (1,000 Amp):
I had purchased a NOCO Genius Boost GB40 in 2016 for the sole purpose of having an emergency jump starter available for my SUV. Its feature set intrigued me:
- Compact and portable at 2.4 lbs
- Does not need you to move your car so the battery could reach the other vehicle’s
- Just take out the NOCO, connect to your own battery, and start
- Ability to jump start a 6L gasoline or 3L diesel engine
- My V6 engine SUV only uses 3.5L gas
- A Ford F150 truck with V8 goes as high as 5.0L
- Up to 20 starts
- Boost mode to send maximum charge to a completely dead battery
- 1,000 Amps — yes, really!
- This saved our butts many times — at least we were able to drive back home until we got our batteries replaced
- Reverse-polarity protection to ensure you won’t short the battery if you connect the clamps wrong — FYI, red cable should always go to battery’s red or plus (+) terminal
- Having the clamps touch each other also does nothing. It’s quite fool-proof
- microUSB re-chargeable in less than 3 hours
- Battery to charge USB devices with
- Built-in flashlight with SOS function
- Battery maintains its charge for months
Now to the more powerful - MODEL GB50 XL (1,500 Amp):
I bought the 1,500 Amp NOCO Genius Boost XL GB50 model in 2019 to keep at home.
- Can start a 7L gasoline or 4L diesel engine
- Up to 30 starts
- Battery recharges in 5 hours
- Weight: 2.7 lbs, just 0.3 lbs heavier than the GB40 model
USAGE:
Using the NOCO Boost is simple:
- Ensure car is fully turned off, including all lights
- Put car into Park and activate the hand brake
- Pop open the car’s hood and wait 30 seconds
- Plug the Boost’s red clamp to the car battery’s red or plus (+) connector
- Even if you plug it to the wrong one, the NOCO’s reverse-polarity protection will prevent your battery from getting short-circuited
- Plug the black clamp to the car battery’s other connector
- Turn on the Boost
- Start the car and push down a bit on the gas to rev up the engine
- If car starts, let it run for a few minutes
- Drive your car around for 30 minutes to charge up its battery a bit. It may simply need a few hours to fully recharge unless the battery is completely dead and requires a replacement
Warning: Do not leave the car running inside your garage with the doors closed. You could get carbon monoxide poisoning and die!
- If car did NOT start, wait 30 seconds
- Long-press on the NOCO’s Exclamation mark (!) button to activate maximum Boost mode
- You will see the light above the “12V 1000A” label turn on. This mode will send the maximum charge to the car battery
- Start the car and push down a bit on the gas to rev up the engine. It should work
- I had NOT come across a single car that could NOT be charged when the NOCO was set to its maximum boost
The NOCO GB40’s small size once wowed a AAA driver when I showed him that it could start my mother-in-law’s completely dead battery. He showed me how large his one was. (That was not a dirty joke!)
CONCLUSION:
This is one of the single, most important pieces of emergency gear I had purchased for myself and each family’s car, so you would not be stranded somewhere without a cell phone signal. Both models are very powerful, do not take up much space inside the vehicle, and are easy to use: my elderly mother-in-law remembered how to start her own vehicle after showing her just once!
No more waiting for a tow truck/technician to arrive, and having been able to use the NOCO as a portable battery to charge my mobile devices with, has been an added bonus." — Maxwell Pooler
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7. NEXPOW - 12V 2500A (up to 8.0L Gas or 8.0L Diesel)
Top-rated: 9,883 ratings | 203 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: When not in use, just turn off the main switch and the device can hold the charge for more than 3 months.
Helpful review: "I got two of these units. One for myself and shortly after, one for my Dad. They are amazing little jumpers and very powerful; however, there are two things I have/ had an issue with.
One, involving both units, the time you have from the time you hook it up to the time you have to turn the key before it goes into safety or whatever it's doing is insanely short, like under 3 seconds. So, if you are under your hood, you will likely struggle to get to the key before it shuts off. I have sent a message to the seller about this as I hoped it was just one of the boxes, but both do it. You then have to unplug the harness out of the box and plug it back in to reset it. It's very annoying. So it's 5 stars when you can do it by yourself, 2 when you can't and need to find help!
The second issue I had was charging. I was jumping a friend’s 4 cyl inboard boat and the charger got really hot and died on us, and rather quickly. We jumped it 5 or 6 times within 10 minutes, starting with a fully charged box from the night before. Two days later I still could not get the charger to charge. Only the first light would flash out of the 4 and it would never get to the 2nd light showing its in the process of charging. I contacted the seller and they recommended a larger 18W charger. I was using a 12W. I also tried a 5W. I thought, no way this is not the problem, but it was. So, be sure you have at least an 18W wall charger to go with it. I charged mine 4 or 5 times on the 12 without issue, but never let it completely die as I did the last time. If it had more time from hook up to start I'd give it 5 stars. And, I wish I could use it without a battery, like to trim an outboard up on a boat that has no battery in it.
ALSO, if the battery is really dead, it will not power anything either to give you accessory power, instead It immediately shuts off. But, Overall it is a great little charger. Crazy amount of power! Super compact and fits easily anywhere.
A FEW WORDS FROM A FRIEND:
Everything about this unit appears to be of excellent quality. Although I haven’t had to jump start a car with this yet I have tested the USB ports and the unit charges. I really like that it comes with a cigarette lighter adaptor so you can plug anything that has a cigarette lighter into it. I made one addition to the unit itself. The pack has a triangular orange power button on top. If you just take it out of the case and press that button - nothing happens. There is a small On/Off switch on the side of the unit you must turn on before the orange triangular will work. This may seem like an annoyance, but it is actually a safety measure. When the unit is stored in your vehicle it is possible for something to be left pressing on the top orange button keeping the unit on in storage. The side switch prevents that. However, on a dark rainy night it could be frustrating to be trying to turn the unit on with just the top button. I used a P-Touch and put a label on the unit to make it easier to find the On/Off switch on that dark rainy night. The second addition to the cased unit is to add a USB-lightning (apple) cable & a USB-micro cable. The unit comes with a USB-c cable to charge the unit, but it can also be used to charge devices that have USB-c connections. So now I have a good car jump starter and a complete USB battery pack system in one case! Useful for not only a car jump starter, but for power failures, picnics and any other time I need a heavy duty USB solution." — Scott P. Marks
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8. DeWalt - 12V 1400A (with a Power Inverter 140W)
Top-rated: 6,130 ratings | 329 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: Includes a patented alternator check function to detect voltage problems.
Helpful review: "We bought this unit to be dual purpose when we go camping. I wanted something with an air pump because anything can happen to your tires while you're on a road trip. Bonus was that it had USB ports to charge our devices.
A slight negative is you don't want to be too heavy on the USB ports otherwise you'll deplete the booster battery this was ultimately designed to be. That said, I charged it up the first day and love how it can be used with any standard extension cord.
The lights are handy on the back, and the unit is very heavy and feels super reliable.
I have other Dewalt products which were a contributing factor to purchasing this unit. I have a motorcycle as well and this has come in extremely handy for keeping the tires properly inflated without wires or bulky inflation connections. LOVE IT!
The only downside to this device is I do wish it had at least one standard sized plug. There is a monster of a battery in this unit that could truly serve double purpose as a power bank if it just had a few additional design changes.
The built-in alternator test is a cool feature that I'm sure I'll use at some point. I haven't used it to jump start a battery yet but I know this thing will function well which is why I keep it in the back of my truck now permanently. Fantastic unit at a great price for the features it has.
A FEW WORDS FROM A FRIEND:
I have already used this by inflating my tires. It screws on to the valve stem. You push the air button. Set the desired psi and hit air. It inflates to the correct amount and shuts off. When you connect it and push air it will tell you the current air pressure and inflates to the amount indicated. The only thing I don't like is that it doesn't come with a plug to charge the unit. It says you can use any standard 110 extension cord but the one I tried didn't work apparently as the display is supposed to light up showing the current voltage/charge and indicate it is charging. The extension cord I have has 3 holes so maybe I need to use a smaller one so it will fit more flushly as there isn't much space for the plug under the cover. I haven't used the other features yet. I wanted to buy it to keep it in my vehicle in the case of an emergency. It is heavy but not so much that it is hard to lift in my opinion. I have bought the DB Power battery jumper before and it is small, light and compact but it doesn't have the air inflation feature. It worked great for 2 years but now it has stopped working so I thought I would try this Dewalt." — Diddy Haze
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9. NOCO Boost Pro - 12V 3000A (up to 9.0L Gas or 7.0L Diesel)
Top-rated: 10,214 ratings | 517 answered questions
Credit: Amazon.com
Highlight: 1-Year Warranty; Designed in the USA.
Helpful review: "Just wowwww... This device is insane. I have been using standard 50 pound jump starters for years and they usually, but not always, performed sufficiently, and not always reliably. Lately, for the last 2 years, I have been dealing with a failing " battery saver module" in my 2007 Ford F350 CrewCab 4x4 6.0 diesel pickup.
The short explanation is that when the outside temps drop below 60 to 50 degrees, the battery saver module kicks in. Once the days get cooler and the BSM activates it completely drains both batteries in my truck in about 2 days while my truck sits unoperated.
My standard jump box just wasn't charging sufficiently anymore to jump my truck from a dead start, and about 2 weeks ago it completely failed even though it was as charged as it was going to get.
After reading up on these types of jump starters and reading tons of reviews for different brands and sizes of these jump boxes, I wasn't completely confident that these things can or would actually operate as the manufacturers claim. I decided to purchase the NOCO GB150 mostly because:
1. They are an American manufacturer and...
2. Because they have been manufacturing vehicle assistive devices for many years and have an established reputation and...
3. Because their machines aren't built around adding on cheap, junky, gimmicky crap like tire inflators, laser lights, compasses, radios, mini winches, etc. It's just a solid jump box built into a strong, high quality housing with a useful, quality LED headlight and a few plugs for USB and charger adapters, and…
4. It seems to have better overall safety features than the other comparable brands. Plus it is rated for much larger engines, and I did not find any other brand offering a machine rated for such large engines and.
5. In comparing the NOCO GB150 and its parts such as the cables and post clamps to other brand boxes, the NOCO quality seems to be solid, professional quality.
After receiving the box and examining it, it is my opinion that this is a finely manufactured product, no cheap or flimsy parts at all.
Charging it completely out of the box as advised in the user manual took about 12 hours. The following afternoon I went out to my truck to start it up.
It was about 3pm and the afternoon temp was about 75 degrees, and the overnight temp got down to about 49 to 53 degrees. My truck had been parked for 12 days without being started, and the batteries were completely dead.
I attached the post clamps, waited about 1 minute, and keyed the ignition switch. The engine kicked over vigorously, no lag, no hesitation. I went into town to do chores and run errands, making several stops throughout the afternoon. I jumped my truck 5 more times that afternoon.
When I returned home, I checked the box and the charge indicator gauge showed the box STILL at 100%. I left the box on the passenger side of the floor for the next use. I went out 2 days later, jumped my truck that morning and 4 more times that day.
Upon returning home I checked the box and the charge indicator gauge showed the charge at 75% ! Think about that… I jumped my 6.0 diesel 11 times over a 4 day period
without recharging this box, and it only used approximately 1/4 of the contained charge. That is unreal.
After reading the reviews, the only concern I had – apart from this box actually performing as the manufacturer claimed it would -- was the complaints from a few customers that the power component (battery pack) failed rather early.
There were only like 3 or 4 reviews with this complaint. In contrast there were hundreds of 4 and 5 star reviews for this box, none of which mentioned the box having a short lifespan or otherwise failing. Also, there were a few follow up reviews from guys who had purchased the box more than a year or more prior and talked about how the box was still functioning dependably as it was designed to do.
One other thing to keep in mind is that should the battery pack fail, NOCO states in its user manual that it does rebuild the box should the owner send it in for such service.
In conclusion I absolutely recommend this box or its smaller versions. In my opinion, NOCO builds the best quality box.
Judging from my experience and from other reviews, this brand maintains a responsive Customer Assistance department, which is important as these jump boxes are not a throwaway item. Buy this jump box. 5 STARS!" — John Leavitt
Get it from Amazon now: $289.00 & FREE Returns