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If you like helping people who are in a tough spot, carrying a jump starter in your vehicle gives you a chance to play the hero. When you’re unsure about what type of vehicle may need a jump, having a versatile jump starter on hand like the NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 is a smart idea. It can jump nearly any vehicle you encounter, and it carries a host of safety features.
Being a super hero in real life doesn’t require a costume or super powers. You can be a hero on the road simply by carrying a jump starter with you that can help re-start a stranded car. Having jump starting gear on hand in the winter time is key because batteries are placed under stress in cold weather and often need a re-start.
Before trying to jump start your vehicle, it’s smart to have a basic understanding of how a car battery works. In a helpful article, Firestone explains some key points. The battery uses a chemical reaction to create electrical power. Cables deliver this power from the battery to the vehicle’s starter, which requires voltage to start the engine.
When the battery doesn’t have enough power to deliver the voltage needed for the starter, the vehicle won’t start. When your battery is low on power, you can jump start the battery by giving it the boost of power it needs to allow the car to start.
Car batteries eventually wear out and fail. Most vehicle batteries will last for three to five years, according to NAPA. Extremely hot weather isn’t good for the lifespan of the battery, though, and neither are constant short trips of 20 minutes or less.
Cold weather also creates problems for a car battery, as the cold weather stresses and drains the battery, causing it to struggle to generate the initial burst of power needed to start the vehicle. That’s why a vehicle can be more difficult to start in cold weather.
Types of jump starters
There are a few different types of jump starters you can buy for your car.
- Jumper cables: With a set of jumper cables, you receive two cables with clamps on either end. Jumper cables give you a quick means of starting a car with a dead battery, according to Popular Mechanics, as long as you have a charged battery available, too. Make sure the jumper cable is 4- or 6-gauge in size and is as long as possible. Check with the user manual for your vehicle for any specific instructions on jump starting the car safely.
- Portable jump starter: A portable jump starter delivers a jolt of electricity to the battery of your vehicle as you’re trying to start it, according to Jump Start Expert, giving the drained battery the boost it needs to start the vehicle. Portable jump starters, which store power like a battery, will need to be charged before they can be used. But you don’t need a second vehicle available to use this device to jump start a car with them.
- Trickle charger: A trickle charger typically will plug into a wall outlet and deliver power to a battery over a long period of time. This is different than the sudden jolt of power a portable jump starter delivers. With a trickle charger, you’re trying to keep the battery at a high enough charge level that it will be able to start the car when needed. For example, you may keep a battery on a trickle charger overnight when the temperatures are really cold.
Before using any type of jump starter, make sure you know exactly how to use it safely. If you make a major error in setting up the jump starting device or use it incorrectly, you could create a dangerous situation. After all, we are dealing with electricity here. Or you could cause damage to your vehicle. In other words, when jump starting a car, be careful, use common sense, and ask for help when you need it. Now on to our top picks for the best jump starters you can buy.
Read on in the slides below to learn why the NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 is our top pick and why you should also consider the Beatit 800A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter, the EPAuto 20-Foot 500A Heavy Duty Booster Jumper Cables, the Jump-N-Carry JNC770B Premium Jump Starter, and the Schumacher 1.5 Amp Speed Charge Battery Maintainer.
SEE ALSO: The best ice scrapers for your car to keep your windshield clean
The best jump starter overall
Why you'll love it: The NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 can jump start almost any kind of car and it has many great safety features.
The NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 jump starter delivers just the right amount of power to start your car again. The booster has special technology that ensures it won’t cause sparks. It also offers reverse polarity protection to deliver a safe connection.
As an added bonus, this jump starter contains a USB port for charging your mobile devices like a battery pack. If you're stranded on the side of the road, the jump starter also has an LED flashlight with an emergency strobe function, so you can alert passersby to your presence.
The Genius Boost Plus GB40 may not look like it can handle tough conditions, but it’s a durable jump starter that can deliver up to 1,000 amps. You can jump start your car up to 20 times with the NOCO. The Tool Nerds' review liked that it was a high-powered device and that you can also get a more powerful version. NOCO offers jump starters with 400, 2,000, or 4,000 amps.
Perhaps the best thing about this jump starter is that it can be used on just about any car. Even if you have a diesel engine, the NOCO GB40 can jump start it for you. One Amazon buyer loves the versatility of the NOCO jump starter, as it works with almost any kind of engine someone will make use of at home.
However, one Amazon reviewer is disappointed that the Genius Boost Plus only can be charged over a USB connection, which means if you want to plug it into a wall outlet to charge it, you must purchase an AC-to-USB adapter.
NOCO offers a one-year limited warranty and free lifetime customer support, so if you run into any problems, give NOCO a call.
Pros: Gives you good versatility for the price you’ll pay, contains many safety features, should jump start most vehicles you would use at home, includes USB ports to charge mobile devices, includes a flashlight
Cons: Cannot charge the GB40 from a wall outlet without buying an adapter, doesn’t match its longevity claims
Buy the NOCO Genius Boost Plus GB40 on Amazon for $99.95 (originally $125.95)
The best portable jump starter
Why you'll love it: The Beatit 800A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter is a smart idea when you want to have a jump starter on hand at all times, because it fits in your car’s glove box.
The Beatit 800A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter can help you when your vehicle is stuck in a tough situation with a dead battery, and you won’t mind carrying it all the time, because it fits easily in your car’s glove box.
The Beatit device delivers 800 amps of peak current, which is plenty to jump start most vehicles, and you can recharge the unit in as little as 5.5 hours. Because it's so small, the jump starter fits easily in your car, so you're never stuck on the side of the road again.
Even though this jump starter is small, it can deliver enough power to restart up to a 6.0-liter gas engine or a 5.0-liter diesel turbine.
Buyers on Amazon like this one say the Beatit jump starter successfully re-started the car during a cold night, even though the device's instruction manual was poorly written and confusing.
You can charge the Beatit 800A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter from a variety of sources, including a wall outlet, a car charging outlet, or a USB connection. In its review, Car Understanding says that having all these charging options is a great bonus. Plus, the kit ships with all of the adapters you need for charging.
If you ever run into problems, Beatit offers a two-year warranty and customer service.
Pros: Contains all of the components you need to charge and use it, small enough to fit inside a glove box, able to start most vehicles you’d use at home, offered at a good price point
Cons: May not work if left idle for a long time, may not start some bigger engines
Buy the Beatit 800A Peak Portable Car Jump Starter on Amazon for $67.99
The best jumper cables
Why you'll love it: With an impressive length and a heavy cable thickness, the EPAuto 20-Foot 500A Heavy Duty Booster Jumper Cables can handle the toughest jump starting jobs.
When you want old-school peace of mind for jump starting a vehicle, a pair of heavy-duty jumper cables are always good to have on hand.
In contrast with battery-powered jump starters, you don’t have to worry about whether you remembered to charge the jump starter. You just have another vehicle on hand from which to draw power.
You’ll receive a travel bag and a pair of safety gloves along with the EPAuto 20-foot cables, which makes it easier to use the equipment safely. Thoroughly Reviewed says the EPAuto jumper cables use a 4-gauge size, which should accommodate batteries on most vehicles. The cables won't tangle, either.
One Amazon reviewer says the cables' 20-foot length makes them easy to use and connect between two cars.
Pros: High quality cable thickness, 20-foot length means the two cars don’t have to be extremely close to each other, clamp size that will fit most battery terminals, extremely good price point
Cons: Quality of materials in clamps could be better, tough to fit cables back in the travel bag
Buy the EPAuto 20-Foot 500A Heavy Duty Booster Jumper Cables on Amazon for $19.97
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