9 Best Jump Starters

Buying a Jump Starter

A portable jump starter lets you revive your dead car battery without calling roadside assistance or someone with jumper cables and a working car battery. Small, powerful and cost effective, jump starters can be especially helpful if your battery dies on a long trip or you forgot to turn off your lights.

Before buying a jump starter, do your homework. Decide which brand, model and features best suit your needs. Don’t just think about the physical size or power output of the jump starter.

Consider:

• Safety technologies: Reverse polarity protection prevents damage to the the jump starter and vehicle if you connect clamps the wrong way. Look for one with overcharging, over-voltage and overload protection. Spark-proof jump starters reduce the likelihood of igniting gases released from a lead-acid car battery.
• Type: Jump starters come with lithium-ion or lead-acid batteries.
  • Lithium-ion batteries are usually rated in Peak amps or starting amps (the amount of current, in amperes, a battery can sustain at 72 F for 30 seconds). Lithium-ion jump starters are smaller, lighter and keep their charge longer (up to a year) than a lead-acid battery.
  • Lead-acid batteries are rated in Cold Cranking amps (the amount of current a battery can sustain for 30 seconds at 0 F without dropping under 7.2 volts). Quality lead-acid jump starters use sealed Absorbed Glass Material (AGM) batteries. Unlike a conventional wet-cell battery, AMG batteries suspend the electrolyte mixture (sulfuric acid and distilled water) in fiberglass material. Suspending the electrolyte movement reduces battery maintenance and increases battery life. Although AMG batteries deliver powerful starting amps and run electronics longer, they are much heavier, sensitive to over/under charging and cost significantly more than a comparable lithium-ion jump starter battery.
• Vehicle engine size and type: Depending on your vehicle, the age of your battery and your climate, a jump starter with a 400- to 600-amp rating should be adequate for a four-cylinder engine. However, for vehicles with large V-8 gasoline or diesel engines, or in climate where temperatures regularly fall below 0 F in winter, choose a jump starter with a 1,000- to 2,000-amp or higher rating.
• Optional features: Jump starters can come with handy USB and USB-C charging/power ports, 12-volt power outlets for charging cell phones, or operating air inflators or inverters. Many models incorporate an LED flashlight with different modes (emergency strobe, S-O-S) and even a built-in air compressor.
• Manual override or “boost” feature: Manual override can power a battery even if its voltage is too low to be detected. Use this with caution; boost mode disables all safety features.
• Budget: Handy optional features drive up the price. A decent 500-amp jump starter can cost less than $100, while a 2,000-amp unit can be well over $200. (Remember, a set of quality jumper cables runs more than $50.)

Safety first! A car battery holds sulfuric acid that can cause serious burns. Always wear gloves and eye protection when working around a battery or jump-starting a car. If you come into contact with battery acid, flush with plenty of water and get medical attention immediately.

Note: All jump starters listed here are 12-volt models and are not for use with electric vehicles.

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