The Best Portable Jump Starter (1 Winner, Several Reasons)

Now, looking back, about five years later, that portable jumper remains one of the best things I’ve ever bought in the course of my vehicle ownership and mechanic venture.

The twist in the tale is that not everyone who sets out to buy a portable jumper for their vehicle will be as lucky as I was.

This is because there are more models now available in the market, making the selection process tougher and overall, complicating what was a relatively easier decision, five years ago.

This is why I’m offering this help and guidance – especially since a little help doesn’t hurt anyone.

However, in my usual style, I’m not just offering you my counsel and expecting you to take things hook, line, and sinker simply because I’m a mechanic and an automotive writer.

Instead, I intend to explain the several reasons why the portable jumper of my choice is the preferred candidate for the best portable jumper and importantly, why it ultimately wins and claims the title.

If you’re in a hurry, the best portable jump starter is the Noco GB50. However, if you’ve got a few minutes to spare, continue reading to understand why and ultimately, how that conclusion was reached.

First things first though: why do you need a portable jumper in the first place?

Why Do You Need a Portable Jumper (In the First Place)?

Most of the time, what you’re persuaded as a car owner to buy isn’t what you need (or worse, what will serve you).

Instead, if any interest is served, it’s that of the seller (or advertiser); the ultimate end being to make sure that you part with your hard-earned money.

As a vehicle owner, why is a portable jumper different from all the other purchases that you’re likely to be flooded with on a daily basis as you navigate your life and do your thing?

Here are my reasons.

1. Your Starter Battery Can Pack Up Anytime

There was a time when most vehicles came from the factory with manual transmissions. With the manual way of shifting gears, it was easy to roll a vehicle down a slope, hop into it, slam the door shut, and as the vehicle gathered momentum down the slope, engage the second gear (with the ignition in the ‘on’ position) and suddenly releasing the clutch.

Heck, I did this all the time, growing up.

Things have changed now. With the bulk of the vehicles on the road now powered by automatic transmissions, you’d be extremely lucky to find a manual transmission that isn’t a truck (or a sub-compact).

And, as you know, if your starter battery packs up while in an auto tranny, you’re as good as toast.

Granted, battery testing technology has improved, but the grand truth remains that it doesn’t hurt to be prepared for war—even when you’re actively expecting peace.

If I hear you quietly think that you can easily jump a vehicle and be on your way, the next point is for you.

2. The Pack-up Can Happen in an Isolated Place…

If you’re banking that with a traditional jumper cable, you can easily get help from a friend, family member, or even a total stranger and be on your way, I want to bring something very important to your attention: starter batteries always have a way of packing up in places where you’re almost guaranteed to be alone and without help.

The cold winter stretch that you must travel without seeing other vehicles, often, in sub-zero temperatures, the midnight meeting that you must be present and come out of, tired and sleepy; the list is endless.

When such an isolated failure happens (pardon the pun), you’re at the mercy of the elements (or whatever holds sway where the failure happened).

A portable jumper in your trunk is a true companion in such an instance; a companion that won’t fail you, at your point of need.

3. Helping in the 21st Century Has Gone ‘Smart’

Cars made today are extremely complex – and unfortunately, as demand for more vehicle features continues to climb, things only get worse.

I remember the first vehicle I played with: the old Peugeot 504. With just a motor, a large thirsty radiator, a fuse box, and an alternator, that was all there was to that engine. However, that spartan design saw to it that there was little (or nothing) to go wrong should the starter battery be yanked off.

Fast forward to a few decades later, the very shifting of a vehicle’s transmission is handed by the ECU which stores some form of memory, aided by the starter battery to do its thing.

Some vehicles today require you to register, calibrate, or reset a new starter battery that comes into their hoods, making removing a starter battery to help someone start their own vehicle an extremely inconvenient affair.

This inconvenience doesn’t end with the provision of a jumper cable: instead, it takes a different dimension and brings all manner of risks to the equation – if not done properly.

So, instead of looking like a bad friend or sad family member who won’t help with their starter batteries when friends or loved ones are in need, why not simply purchase a portable jumper and offer it instead when they ask for your starter battery to help move their own vehicles?

4. A Battery Tester Is Largely a Guide…

A battery tester like the Foxwell BT705 is a true work of art: sturdy, capable, and made to truly last on the job. It’s what every DIY mechanic and serious car owner need to keep around them, unfailingly.

Unfortunately, a battery tester, at the end of the day, is only a battery tester: it gives you a range and perspective but stops at that point, leaving the details it offers to you (and how best you choose to interpret them), your business.

For example, I’ve used a starter battery that asked me to ‘replace’ it (with the help of a battery tester hooked to it) for an additional six months before finally needing to buy a replacement.

For some batteries, it’s only a month before I need to replace them.

The difference between a month and six is large – and quite impressive. It’s not something you can easily calculate an average on or worse, prepare against, beyond immediately spending money you may not have.

The only thing that made me keep driving confidently in both instances was the fact that my portable jumper was always in the trunk so I knew that if/when push came to shove, I’d be able to handle the issue like a true professional.

This may likely also be your experience if you’re banking on the predictive powers of the battery tester alone.

So, after all that said, what’s the best portable jump starter for modern vehicles today?

The Best Portable Jump Starter for the Modern Vehicle

The best portable jump starter for a modern vehicle today is the Noco GB50 – and this suitability cuts across compacts, sedans, trucks, and SUVs.

However, in my usual tradition, I didn’t reach this decision lightly nor did I pull this fact out of thin air.

There are numerous reasons why the Noco GB50 is the best portable jump starter you can buy today for your vehicle.

Why the Noco GB50 Is the Best Portable Jumper on the Market Today

Anyone can wake up today and after taking their favorite meal, declare that any jumper is the best portable unit there is at the moment.

I’m different.

Besides having first-hand experience with the Noco Boost GB50 portable jumper, I won’t simply declare that it’s the best portable jump starter available for the bucks today.

Instead, I will share with you why this is so.

Here:

1. Built like a Tank, in the US

If you check any online platform for a portable jumper today, you’ll be shown at least, five hundred (or more) options.

Of this vast array, at least, a third of them are all cheaply made units that look like they’ll easily blow up after the first use or if they survive that, will pack up after the first week or month.

Noco must have been taking notes about this when they decided to offer the GB50: the unit is solid to the feel and ultimately, looks like what would easily survive the armageddon.

The solid build – and the US design were what endeared me to the unit in the first place when I first came across it.

Based on that initial faith, I bought the unit and trusted that I made the right decision.

More than five years after, the Noco GB50 portable jumper is still kicking fine and ultimately, doing everything that I believed it would do.

From the service the unit has offered so far, I have no doubts that it will effortlessly serve at least, another ten years before finally becoming due for replacement.

For the price it’s offered, this remains an obsolete steal!

How many competitors can comfortably serve, even if only for two years?

2. The Battery Has Impressive Staying Power

Besides the fact that the Noco GB50 is built like a tank and designed in the US, one other thing that endeared me to the jumper was the fact that it was advertised to hold a charge for a solid year.

I didn’t take this seriously, initially, thinking it was one of the various ad styles manufacturers employ to sell their merchandise.

However, more than five years after, the Noco GB 50 has consistently been able to sit in the trunk of my daily driver for months on end, doing nothing in the extreme cold (or heat), just waiting to be called upon.

Sometimes, I forget that the unit is in my trunk and I’m pleasantly surprised that even after a year of not charging the battery, the juice it still sports is strong enough to run an emergency jump, before recharging the unit itself.

This, you’ll agree with me, is rare.

3. Foolproof Operation

Another reality that has set the Noco GB50 apart is its foolproof operation: it’s designed with reverse polarity and sparkproof protection.

Put together the clamps when the unit is powered on and no harm/damage occurs: instead, you hear a low hum, telling you that something is wrong. Immediately you correct the challenge, you’re all good again.

It’s the same thing with spark protection: no matter how you connect the unit to the battery terminals, you’re assured of one thing – sparks aren’t going to be flying about.

Now, these two features may appear common and easy to take for granted, except that, many new offers today don’t sport them, and importantly, many vehicle users aren’t exactly petrolheads and will certainly need these safety features, when dealing with the unit.

It’s a solid, standard win.

4. Number of Uses per Charge

Yet another feature that has made the Noco GB50 the best portable jump starter you can buy today is the sheer number of uses per charge: jumping about thirty good cars before needing to recharge the battery isn’t a mean feat!

Imagine waking up to see that all the vehicles in your company’s fleet have poor starter batteries and will need a boost.

Assuming your company has about twenty-five vehicles, this portable jumper can effortlessly deliver enough juice to start up all twenty-five vehicles before needing a charge, itself.

This is an impressive and rare feat. Very few options today tick this box.

5. Ease of Recharge

Closely associated with the above is the ease of recharge of the unit itself: after all, you’ll need to charge up the depleted power after you’re done with all the charges the jumper expended to start up the vehicles that wouldn’t start (on their own).

This is where it gets super interesting and completely out of the league of most of the options generally available in the market today: the jumper can be recharged via a standard wall socket, a power bank, or the 12-volt DC cigarette adapter of the vehicle.

With these three standard ways of keeping the juice in this jumper circulating, it’s easy to see that keeping the unit charged, all the time, effortlessly, won’t be a challenge.

6. Other Associated Uses

Over and beyond the standard jump starter option that the Noco GB50 offers, there are a plethora of other functions that the unit comes with: a power bank, standard flashlight, and an array of SoS lights.

These functions make the Noco GB50 not only the best jump starter currently available in the market today but also, the most versatile unit too.

For instance, when I drove out of civilization, I never needed to bother with a separate power bank, flashlight, or any form of light that would indicate I was in trouble (if/when I was in trouble).

With the portable jumper in the trunk, I always know, by default, that I’m covered, and that usually ends the conversation.

I also, never regret not taking ‘extra’ precautions!

Worthy Contenders to Consider

The Noco GB50 is an outstanding portable jumper that is well worth it – if you’re buying it for what it was made for.

However, there are instances where you may have a slightly different need – and the GB50 won’t exactly serve your interests.

If you’re looking to power trucks larger than 7 liters (gasoline) or 4.5 liters (diesel), then, you’re better off buying and using the bigger cousin of the GB50, the Noco GBX 155.

With an impressive 4250 disposable amps, the GBX 155 can easily handle up to 10-liter gas engines and 8-liter diesel models – which are respectable numbers, you can’t simply write off.

If you’re looking for the best portable jump starter and have it in mind to also periodically use it to inflate your tires, check out the Lokithor JA300 portable jumper.

The unit is well made and like the Noco GB50, takes things to the extreme with the battery. If you thought the battery life of a year was impressive, this ‘beast’ offers two solid years – all without a charge.

In terms of battery life, it honestly doesn’t get better than this!

Wrap Up

Without question, the best portable jump starter is the Noco GB50 – a unit that delivers unrivaled power, coupled with an equally impressive battery life (and solid construction).

More than five years of use have taught me one thing: this Noco wasn’t designed by jokers. It also wasn’t designed with jokers in mind.

That said, you may wish to take a look at the Noco GBX 155 if you need to power vehicles with engines in excess of 7 liters, or alternatively, consider the Lokithor JA300 portable jumper if you’re looking to inflate your tires along the way and why at it, be able to keep the jumper in the trunk for as long as two years, without bothering with recharging it.

As a mechanic, there’s nothing I can say at this point beyond the fact that all you need in a jumper will be found in these three options.

Without fail.

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