Noco GB50 Portable Jumper Review (After 5+ Full Years)

Naturally, thus, I was naive – and my options were few. However, I decided to trust something: my guts…

…and, as it turned out, they didn’t fail.

Looking back today, this was one of the smartest and perhaps, the most logical vehicle-related tools I’ve ever bought (or owned).

As it pans out too, the purchase, perfected over five years ago has remained one of the most enduring purchases I’ve also made, to date.

The Noco GB50 portable jumper still looks new – and serves just like the first day I got it.

Today, I’ll review what it is like to own this Noco through the years and importantly what you should expect, should you decide to opt for the jumper for personal or professional use.

Before I proceed with my story, here’s what the Noco GB50 portable jumper looks like, on Amazon.

Why I Decided on a Portable Jumper

I don’t exactly remember the year – but I remember clearly that the cold on that January morning was intense.

Clad in all the clothes I could put on my body, I got downstairs and cranked the motor of my classic daily driver then: a 1987 Mercedes W124.

Nothing.

Through the night, the battery had packed up and the once reliable Mercedes looked at me as if to say, ‘Boss, I need a new battery and you know it!’

The vehicle was a manual tranny – so I attempted to push. Unfortunately, at just under 3k pounds, there was little I could do.

Looking down from the window, my wife beckoned to me to hold still and wait for her: she was ready to help.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t bear to watch her push the vehicle in the cold, especially without help. I shouted back that I was okay (I wasn’t, though).

I approached the neighbor who lived downstairs intending to ask for his starter battery. The dude didn’t even bother answering the door.

I tried the next neighbor: same thing. I gave up, called an Uber, and waiting for my ride, started contemplating how to make sure that such a mishap never happened again.

It was while researching, like a lunatic, that I came across the Noco GB50 portable jumper.

Noco GB50 Review: First Impression and What’s in the Box

I placed the order for the Noco GB50 and waited: eager to see what would reach my address. I counted the days like a kid who had been promised their first Christmas present in September.

Eventually, the portable jumper arrived and I almost hugged the delivery man who brought it. Eager to see what it contained, I set about opening the parcel right away.

The first thing that struck me, however, was that the unit was solidly made: like my trusted glove box code reader, it immediately screamed ‘trust’.

The unit was heavy – in a good way and solid to the feel; it had that assuring feel to it that the old Mercedes Benzes had to them, especially when their doors were shut firmly.

The unit screamed ‘made in the US’ – something that made me smile, after buying and attempting to use many other products produced overseas in an inferior manner.

I took a look at the user manual: it was some proper manual, the kind of printed stuff you’d find in the glove box of a vehicle, thick, well printed, with no grammatical errors, and with multi-language support.

It was a sharp contrast to many of the products I’ve unveiled since sporting user guides that look like the contraindications on over-the-counter medication, liberally translated to English with the use of some inconsistent AI tool and generally lacking in confidence.

The portable jumper was solid to the feel – and the printing on it was also quite superior. The alligator clamps looked like something that was inspired by a true alligator and would last forever.

Everything looked well made – and super impressive…all except for one thing: the soft storage pouch that was meant to hold the portable jumper (and protect it against scratches and damage).

It was a joke – and clearly, a sorry arrangement. Fortunately, I had the foresight to order the hard carriage sold by the company, which I also found to be made in a great manner.

The original storage pouch went missing right away – all thanks to my (then) toddler daughter; the young lady taxes me on shopping gowns and ballet shoes now and to date, I’ve not set my eyes on that sorry pouch again.

And, frankly, I’ve neither looked nor missed it.

The box contained, in all: the jumper itself, a micro USB to USB A cable, a 12v cigarette lighter adapter, a user manual, the sorry, flimsy storage pouch, and a pair of alligator clamps.

Functions and Abilities of the Noco GB50

I had very high expectations of the Noco GB50 when I bought it, especially given the story that inspired me to shop for it in the first place.

I would have been very disappointed if the portable jumper didn’t live up to my expectations.

However, testing it and seeing what it was capable of took at least a year. After the initial purchase, I charged the unit properly and put it in my trunk, anxiously waiting to tackle the next unfortunate starter battery to come my way weakly.

Later (not sooner), I got my chance.

1. Ability to Jump Weak Starter Batteries

The chance I got was simple – and quite frankly, suited best for what the Noco GB was originally designed to perform. I met a middle-aged woman in a communal parking lot who needed help with a flat starter battery.

Without thinking twice, I whipped out the Noco GB50 from the trunk, plugged the clamps in, powered it on, and attached the same to the failing battery of the lady’s vehicle.

She cranked and what happened, was pure magic – to me and her. While I believed the unit would work, seeing it work for the first time was truly priceless. For the lady, she wondered aloud how something that small could effortlessly help start her vehicle.

The first – and most important function of the Noco GB50, is powering life back into flat starter batteries.

From my experience, the Noco can easily jump about 10-15 vehicles (of various engine displacements) before needing a charge itself.

2. Portable Power Bank

Closely associated with the first function is the ability of the Noco GB50 to serve as a power bank when the occasion calls for it.

With a dedicated USB A ‘out-port’, smartphones, digital cameras, tablets, and all other gadgets can be charged on the go, especially during emergencies when there’s no other option.

It’s however very important to note that the GB50 is primarily a portable jumper and not a power bank.

Its 35-watt-hour lithium-ion battery isn’t the best suited for charging needs, especially for heavy, detailed charging that goes beyond mere, short boosts.

I’ve used this emergency charging feature about twice or thrice – when I needed to boost my smartphone and didn’t want to use the cigarette port of the vehicle for obvious reasons.

3. Flashlight

The third core ability of the Noco GB50 is the presence of a suite of flashlights that work normally, go into extra bright mode, and also have an SOS function on them, when toggled.

I’ve had cause to use the flashlight when working on my daily driver in a DIY fashion.

The flashlight itself has always been bright enough for this need. I’ve also used it on numerous occasions when washing the vehicle after sunset.

In all these scenarios, it has delivered value, as expected and importantly, it has been able to work for extended hours without draining the battery in a significant manner, which is a good thing (and what you’d expect when you’re stranded in the middle of nowhere and need to use the flashlight function for hours).

Other Notable Functions & Features

Beyond the three (3) notable features of the Noco GB50 mentioned above, other functions and features are worth noting in auxiliary capacity.

Make no mistakes though: that they are mentioned as ‘other’ or in ‘auxiliary capacity’ doesn’t mean they are inferior in any way: they simply aren’t ‘major’, that’s all.

1. An Exceptional Battery

When I was researching the Noco GB50, it was mentioned, severally, that the unit could hold a charge for a whole year.

While this was part of the reason why I finally settled for the jumper, I wasn’t entirely convinced that it could deliver in that fashion though. I simply thought it would serve for longer than most, and end there.

I was wrong.

I left the portable jumper in the trunk for the first six months of its time with me and not even a bar dropped from it.

Curious not to get stranded, I charged it immediately after and it ran for the remainder of the year without any event.

However, there was an instance where I completely forgot about it: to my shock, the unit didn’t only make it to a year, it crossed over by a few months before I remembered!

During the cycle above, I used the unit to jump a vehicle about twice and at the end of the year (and a few months), lost only a bar of charge.

I was impressed – and continue to be thoroughly impressed.

2. The Unit Is Very Beginner Friendly

I’m a mechanic at my core and because of this, I’m comfortable even with the most complex of units and vehicle gadgets.

This isn’t the case with my family; they’re supportive of my calling as a mechanic but we all know, deep down, that I’m the only one who got called.

This hasn’t stopped them from enjoying vehicles or helping out if they need to.

The Noco GB50 is engineered in a manner that a mixup of the clamps to the battery terminal (reverse polarity protection) causes no safety (or any) challenge at all.

Besides the reverse polarity protection of the unit, there’s also an anti-spark feature that makes sure that no matter your connection style or use case, sparks don’t go flying all over the place.

These safety features give me peace of mind when my family is driving the vehicle and the jumper is in the trunk. I know and trust that if they need to use the jumper, they’ll be able to do so safely, keeping themselves and the vehicle out of harm’s way.

3. Smart ‘Boost’ Function

For years after buying and using this portable jumper, I had no idea what the ‘boost’ button on it did.

Eventually, I learned, by accident.

My starter battery went flat completely: the story is that, the unit had been abandoned for months and even my trusted multimeter couldn’t get a reading out of it.

To test the limits of the Noco Boost, I removed the functional battery I was using and replaced it with the completely flat, out-of-service unit.

As expected, nothing came up. It wasn’t possible to jump the motor with a battery that flat.

Then, I went into ‘turbo mode’ and depressed the button…5 seconds later, the unit clicked in a strange manner and the motor of my daily driver roared to life!

I was beyond speechless.

Since then, I haven’t used the function again but knowing that it’s there has given me a certain level of invincibility that is rare when driving on public roads.

Noco Boost XL GB50 Vehicle Compatibility

The Noco Boost G50 is quite versatile and can practically help with any internal combustion engine provided a traditional starter battery powers it.

For gasoline-powered engines, the Noco GB50 can help jump-start engines up to 7 liters – which is a lot and doubtless, impressive.

For diesel engines, the limit is 4.5 liters – which given the low-end torque such engines usually command, is no mean feat.

Overall, if you have a gasoline or diesel-powered engine that runs up to 4.5-liter diesel or 7-liter gasoline, you’re good to go.

Limitations

Because I live in the tropics and store my Noco GB50 permanently in the trunk of my daily driver, I’ve experienced something that it is important I relay here: on very sunny days (more than 100 degrees F, ambient) the jumper may fail, especially if it has been sitting in the trunk for a while.

The first time this happened, I panicked – and almost believed that my time with it was at an end.

However, just as I was contemplating my next move, it came up again (after being exposed to the cooler air in my palm), and was able to brilliantly jump the vehicle I planned on, without any issue.

This is something worth noting (it is an inbuilt safety mechanism, as I understood later) as you contemplate the unit.

If you live closer to the North Pole, this shouldn’t be an issue for you.

Alternatives to Consider

Noco recently introduced what they call the X (extreme) series of portable jumpers and these are worth taking note of, especially if you’ve come to love and rely on the brand as I have.

The closest in the X series to the GB50 is the GBX 55 – a unit that can recharge itself from zero to jump a vehicle in five minutes and importantly, can jump diesel engines up to 5 liters and gasoline up to 7.5 liters.

You should certainly check out the GBX 55 on Amazon: it may just be what you need to take on the road with (that extra boost of) confidence.

On the other hand, if you’re interested in something more versatile, then, it will pay you to completely look off and away from the Noco brand, altogether.

If this is your reality, the Trekure Beta 07 is a smart alternative to consider. With 10-in-1 functions (including a tire inflator) and the ability to jump even diesel models up to 12 liters it remains something to beat – especially when the price point the product is offered at is carefully considered.

Should You Buy the Noco GB50?

YES!

You should hurry right away to Amazon and order yours now – if your use case is anything similar to mine.

However, if you want something extreme, the two alternatives shared immediately above should be all you need to get the most out of your jump-starting needs.

However, after all is said and done, it’s difficult to truly recommend any other jumper with a straight face given that the Noco GB50 has served me faithfully for several years without any incident.

Click here to check out the Noco GB50 portable jumper on Amazon.

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