best, most recent, top of the line jump start / power pack?

[travisfromcanda]

i'm looking at doing a long road trip with my girlfriend in our van and as opposed to installing a house battery im leaning towards the jumpstart/powerpack option. something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/Duracell-600-...urce+Emergency+Roadside+Tool+Kit+Jump+Starter

but i'm having real difficulty finding any resources on the most recent releases of these sorts of products. new and innovated, highly efficient ones.

my main application will be charging our phones and laptops and night, possibly watching a movie from time to time. we may be in some places for long periods of times so ability for solar charge would be really cool but other than that we'll charge off the DC while driving.

any recommendations??

thanks!

 

[Italia64]

Good ones aren't cheap. This one is high quality, but does not have the small air compressor built in like the Duracell model you posted:
http://shop.saveabattery.com/850CCA-12v-24v-Portable-Jump-Starter-Power-Station-5300-5300.htm

 

[cparcell]

If you want a jump pack, buy a booster pack in the size you want. I own a auto hauling company. Every truck and driver carry a booster pack brand jump box. Most car dealers use a booster pack brand. The new mini jump packs are a joke, others wont last.Our jump packs are used all the time and last 3-5 years many drain cycles and will crank big diesels, semi trucks etc

 

[mkitchen]

I have very good luck with this set up. It has jump started my motorbikes, my Tacoma and it even started my son's expedition with a diesel. It is very small and easy to pack and you can charge your tablet, phone etc.
http://themicrostart.com/products/micro-starts/
Mikey

 

[1leglance]

Sounds like you want 2 different things...
Jump pack in case your main battery goes flat....Antigravity or something like that would be best...goes give you some device charging also

If you mainly want to run aux devices at night and NOT use your main battery then look at the Goal Zero battery packs, you can add solar charging, lights and much more.
In the end you will spend as much as a dual battery setup but you might have something more portable or something that could move to another vehicle down the road.

 

[kwill]

Sounds like you want 2 different things...
Jump pack in case your main battery goes flat....Antigravity or something like that would be best...goes give you some device charging also

If you mainly want to run aux devices at night and NOT use your main battery then look at the Goal Zero battery packs, you can add solar charging, lights and much more.
In the end you will spend as much as a dual battery setup but you might have something more portable or something that could move to another vehicle down the road.

That's my problem, too. I would like to have two ************ two mints in one! (Old folks will get it.) I don't want to move up to an Arkpak or National Luna but I'd like to have a system for camp lights, recharging cameras and laptops and that can be used to jump start the vehicle in an emergency. Is there no such product?

 

[Ray_G]

I don't think so, when you want to do all that charging but also want to be able to jump start if needed, I think you are really looking for a dual battery or an Arkpak.

If you are looking for moderate charging and jumping, the microstart is a good option, I have been impressed with mine-but wouldn't overuse it at night for fear that it wouldn't have the juice for its primary purpose the next day.


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[kwill]

It appears that they will have a new, bigger product soon so maybe I'll wait to see what it looks like.

 

[Permie]

I have a Diehard Portable power 1150 combination Jump Starter https://10carbest.com/best-jump-starters 12v power source, USB power source, 110vac invertor power source, Air compressor, and work light. Bought it new last year, and so far really like it. It has power to do everything I have tried it for, but I haven't had to jump a fully dead battery in my truck yet.

My brother has one of the pocket power ones, like the OP is asking about (not sure of the brand) and he says it works well, but I also am leery of anything that small being able to effectively jump start a large engine.

I also bought and returned 2 of the N-Power brand all-in-one jump starter / compressor / power source units from Northern Tool. Impressive features, BUT the compressor failed immediately in both units when I tried to use it to add air to my truck tires. Both units were used well within the limits of time usage and pressure, but still failed due to a crappy compressor. Fortunately NT refunded. I strongly recommend against those units.

I found out that doing a controlled test of the unit (IE, adding air to a tire) in the safety of the driveway BEFORE an emergency was prudent. I also did some heavy load tests on the jumpstarter, which passed, but didn't intentionally run my vehicle battery down to test the jump starter.

I will be interested to see what others post about their experiences with the pocket units.

 

[Happy Joe]

Every time that I consider getting a jump pack I check out the price of a good starting batter and/or an upgrade to my deep discharge camping battery; so far it has always been cheaper to maintain/replace my vehicle or camping battery than to get a good commercial use grade jump pack, in the irrational/vain hope that it will somehow heal a worn out battery that will have to be replaced in any case.

Each change of season (its fall now so its time) I clean the vehicle battery terminals and connectors then recoat them with an anticorrosion protectant (grease if nothing else).
At that time I also normally load test the battery. When the load test starts to get iffy I start looking for a replacement battery.

Since jump packs have become available, I have never needed one for my vehicles.

Enjoy!

 

[NomadQ]

Can anyone vouch for Noco brand?

https://no.co/products/power/jumpst...MIrdiuyOb53QIVBavsCh0StAJuEAAYASABEgJB2_D_BwE

 

[danfromsyr]

I carry a jump boost pack same insurance as a spare tire and a gas can (at times)
and I hope to need and use it for someone else than myself.

Every time that I consider getting a jump pack I check out the price of a good starting batter and/or an upgrade to my deep discharge camping battery; so far it has always been cheaper to maintain/replace my vehicle or camping battery than to get a good commercial use grade jump pack, in the irrational/vain hope that it will somehow heal a worn out battery that will have to be replaced in any case.

Each change of season (its fall now so its time) I clean the vehicle battery terminals and connectors then recoat them with an anticorrosion protectant (grease if nothing else).
At that time I also normally load test the battery. When the load test starts to get iffy I start looking for a replacement battery.

Since jump packs have become available, I have never needed one for my vehicles.

Enjoy!

 

[kdeleon]

Can anyone vouch for Noco brand?

https://no.co/products/power/jumpst...MIrdiuyOb53QIVBavsCh0StAJuEAAYASABEgJB2_D_BwE

My NOCO GB40 worked for a while but last week it run out of charge quick and now wont recharge at all. It looks like other folks had recharge issues after reading some of amazon reviews. So no i cant vouch for it so i will be switching to a different brand this time. I got the NOCO just this year.

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[Happy Joe]

My NOCO GB40 worked for a while but last week it run out of charge quick and now wont recharge at all. It looks like other folks had recharge issues after reading some of amazon reviews. So no i cant vouch for it so i will be switching to a different brand this time. I got the NOCO just this year.

...this Is why I maintain my batteries (mostly just keep the terminals clean) and carry a set of jumper cables... Batteries, for me, are ultra reliable; but if worst case happens I can jump start anybody that needs it. When camping the deep discharge camping battery can start the vehicle as a tertiary backup).

Do what seems best for you (but I would recommend a set of jumper cables as a backup).

Enjoy!

 

[kdeleon]

...this Is why I maintain my batteries (mostly just keep the terminals clean) and carry a set of jumper cables... Batteries, for me, are ultra reliable; but if worst case happens I can jump start anybody that needs it. When camping the deep discharge camping battery can start the vehicle as a tertiary backup).

Do what seems best for you (but I would recommend a set of jumper cables as a backup).

Enjoy!

A jumper cable is always there, but if you are remote in a single vehicle, a jump pack is great insurance