My most trusted Jumpstarter is down by about half today
Compact and portable Jumpstarters They are among the most civilized automotive inventions of the past decade or so – driven by the advent of the lithium-ion battery compared to the previous generation of lead-acid devices. Suddenly, leaving your headlights on no longer meant waiting two hours for a truck driver to show up or begging strangers to hook up cables. Just pull out one of these little boxes, then move on.
This is a small 3000 amp a3 Golo Jumpstarter, Small enough to fit in a glove box, it is the least expensive starting device and the reliability of which I can personally vouch for. I’ve loaded mine into several cars over the past couple of years, and it has never let me down. This A3 managed to jump a dead battery twice in a row in my massive ’95 Land Cruiser, without running out of power. Gooloo A3 is on sale for almost half right now for Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, available at The very reasonable price of $70 ($60 off).
If what you really want is a power bank to power all sorts of things, check out WIRED’s guide to the best Power Bank Prime Day deals, or look at the many categories of useful (and cheap!) stuff in our ultimate picks for the best Prime Big Deal Days, and our live blog for deals and flash deals.
This little portable A3 Jumpstarter, which in many models also includes a tire inflator, is a model that has served me since the day I found myself stranded in an isolated area of Delaware, seemingly impervious to cell phone signals. I was saved by a lone passing truck, the driver of which had a small portable Gooloo Jumpstarter. miracle!
I drove straight to an auto shop, bought the little A3, and never looked back. The peak current of 3000 amps is quite large for its price, and more than enough to power most personal vehicles. It’s rated for gas engines up to 9 liters and diesel engines up to 6 liters, with standard 12-volt batteries.
Higher peak amps don’t always mean better performance or durability, so I’ll soon be testing several additional models from Gooloo and other manufacturers – including the highly regarded 6000 amp Gooloo GT6000 Jumpstarter, which is also on sale for $136 ($34 off).
If I had a large diesel engine or lived in very cold climates, I would probably choose the higher amp devices out of caution. Also note that for completely flat batteries, you will need to use the “boost” function on the device to get a charge, and that the clips may be a bit short and short for some battery or car designs.
Image: Amazon
Noko
Boost Plus GB40 Jump Starter
Former WIRED reviewer Eric Ravenscraft also had great luck with a 1,000-amp Boost Plus device from venerable brand Noco, which should also be powerful enough for most passenger cars. The Noco is also on sale for under $100.
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