Thinking about giving in and buying a portable jump pack. Can't find much in the way of recent recommendations here on PC. Noted Costco is selling Duracell Powerpack Pro 1300 Jump Starter and Powerpack for $140, down from $180. Seems pretty pricey to me, but, what do I know. It's 1300 amps and... Features: Safely Jump-start Without Another Vehicle Power Household Items Anywhere Quickly Inflate Tires Up To 160 PSI 12V DC Auxiliary Power Port Bright LED Flashlight Anyone with any specific brand recs?
What are you in the market for? There's a segment of compact, lithium, fit-in-your-glove-box versions like my Antigravity XP-3, that kind is nice for the small size. Counterfeiting is a risk; I made sure to buy mine right from the manufacturer's web store, as there were reports of people buying the brand on Amazon and being sent obvious knockoffs, and a powerful lithium battery in your glove box probably shouldn't be a knockoff. There's another segment that is more of a 'luggable' size, and may have things like roadside air, police scanners, and hair curlers built in, and many here seem to be partial to those.
I bought this recently for our vehicles as a just in case item it is a NOCOBOOSTPLUS GB40. I have been pleased with it. It will also power smart phones laptops and has a built in flashlight. I got it from Amazon It is a smart battery booster with polarity protection and other features. 12v 1000 Amps. Cost $99
I have the same one. Although never used it on the Prius, have used it on my Civic. I would recommend the Gb40. This is probably Noco's lower end model and there are ones with more juice.. but probably overkill.
I have an original Anti-Gravity X1 and two X3's. They are more than 6 years old and still all take a full charge. The go down no more than two dots out of 5 in 6 months. At the time I bought them, they were about the only game in town. The originals used a universal EC5 connector. I made a ring pigtail and have it connected directly to the 12v battery terminals. I used it once with no fumbling. Worked great.
A feature that is nice (that I was meaning to mention and forgot) is "smart clamps" that prevent reverse-polarity jumping and other calamities, but also have an override. When I first got my XP-3 (an older version, not what you see on the site now), it did not have them. Later on they started selling it with smart clamps, and the new clamps were available as an accessory, so I upgraded mine. In essence, there is a big plastic wart on the clamp cables, and it has a green LED that won't light unless you have the clamps on the right way, and it won't allow current to flow until it lights. It protects also from overcurrent and overstressing the jump pack. But there must be enough charge in the car's battery for the smart clamps to be able to tell which way isn't backward. That means if the car battery is really doornail-dead, the green LED won't light and you won't be able to jump it. But there is a small override button that you can press (on mine it's so small you need something pointy to press it) that says "away with your safety protocol! I declare that I have the clamps on the right way, and I command you to jump this car!" and it will take your word for it, for 30 seconds. There was recently a thread here where somebody else had a different brand that seemed extremely similar in nearly all respects, but didn't have the override button, which ends up being a real drag that one time you need to jump a battery that's really super dead. I also had thought of making some kind of permanently wired arrangement, but of course it turns out I use the thing more often to help other motorists than to jump my own car, so it works out just fine to have all the pieces in the glove box where they're handy.
Same here. Make that three of us. I've used it on a friend's Prius and on a stranger's gasser. Haven't needed it yet for myself or my wife. Amazing how long it holds its charge.
