Tested: NOCO’s GB40 Boost Plus car battery jump starter is as versatile as it is convenient

Anyone who owns a car has likely been in the unfortunate situation of a dead battery at least once – especially when you really need to keep a schedule or make it to an important appointment. Sure, if you have a properly stocked garage you might have a bulky battery charger that you can regularly connect over night to keep levels juiced and ready to go, but for many – particularly city dwellers – living in limited apartment space poses a lot of obstacles to this method. Parking is first come, first serve – plus, running extension cords and leaving the charger out along the streets without staying out with it seems like the best way to have it stolen. That’s where the NOCO GB40 Boost Plus Jump Starter comes in – a portable, multi-capable device that has been an absolute life-saver for years now, particularly in the summer and winter seasons when batteries tend to be sapped by the extreme temperatures without warning. Continue reading to get my hands-on impressions as part of the latest entry to the Tested with gadgetnewsonline series.

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Hands-on with the NOCO GB40 Boost Plus Jump Starter

Arriving onto the auto scene in 2010, with the company having been tackling automobile battery solutions for almost a century before, the NOCO Boost Plus is listed at a $125 MSRP most places, with Amazon more normally seeing it ride along at a lower $100 rate, as well as seeing the most frequent amount of discounts throughout the years compared to most other sites. While its jump-starting capabilities alone are enough to warrant interest, it has a few secondary uses too that make carrying it along in my bag all the more noteworthy.

Take a closer look at the specs:

• Compact, yet powerful lithium jump starter rated at 1,000 Amps – up to 20 jump starts on a single charge.
• An ultra-safe and mistake-proof design with spark-proof technology and reverse polarity protection, which allow it to safely connect to any battery.
• An ultra-bright 100 lumen LED flashlight with 7 light modes, including SOS and emergency strobe.
• Recharge your personal devices on the go, like smartphones, tablets, e-watches and more – up to 4 smartphone recharges.
• Designed for gas engines up to 6 Liters and diesel engines up to 3 Liters for cars, boats, lawn mowers and more.

gadgetnewsonline’ Take

The NOCO Boost Plus’ main jump box is like a rubberized, over-molded brick, measuring 6.6 inches by 3.2 inches and only weighing 1.18 pounds. With the jumper clamps attached, the whole thing totals 2.45 pounds, making it as convenient to store as it has been to have. It’s been a bonus that its packaging has such a sturdy build, giving you a place to keep the jump box, clamps, charging cable, and manual neatly together.

Opposite the connection for the clamps sits one 5V, 2.1A USB-C input port for recharging its battery in three hours beside a 5V 2.1A USB-A output port to recharge other devices. It boasts a IP65 water and dustproof rating when its three rubber plugs are closed up into each of the ports, meaning some bad weather doesn’t spell any immediate danger. And speaking of danger – it comes with spark-proof technology and reverse polarity protection to better ease concerns about making certain mistakes.

There’s also a button to turn on the 12V LED light and switch between its five different light settings – three of which are different brightness levels of continuous light, while two produce strobe emergency signaling/strobe effects. I luckily haven’t had to use the strobes, but the light helps a lot at night when there’s no surrounding street lighting.

So lets get into the whole reason we’re here today: jumping a car’s dead battery. I think I can speak for several of my neighbors, alongside myself, when I say this thing has saved the day countless times in just the last year alone – and I’ve had the thing going on four or five years, at this point. The modest 24Wh battery is rated to provide 20 jump starts on a single charge, though I cannot say I’ve ever put this to a full test. I have used it to jump three or four cars all parked along the street, however, and it did the job with plenty of battery to spare. To this day, I still get visits from neighbors when they need to use it after letting their car sit too long in extreme temperatures, or digging it out of snow.

It’s easy enough to use, especially anyone familiar with the usual process of using jumper cables. Each of the heavy-duty clamps are connected to their respective terminal (positive to positive, negative to negative), the main unit can then be turned on, at which point the four battery bars will flash as it slowly delivers a steadily stream of juice back into your car’s battery, and after a minute or two it should be ready to try the ignition.

The Boost Plus seems to keep its charge after long periods of going unused too, which I was surprised to learn after turning it back on for the first time since February. I tend to recharge it immediately after use, so it was still sitting at a full charge and ready to go after seven months. This feature makes it all the more an attractive glovebox accessory, ensuring that as long as you remember to check the battery every once in a while, you’ll never be caught off guard by a simple problem with an easy solution. I do question leaving it in the car if you live in a place with extreme temperatures through most of the year, although NOCO does rate it to withstand a temperature range of -4 degrees to 122 degrees. Instead, I’d recommend toting it along wherever you go, letting you also benefit from its secondary function as a backup power bank.

I’ve spent my fair share of time working on multiple projects in multiple fields all at once and spending days rushing to and from appointments without the chance to recharge any of my devices. During most of those days I have heavily relied on this jump starter as a power bank to keep my phone and tablet charged – particularly, letting it charge in my bag while I’m on the move. Doing the math from 24Wh, the battery provides about 6,486.48Wh of backup power to take advantage of, if you don’t have a better alternative. My iPad Air4 gets a full charge out of it, at the least, and my iPhone 13 usually gets two or three rounds of life. It’s a nice added convenience from earlier models that served only one purpose, making this model feel even more worth the money.

For the price that it comes for, with the versatility that it offers, NOCO’s GB40 Boost Plus is definitely a device I will continue recommending to anyone who owns a gas car. The only real complaint I’ve ever had is a minor one about the short length of the jumper clamp’s cord, though its not a feature that alters my opinion on its usefulness and convenience in any way. As my father always liked to say: “the most underappreciated tools are the ones that save you from unexpected emergencies,” and this certainly fits that bill.

Buy NOCO’s GB40 Boost Plus Jump Starter

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