If you are after a small but powerful pocket-size jump starter for your car, and your storage space is at a premium, check out these 5 top-rated micro-boosters. All of them are very well-known, and have hundreds of positive reviews online but which is the best?
We got hold of 5 of best pocket-size jump starters, to see if they really do live up to all the hype. So to make the cut they all had to be able to fit into a jeans pocket and be around 8000mAh in capacity. We think this should be the minimum capacity for a successful jump pack. Any less and you will have trouble starting the average size family car.
Table of Contents
- 0.1 Best Pocket Size Jump Starters Reviewed and Specs
- 0.2 Features of Pocket Size Jump Starters
- 0.3 No.5 – Etable 400A Peak Car Jump Starter
- 0.4 No.4 UNYSON Gen3 Metal Case 450A 8000mAh Ultra-Portable Pocket Car Jump Starter Power Bank
- 0.5 No.3 Suaoki K12 8000mAh 300A Peak Battery Jump Starter Power Bank
- 0.6 Antigravity Batteries AG-XP-3 Multi-Function Power Supply and Pocket Size Jump Starter
- 0.7 DBPOWER DJS40 300A Peak 8000mAh Portable Car Jump Starter
- 0.8 Conclusion
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Best Pocket Size Jump Starters Reviewed and Specs
Features of Pocket Size Jump Starters
Each of these pocket jump starters are very similar in size and features. All have a USB out for charging your phones and tablets, as well as overload safety circuits. So which one is the best?
The Anti-gravity Xp3 was a standout with 2x fast USB out ports and a jump starting power of 400 peak amps. But you will pay extra for this feature. So if you want the greatest, but not worried about the price, check out the Antigravity XP3 it would be the best here.
If you need a reliable and feature-rich car pocket jump starter, then our Number 1 pick is the DBpower 500. AKA – A09. We actually use this one for our everyday commute for a Toyota Corolla. Along with using it to charge the kids phones and Samsung tablets while on a road trip in the car.
It’s also smart enough to start a Toyota Prius. We tested the DB Power DJS40 the other month when a work colleague had a flat battery on his Prius. We were able to come to his rescue and jump-start his Prius. Simply amazing for such a small unit.
It’s better to use one of these smart jump packs, rather than a direct cable car to car jump start. This is because portable boost packs have built-in protection like –
- Over Current Protection
- Short Circuit Protection
- Overload Protection
- Over-voltage Protection
- Overcharge Protection.
This protection makes them very safe to use. Read on for more in-depth reviews and videos on each of these car pocket jump starters.
No.5 – Etable 400A Peak Car Jump Starter
This is the starter you see on all those TV commercials like (as seen on TV ads.) It’s a popular format layout so it gets rebranded by many companies. Gooloo, Minimax, and Etable seem to be some of the main re-branding popular companies as well as a few others. They seem to be all the same externally. So just buy the cheapest.
- Full Power: With heavy-duty terminal clamps and 400A current peak amperage, this battery power booster will crank your 3L and lower gas engine vehicles back to life fast. You can crank your engine up to 15 times before the battery will start to go flat when fully charged. You will have plenty of time to start your engine.
- External Power: The Etable 8000mAh jump box can serve as a power bank, charging your smartphones, tablets, and Kindles at smart speeds of up to 2.1 amps.
- LED Lighting: Super bright light with high output, strobe. and SOS modes. This will enable you to see clearly in the dark, replace a tire or fuse. and notify others about your broken down car.
- Smart Safety Circuit: The Etable has advanced safety features, such as sparks resistance, inverse current protection, short-circuit protection, reverse polarity protection, overload protection, low-voltage. and over-current protection. Being able to work in high and low temperatures (-20°c to 60°c).
This little Pocket Car Jump Starter, use a high power out Lithium-ion polymer battery cell. This means it can jump-start your vehicle (up to 3L Gas or 2.5 L Diesel or Motorcycle, RV, tractor, light-duty trucks, mower, cargo vans, ATVs, snowmobiles, boats, and Jet-skis.) With up to 20 times of starting juice, and with 400 amps of peak current. You will always have a backup power supply to start your vehicles.
No.4 UNYSON Gen3 Metal Case 450A 8000mAh Ultra-Portable Pocket Car Jump Starter Power Bank
- Very small 8000mAh Lithium Polymer jump starter. It weighs only 8oz, and has a very small footprint, being 4.8 inches in diameter. It’s powerful enough to jump-start 12V gasoline vehicles, light-duty trucks, boat and more, for up to 10 times on a full charge.
- The 8000mAh Lithium Polymer power bank charges all your cell phones, tablets, PSPs and more by using the included 4-in-1 connector. Can be charged to the full condition in about 3 hours with either universal AC adaptor (100V -240V) or 12V car cigarette lighter.
- Ultra-bright built-in LED flashlight with 3 mode, flash, strobe and SOS signal that helps you when you need it
- Best Protection Ever with overload protection, short-circuit protection, reverse polarity protection, overcurrent protection, overheat protection, reverse current protection and overcharge protection to ensure the safety of usage.
- Low power leak battery that can hold power for 3 – 6 month (recharge every 3 months ). Low power leak battery that can hold power for 3 – 6 month
With the all-new ultra-portable design, this 3-in-1 mini jump starter is so small that it will easily fit in a jeans pocket or a lady’s handbag. This powerful small car battery jump starter has 400Amp peak current has enough power to bring your car back to the road 20 times upon a full charge. Full Charging Time will take about 3 Hours
The 8000mAh, 5V, 2 Amp USB power bank output extend your portable device usage again, again and again, up to 4 times of an iPhone 4 device. The ultra-bright LED light has flash, strobe and SOS mode that will assist you in the dark and emergency. To protect your cars, your portable devices and your mini jump starter in a safe and working condition, this pocket car jump starter features overload protection, reversion current protection and overcharge protection.
No.3 Suaoki K12 8000mAh 300A Peak Battery Jump Starter Power Bank
The Suaoki pocket jump starter is similar to the Unyson as it has the 4 LED indicators on the front. This displays the battery capacity. Suaoki is a very well know and respected brand who make a whole range of smart jump starters, of different sizes and power ratings.
- 3-in-1 Starter: With a fully charged 8000mAh battery capacity starter (300A peak), you can boost your car battery 12V (up to 2.5L gas engine), motorcycles, snowmobiles, and boats.
- Smarter Power: Thanks to the TIR-C technology and integrated circuit support, this jump starter can be used as a power bank to charge your phones and tablets. It is able to keep a constant current and fast charge your phones with a maximum of 2.1 amps speed.
- Built-in LED Flashlight: 3 modes of illumination in the dark: Bright solid, SOS, and Strobe, 4 blue LED lights for charging indication. 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%
- Safety First: You won’t have any issues with the included safety features like over-heating, over-current, overcharging, and short-circuit protection. Its intelligent circuit protection means you and your vehicles are safe.
- A 12-month warranty is provided to give you peace of mind.
- Portable & Compact: Palm-sized and lightweight, easy to carry or store in the glove compartment, or under the seat of your car.
Due to its built-in smart TIR-C technology (Target Intelligent Recognition – Chip), this pocket power jump starter provides a safer and faster charging of all phones. This includes iPhones, Android, HTC, and Samsung devices. This means your devices are protected while charging, and your car electronics are protected while in jump-start mode.
Antigravity Batteries AG-XP-3 Multi-Function Power Supply and Pocket Size Jump Starter
The antigravity XP-3 is a very nice micro jump starter. With so many features and with one of the largest power starting ratings here, its the one to beat. But if you need something larger again check out our larger Lithium Ion jump starter reviews.
All these features must come with a negative and that is its price. Being the most expensive here. But if you must have the best pocket jump starter then this is it.
With features such as:
- Jump-Start gas engines up to 5.7L V8 – Motorcycles, Trucks, ATVs, more. 400A Peak
- Charge & Power two USB 5V devices at once, with 8000 mAh high power lithium-ion battery.
- LED Flashlight built-in featuring ultra-bright steady beam mode plus two flash patterns for safety.
- Extremely Compact and Lightweight: 10oz and only 6″ x 3″ x 1″
- Top-quality design and build-quality with amazing safety features
- Quality mesh case is included to store all of the included cables and accessories.
How to charge The Micro-Start XP-3?
Well, it comes with 2 chargers for charging at home or in your car. Wall Plug AC Charger and a DC Cigarette Lighter Charger are included. It may also be charged by any USB Outlet, just plug a USB Cable into its MICRO-USB Port. So 3 possible ways to charge this device.
We actually charge this little USB jump starter via a Sokoo solar powered USB charger. This means if you are out and both your car battery and your jump starter is flat the sun can charge it up. Won’t take long.
If you are after more information on the Anti-Gravity Micro Start Xp-3 you can download the user manual from here.
How to use the “BOOST BUTTON” on the XP-3 Smart Clamps?
In most situations, you will not need to use the Boost Button on the Smart Clamps. The “Boost” Button is designed to allow for Jump Starting a Vehicle when the battery has very low voltage or no voltage reading. In these emergency situations, the “Boost” Button allows the jump starter clamps to be energized to start the Vehicle for emergency Boost Starting.
CAUTION MUST BE USED WHEN PRESSING THE BOOST BUTTON! THE CLAMPS ARE LIVE WITH ENERGY ONCE PUSHED.
WARNING PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING.
A) The Smart-Clamps must be connected to the XP-3 for the “Boost” Button to operate. It needs power.
B) BEFORE pressing the “Boost” Button double check to make sure all connections are correct. Once the “Boost” Button is pressed the Clamps will have “live” 12v voltage at the Clamps. Always connect Red Clamp to Positive (+) Terminal of Battery. Black Clamp to Negative (-) Terminal of Battery.
C) You will hear a “click” when you have pressed the boost button correctly, you may need a pen, fingernail or edge of a key to press the button correctly due to the “Boost” Button being indented in the Smart-Clamp Housing.
D) Once the “Boost” Button is pressed you will have 25 seconds to attempt your jump-start. After that time the “Boost” will turn-off. You will need to press the Boost Button again to re-engage the Boost feature.
DBPOWER DJS40 300A Peak 8000mAh Portable Car Jump Starter
I purchased this portable car micro jump starter a while back after many hours of research online and talking to other mechanics. If you are after value for money then this is the one to get.
With one of the smallest footprints around and backed by a well-known reliable company. You can rest assured that your pocket booster will not fail in your time of need. But if you need even more power check out our review on the DB Power 600A which includes 2x USB outs and a bigger 18000mah internal battery.
3 Modes Emergency LED Lighting
It has 3 modes of LED light (high, strobe, and SOS flash.) It’s an emergency lifesaver when you go camping, have a picnic, breakdown or in a power blackout with no lights. You will have some form of light. As it’s LED it will last for hours.
Battery Level Indicators
With blue power LEDs, you will immediately know how much power reserves you have left. 100%, 75%, 50% and 25%. These indicators are on the top surface, which makes the battery level easy to read.
Choice of 2 colors black and yellow, so you will be able to match your ride.
8000mAh Portable Charger
It charges cell phones, tablets, kindles, anything with a USB port and then some. Charge your device together anywhere anytime. Use it in the car to recharge either your phone or your children’s devices. The included USB cable works as a charger for both the unit and micro USB port devices.
How to jump-start a car?
Make sure the number of indicator lights is no less than 3 by press the On power button once.
Connect the red battery clamp of the jumper cable to the vehicle’s positive (+) battery terminal. Clamp the black battery jaws of the jumper cable to the vehicle’s negative (-) battery terminal. Plug the cord of jumper cable into the start socket. Start the vehicle. When the vehicle starts, remove jumper cable from jump starter within 30 seconds. Simple really.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, anyone of these will do for a small family car. These are cheap enough to own one for each car. (If you are a multi-car family.) Don’t let your family members travel without a backup jump starter.
Be aware of some fake units being sold on eBay, these can be dangerous if they don’t have the proper safety circuits or have a substandard battery. All the pocket size jump starters mentioned here are sold on Amazon. They have been tested fully to comply with state regulations.
Having used this DBpower 300A for 6 months now, I can definitely recommend it. It will be replacing some of the older larger units from DBPower. It’s time for the new and improved models to take over.
I am a qualified Industrial Electrician for the past 20 years and I love to share my knowledge on home repair jobs.
I love fast toys like Motorcycles, Cars, Jetskis, and Boats so writing about them is easy.
To keeps costs down I do all my own mods, repairs, and servicing. These skills I want to share with everyone. DIY is a skill everyone can learn.