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Gear Necessities: Noco Boost X GBX55 Portable Jump Starter
Have you ever had a morning where you are running out of the house and your car won’t start? Or even worse, maybe you finally hiked back to the truck after a long pack to find your truck battery dead at the bottom of a wash. This happened to me twice within the same year, with different cars. Luckily both times my cars were at home, but we couldn’t get them into a position for another car to jump the battery. So I got a ride to the auto shop to pick up new batteries and replace them myself. After the first time, I said I would go get a portable jump starter. Of course, I never got around to it. After the second time, I went onto Amazon and bought a portable jumper that day.
I settled on the Noco Boost X GX55. Noco makes several different models but I went with the GBX55 because I knew it could handle my wife’s SUV but also some of the larger trucks my friends and I take out hunting. It came the same day on Amazon so I charged it up, threw it in my truck, and forgot about it.
About a month later I was up in the mountains where my hunting jeep has been sitting in the cold for about 3 months. Not only would it not start, but there wasn’t even enough power to turn on a light or unlock the doors with the remote. I tested the battery, and it was throwing out 2 cold crank amps (CCAs). For reference, this jeep takes a 750 CCA battery and would probably need about 500 CCAs to start up. So I was pretty skeptical that my new jumper would do the trick, but I was excited to try it out.
It was pretty simple to use. I just attached the clamps to the terminals and turned on the unit. Because the battery was so dead, there was no connection detected. So I overrode that safety feature and tried to start the car. Boom, it started right up first try. Just for fun, I did it 4 more times before I started to see a decrease in the battery indicator on the Noco. I wish I would have kept going, but I think I could have got a few more jumps out of the unit before it lost too much battery to start the car. Supposedly it will hold battery for over a year, but I will probably charge it up every 6 months, or at least before a hunting trip just to make sure it’s ready to go. As for some of the other features, it has a flashlight and a charging port which I would probably only use in an emergency. Otherwise, I would prefer to save the battery for a jump start.
This is one of those products you hope you never need, especially in the middle of the woods with no cell service. But as a parent, hunter, or outdoorsman, it’s your responsibility to be prepared for everything. When it comes to safety, I’m always willing to bite the bullet to make sure I am ready for whatever might happen. Needless to say, this little powerhouse now lives in my center console, just waiting to be a hero.
