Few things are possible ruining your day by surprise like trying to start your car only to be met with dead silence. If you’re not lucky, your best bet is to find someone who has a working car and jumper cables to get yours moving again. If you are ready, you can do it in seconds.
This is where one of my favorite things comes in: the portable battery pack. I keep it in the back of my car and it has already paid for itself pretty well. It’s a 1000-amp, 12-volt battery pack that can jump most cars. The benefits are simple, but it’s hard to overstate how much it can save a life.
In His Time
This was driven home for me when I was, well, driving home from a very long distance. I had 24 hours of driving that lasted a few days, so it was a good time to realize that my car battery was on its last legs. Alternator was fine. The car ran after starting, but the battery did not hold enough power. Every third time I drove the car, the battery was dead.
Without a battery pack, my options would be limited. I would have been able to take my car to a shop to have the battery replaced, although it would have taken longer and put me out of state longer than expected. Alternatively, I could have bought the battery and replaced it myself (it’s an easy process in most cars) but I didn’t have the tools, so it would have been more expensive than it needed to be.
Plus, to do either of those things, I would have to call AAA or another service, or wait for someone to come and jump in my car to take it anywhere. While it’s always nice to get help from a helpful stranger, it’s not an emergency plan.
Turn on
Fortunately, I didn’t have to do this, because I had this battery in my car. Fully loaded, it is not only able to jump the car once, but several times when I had to finish the journey home. (Disclaimer: I would not recommend relying on a battery pack continuously. Please replace your dead battery as soon as possible!)
In the end, I was able to get home without extending my trip or spending a lot of money to fix my car. When I got back, it was easy to grab the battery off the shelf and swap it with my gear at home. A dead battery that would have ruined my entire trip was instead a minor, minor disappointment. It’s hard to put a price on such peace of mind, but this pack costs $100 and that seems more than fair.
It’s important to note here that although lithium-ion batteries have a history of being a bit, well, explosive, this battery is rated to be stored from -4 degrees Fahrenheit to 122 degrees Fahrenheit. I have no problem keeping it in the trunk of my car at all times, but the risk benefit may change for you if you live in the middle of the desert or an area with a lot of rain.
But—if you need a little more inspiration—this pack comes with a built-in flashlight that can be used to light your phone. So even if your car has a bigger problem than a dead battery, your phone won’t die, so you can call for help.
