NOCO Genius Boost GB40, A Great LITTLE Jump Starter

Grinder34

Track Monkey
I've had to jump start several batteries in all three cars because of dead batteries, usually the lights left on. Having to get two people, or try to deal with two cars with one person was getting to be a real pain. I started searching for portable, lithium ion battery packs. I even started a huuuuge spreadsheet with all the offerings. My main requirement was CCA, or Cold Cranking Amps. I wanted to make sure it was enough. There are lots of 600 CCA offerings, many of them rebranded and offered under different names. There was really only one that was more than 600, and its the one I'm reviewing. I ended up getting it for about $90 from Amazon and had several opportunities to use it.

Design 4.5/5
Its a well crafted unit. My gripes are small. The bag it comes with is a bit flimsy. The port covers can come off just a tad too easily. But its a quality unit. Its very small, and doesn't seem big enough for the task...but it is. Roughly the size of three iPhone 6S stacked on top of eachother....roughly.

Features 4.5/5
If i *hadn't* looked at the other offerings from the same manufacturer, I would've given it a 5/5. The things it's "missing" are only really offered on the more expensive units by the same company. The bigger units have an output that can be used to power a cigarette-lighter ouput. The biggest (not-yet-released) has a built in volt-meter to see the battery voltage. This one has neither of these things. It does have (only) a usb charge input, a usb output, and a jumper output. It also has a 7-mode very bright light. More than enough to get the job done. The light MIGHT be better placed on the other side of the unit. It's currently facing the opposite direction of the cables. In a very dark place I can see that being an inconvenince when trying to attach the cables. It never bothered me. Not that it matters for the STI, but the cables didn't have quite enough reach to get to both remote terminals in the M5. The M5 is an exception with the two terminals pretty much across the engine bay from eachother. Shouldnt really affect 99.9% of car owners.

Performance 4.5/5
It jumped the STI several times. Even when the battery was too low to even power a dome light. I had to start the car three times with a dead battery without reacharging the unit, and it worked every time. It did NOT have enough to start the M5 with a VERY dead battery (0 CCA, even when charged up to 7 V...the max i could get it to take).


gb40_noco_genius_boost_on_truck_engine_block_close_up_jump_starting.jpg
 
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IGOTASTi

System Operator
Staff member
[MENTION=652]Grinder34[/MENTION] thanks for sharing. Great review. We're definitely looking into this unit.

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