Oho! We’re starting an end-of-the-year series where we’re highlighting some of the best gadgets that Verge staff have bought this year, just in case you need some gift ideas. And it starts with my choice: a battery pack and portable jumper box for your car called the $100 Noko Boost GB40. Sounds boring, right? Listen to me.
The gist is this: It’s a small battery pack with jumper cables, which means you can use its power to jumpstart your car instead of connecting a jumper cable from another car’s battery to your car, then start the other car, wait a few minutes, and hope your car starts.
I’d heard about gadgets like the Noko Boost GB40 for years, and I’ve seen my share of them on gift guides, but I’d never bought one. Then one of our car batteries died while my kids were at the playground with my in-laws. I was out of town, and AAA said he wouldn’t come jump in until I was with the car. Bad.
Long story short: the kids and in-laws got home via Uber and another car, and I made plans to drain the dead battery from my other car the next morning. I explained the situation to a friend, and he asked why I didn’t have “one of those battery jumpstarter things”. He sent me a link to the Noko Boost GB40, and I ordered it for delivery first thing the next morning.
It is extremely easy to use and thankfully it comes with a fractional fee. My wife and I took another car to the playground, I connected the red clamp of the Noko Boost GB40 to the positive terminal of the dead battery and the black cable to the negative terminal, and waited for about a minute. Voila! The car started immediately. I took it to a mechanic, got it stripped and a few hours later I got a new battery.
since He There is a new battery in the car, I now keep the Noko Boost in a different vehicle in case the battery ever dies. The device also has a flashlight if you ever need to jump out of the car at night, and it can charge phones over USB-C. I didn’t test it, so I’m not sure how fast it charges the phone – but it should work if I oblige.
Anyway, it is a good protection gift for loved ones this Christmas. This will be the most boring gift under the tree, and I don’t think anyone will be excited by it, but it will become their favorite as soon as they need it.