Excellent review, you really put it to the test in a number of ways. There are so many of these out there that it's overwhelming to try and choose. That looks like a great unit. It's impressive that you can use it to inflate your bed, charge your phone, and still jump start a couple of dead rigs. I have to admit I've taken my chances on FAR too many solo nights in the wilderness with no jump starter on board. As it happens, I'll be testing one out myself on my next excursion (accompanied by a backup vehicle of course, and a backup jump starter).
As always, thanks Donald!!! Yes, there are in fact so many of these jump starters. Just like with tire inflators, I think it’s super important to choose the right ones. The plastic piston tire inflators are the equivalent of the thin wired non-wearer resistant jump starters. Imagine being out on one of your trips and then spilling water all over your Subaru 🙄, and having the jump starter get water damage. One thing to look for on the jump starter review 😃. So... when are you going to visit California???
Thanks for the review. I just got one of these maybe 2 weeks ago. I previously had another jump starter that I never had to use but questioned its ability to do the job when needed. I felt more confident buying this one after seeing it and the accompanying reviews.
The Hulkman Alpha 85S will be launching on October 30th. I was told that it may be available on Amazon in December. Whatever jumpstarter you purchase, I recommend a unit with the following: -8 gauge wire or larger (smaller the gauge the thicker, a 6 gauge wire would be even thicker!) -weather gaskets. You may leave this in your trunk or on the floor or may even get it wet or cold during a storm. -accident proof your unit. Make sure the buttons can’t be accidentally pressed. I covered my Noco unit with a piece of corrugated plastic board. Works like a charm, you can buy this stuff at a hardware store.
My jump starter literally came today and I got this video notification which made me feel good about my purchase haha. Admittedly I didn't get one of the name brands you tested but I didn't get the cheapest and almost 2000 good reviews on it makes me feel I can trust it.
Thanks for your resources. I used your recommendations on your website to get a air deflator, norco battery charger, and air inflator viaair. I wouldn’t have known to get air inflators that plug directly to your battery as opossd to the 12v cigarette lighter. Too bad my 2019 outback 3.6 was kept at dealer for warranty for repairs and I had to take my Honda Accord for our SoCal to Monument Valley, Moab, Telluride roadtrip. I thought about airing down my Accord to see how far i would go up Black Bear Pass. But I think ground clearance was a problem.
Haha! Honda Accord down Black bear pass!! That sounds very scary! Thanks for supporting the website! It's purely informational, but it does have those amazon links, which help pay for the website which costs about $140 annually. That's some good gear you picked up! I still use my Viair 88P on my Honda Passport. I carried it over from my Subaru Forester, but I think I need to buy a more robust inflator, haha! The Forester had a 29" x 9.3" tire and the Passport has a 32.1" x 10.0" tire! I have ALOT MORE TIRE TO INFLATE! Well, you picked up some good gear, because the Viair inflator is getting very abused and is still working. The Noco jump starter is solid! I'll leave it alone for 6 months and it'll still read at 4/4 dots. It's never failed me, BUT.... I fully drained it once because it was accidentally turned on. You just have to either get a hard case for it, or cover the buttons with something hard.
@@JonDZ_Adventuring I bought the gb40 because it was on sale at Amazon. But now I wish I would've seen your review before I did. Also, have you seen the project farm review? Gb40 failed big time
@@asnknight5 the GB40 is a good unit that has been trusted by many auto mechanic professionals. It’s solid! If you bought it on prime day you probably only paid $66. That’s a good deal!
Never run electrical accessories without the engine on and at higher RPM than idle. Always carry a set of jumper cables with you if not one of those battery packs or a second battery (some SUV's allow the use of a second battery). Solar panels and chargers are preferred in case one uses a fridge or other high electricity draining devices. Even if you run a compressor it is better to the engine on and a little more RPM (you will notice the power difference between having the engine off or on).
I go solo in my '90 4runner to remote sites in Utah so include a full size good 12v battery if /when my 12 year old Diehard Platinum dies. I have three lithium jump starter/ power bank/flashlight units as overkill. The jump starter will start the vehicle but with little to no volts in a bad battery it can and will stress or damage the alternator. I don't carry an extra alternator so if I need to jump start I will replace the battery with the "spare" and keep the jump starters only in an emergency. I can use the Tacklife 1200A or Audew 2000A to help others beside myself.
Thanks for sharing. Recently my optima yellow top went bad. My lithium jump starters weren’t able to jump it. I also bring jumper cables, so a nearby Jeep was able to start my car.
I'm more than happy with my Noco GB40. I've used it on my Passport a few times. One thing I learned is to keep it in an accessible place. My Passport has a power rear hatch, and when the battery is dead, it doesn't open :( I keep my noco GB40 under my driver seat now. I also use plastic board to cover the buttons so they don't get accidentally pressed. I've also used my GB40 to start my neighbors car. They tried using their cheaper amazon jump starter with 12 gauge wires to no avail. The GB40 started it up first try! The benefit I have from making this video is that I was given the hulkman jump starter for testing. The GB40 will stay under my drivers seat (the charge drain is fantastic! half a year and still 4/4 charge), but the hulkman will be a camp "WORK HORSE"! It'll charge my devices, inflate my air mattress, go with me on my hikes to recharge my head lamps, go pro, and anything else. It will also be my primary emergency jump starter. The noco GB40 will be there just as an accessible back up.
@@JonDZ_Adventuring Another thing to think of is how they perform in cold temperature like -20 C. The GB 40 are dead at that temp. The other i don`t know.
I’ve been trying to find directly from optima their view on jump starting one of their batteries. And I can quite find exactly what I want it to tell you. So I’ll just tell you what I no. When you deeply discharge any AGM style battery, then jump start it and go, they can not take in a fast charge, so your alternator tries hard to force more charge into the battery that it can’t except and you end up burning out your alternator. So while it’s fine to jump start them in an emergency situation. As soon as you can you need to put the battery on a slow charge. Ideally 10amps or less. More like 5amps. It may take 24-48hrs of continuous charging if it’s deeply discharged. Not doing this can cause the battery to continually died and destroy your alternator. -Jake the mechanic
Thanks for the info Jake! I knew I was damaging something! Haha! I’ve always planned to carry a spare alternator, I think every overlander should. Now that I have around 50k miles on the Passport, it’s about time to buy a spare to carry with me. Water crossing and splashing through mud is bad on an alternator as well, and I’ve done plenty of that.
If your going to carry spare parts like that, make sure you have the tools and the know how to change them as well. A horizontally oriented V6 engine can be extremely difficult to work on, especially things in the serpentine system. So if your gonna go that route, I’d remove and reinstall your current alternator at home so you no exactly what tools you need and you’ve practiced on how to do it.
@@jklpino yeah, but Step #1 is to first have the parts :P I didn't know how to reinstall that bolt that came off off my rear upper control arm, but we figured it out and had the Passport as good as new in 30 minutes. When the sun comes up, I will familiarize myself with the location of that alternator, haha! I changed the alternator in my wifes 2007 Honda accord, but I've never bothered to look at mine.
@@jklpino Oh! btw, the bolt has been holding up with some blue loctite. It's actually the same bolt that rattled off. I drove it up the coyote flats and cerro gordo, rough trails! and it hasn't budged!
@@JonDZ_Adventuring that’s good. A bolt is one thing. But an alternator is a bit more involved ;) TH-cam it, figure out what you need to change it. And Make sure you have those tools with you. I wouldn’t say you need to have the part in your hand at home if you want to practice taking it in and out. If you mess up or. Break it you’ll have to go buy a replacement. But I think you’ll do enough research and your handy enough that you won’t have that problem. You don’t have to be a master mechanic to do this stuff. You just need to be familiar with your own car. Your well on your way to being the “passport guy”. So keep building your knowledge and skill. I don’t think you’ll have any issues. You just need to do it once so you have the confidence to no you can do it when your on the trails.
I've been looking at these but your review brought up a very interesting question - does it always timeout on power delivery? i.e. if you had it hooked up to a fridge would it stop powering the fridge based on time?
@@JonDZ_Adventuring Thats what got me thinking. It seems to turn off after a set time or draw. Makes it hard to leave a fridge on it all day and know that it will keep the fridge cold. have you tested to see if it can run all day?
To answer your questions, you would have to remove the air intake to get to it, BUT the good news is you just need to connect to the frame of your vehicle to "ground". at 3:22 I show you where to hook up a negative alligator clip.
No biggie, Optima has been mostly crap since moving production to China. 5 seconds of searching for that issue will yield enough reading material for decades. And yeah, I paid for that experience personally.... Red Top
Thanks for chiming in. They just sent me a unit for testing, but other than that, I am not affiliated with them in any way. I believe they sell these units on Amazon. So who’s ever is interested with a kick starter item, I always recommend you go through a reputable website so you don’t get screwed over.
Excellent review, you really put it to the test in a number of ways. There are so many of these out there that it's overwhelming to try and choose. That looks like a great unit. It's impressive that you can use it to inflate your bed, charge your phone, and still jump start a couple of dead rigs. I have to admit I've taken my chances on FAR too many solo nights in the wilderness with no jump starter on board. As it happens, I'll be testing one out myself on my next excursion (accompanied by a backup vehicle of course, and a backup jump starter).
As always, thanks Donald!!! Yes, there are in fact so many of these jump starters. Just like with tire inflators, I think it’s super important to choose the right ones. The plastic piston tire inflators are the equivalent of the thin wired non-wearer resistant jump starters. Imagine being out on one of your trips and then spilling water all over your Subaru 🙄, and having the jump starter get water damage. One thing to look for on the jump starter review 😃. So... when are you going to visit California???
Thanks for the review. I just got one of these maybe 2 weeks ago. I previously had another jump starter that I never had to use but questioned its ability to do the job when needed. I felt more confident buying this one after seeing it and the accompanying reviews.
Perfect, I was just looking for one of those and I’d probably go to Pep Boys and melt the cables right off it !
Impressive I'm sold I'll try looking it up on Amazon later
The Hulkman Alpha 85S will be launching on October 30th. I was told that it may be available on Amazon in December. Whatever jumpstarter you purchase, I recommend a unit with the following:
-8 gauge wire or larger (smaller the gauge the thicker, a 6 gauge wire would be even thicker!)
-weather gaskets. You may leave this in your trunk or on the floor or may even get it wet or cold during a storm.
-accident proof your unit. Make sure the buttons can’t be accidentally pressed. I covered my Noco unit with a piece of corrugated plastic board. Works like a charm, you can buy this stuff at a hardware store.
My jump starter literally came today and I got this video notification which made me feel good about my purchase haha. Admittedly I didn't get one of the name brands you tested but I didn't get the cheapest and almost 2000 good reviews on it makes me feel I can trust it.
Cool! Which one did you get? Can you send us a link, I'd like to see the specs!
Thanks for your resources. I used your recommendations on your website to get a air deflator, norco battery charger, and air inflator viaair. I wouldn’t have known to get air inflators that plug directly to your battery as opossd to the 12v cigarette lighter. Too bad my 2019 outback 3.6 was kept at dealer for warranty for repairs and I had to take my Honda Accord for our SoCal to Monument Valley, Moab, Telluride roadtrip. I thought about airing down my Accord to see how far i would go up Black Bear Pass. But I think ground clearance was a problem.
Haha! Honda Accord down Black bear pass!! That sounds very scary! Thanks for supporting the website! It's purely informational, but it does have those amazon links, which help pay for the website which costs about $140 annually. That's some good gear you picked up! I still use my Viair 88P on my Honda Passport. I carried it over from my Subaru Forester, but I think I need to buy a more robust inflator, haha! The Forester had a 29" x 9.3" tire and the Passport has a 32.1" x 10.0" tire! I have ALOT MORE TIRE TO INFLATE! Well, you picked up some good gear, because the Viair inflator is getting very abused and is still working. The Noco jump starter is solid! I'll leave it alone for 6 months and it'll still read at 4/4 dots. It's never failed me, BUT.... I fully drained it once because it was accidentally turned on. You just have to either get a hard case for it, or cover the buttons with something hard.
No need to turn it “ON” to jump start a car. Great review!
You have mind reading capabilities. Literally on my way to my Amazon locker to pick mine up right now!
Nice! Which one did you end up buying?
@@JonDZ_Adventuring I bought the gb40 because it was on sale at Amazon. But now I wish I would've seen your review before I did. Also, have you seen the project farm review? Gb40 failed big time
@@asnknight5 the GB40 is a good unit that has been trusted by many auto mechanic professionals. It’s solid! If you bought it on prime day you probably only paid $66. That’s a good deal!
Never run electrical accessories without the engine on and at higher RPM than idle. Always carry a set of jumper cables with you if not one of those battery packs or a second battery (some SUV's allow the use of a second battery). Solar panels and chargers are preferred in case one uses a fridge or other high electricity draining devices. Even if you run a compressor it is better to the engine on and a little more RPM (you will notice the power difference between having the engine off or on).
I go solo in my '90 4runner to remote sites in Utah so include a full size good 12v battery if /when my 12 year old Diehard Platinum dies. I have three lithium jump starter/ power bank/flashlight units as overkill. The jump starter will start the vehicle but with little to no volts in a bad battery it can and will stress or damage the alternator. I don't carry an extra alternator so if I need to jump start I will replace the battery with the "spare" and keep the jump starters only in an emergency. I can use the Tacklife 1200A or Audew 2000A to help others beside myself.
Thanks for sharing. Recently my optima yellow top went bad. My lithium jump starters weren’t able to jump it. I also bring jumper cables, so a nearby Jeep was able to start my car.
Love my Novo gb70 that has a similar 12v cig outlet. Really like the usb c charging on the hulkman tho...
I'm more than happy with my Noco GB40. I've used it on my Passport a few times. One thing I learned is to keep it in an accessible place. My Passport has a power rear hatch, and when the battery is dead, it doesn't open :(
I keep my noco GB40 under my driver seat now. I also use plastic board to cover the buttons so they don't get accidentally pressed. I've also used my GB40 to start my neighbors car. They tried using their cheaper amazon jump starter with 12 gauge wires to no avail. The GB40 started it up first try!
The benefit I have from making this video is that I was given the hulkman jump starter for testing. The GB40 will stay under my drivers seat (the charge drain is fantastic! half a year and still 4/4 charge), but the hulkman will be a camp "WORK HORSE"! It'll charge my devices, inflate my air mattress, go with me on my hikes to recharge my head lamps, go pro, and anything else. It will also be my primary emergency jump starter. The noco GB40 will be there just as an accessible back up.
@@JonDZ_Adventuring Another thing to think of is how they perform in cold temperature like -20 C. The GB 40 are dead at that temp. The other i don`t know.
Hi Jon! How is your Hulkman holding up? Thank you!
Hey Jon, maybe I missed it but could you do a video on your solar panel and power station set up?
I will make one eventually :P
nice. im planning to get one once its available on amazon.....
I’ve been trying to find directly from optima their view on jump starting one of their batteries. And I can quite find exactly what I want it to tell you. So I’ll just tell you what I no. When you deeply discharge any AGM style battery, then jump start it and go, they can not take in a fast charge, so your alternator tries hard to force more charge into the battery that it can’t except and you end up burning out your alternator. So while it’s fine to jump start them in an emergency situation. As soon as you can you need to put the battery on a slow charge. Ideally 10amps or less. More like 5amps. It may take 24-48hrs of continuous charging if it’s deeply discharged. Not doing this can cause the battery to continually died and destroy your alternator.
-Jake the mechanic
Thanks for the info Jake! I knew I was damaging something! Haha!
I’ve always planned to carry a spare alternator, I think every overlander should. Now that I have around 50k miles on the Passport, it’s about time to buy a spare to carry with me. Water crossing and splashing through mud is bad on an alternator as well, and I’ve done plenty of that.
If your going to carry spare parts like that, make sure you have the tools and the know how to change them as well. A horizontally oriented V6 engine can be extremely difficult to work on, especially things in the serpentine system. So if your gonna go that route, I’d remove and reinstall your current alternator at home so you no exactly what tools you need and you’ve practiced on how to do it.
@@jklpino yeah, but Step #1 is to first have the parts :P
I didn't know how to reinstall that bolt that came off off my rear upper control arm, but we figured it out and had the Passport as good as new in 30 minutes. When the sun comes up, I will familiarize myself with the location of that alternator, haha! I changed the alternator in my wifes 2007 Honda accord, but I've never bothered to look at mine.
@@jklpino Oh! btw, the bolt has been holding up with some blue loctite. It's actually the same bolt that rattled off. I drove it up the coyote flats and cerro gordo, rough trails! and it hasn't budged!
@@JonDZ_Adventuring that’s good. A bolt is one thing. But an alternator is a bit more involved ;) TH-cam it, figure out what you need to change it. And Make sure you have those tools with you. I wouldn’t say you need to have the part in your hand at home if you want to practice taking it in and out. If you mess up or. Break it you’ll have to go buy a replacement. But I think you’ll do enough research and your handy enough that you won’t have that problem. You don’t have to be a master mechanic to do this stuff. You just need to be familiar with your own car. Your well on your way to being the “passport guy”. So keep building your knowledge and skill. I don’t think you’ll have any issues. You just need to do it once so you have the confidence to no you can do it when your on the trails.
My Cruiser just died on me yesterday due to a dead battery. Thanks for this video lol (gotta check out that fridge too)
I've been looking at these but your review brought up a very interesting question - does it always timeout on power delivery? i.e. if you had it hooked up to a fridge would it stop powering the fridge based on time?
Good question! at 14:48 you can see a battery output icon when I turn on the air compressor.
@@JonDZ_Adventuring Thats what got me thinking. It seems to turn off after a set time or draw. Makes it hard to leave a fridge on it all day and know that it will keep the fridge cold. have you tested to see if it can run all day?
File not found (404 Error) on you link for the Skid Plate.
Thanks for letting me know, I’ll update the website “LINK”! I don’t own the website haha!
How do you get to the negative terminal in the Passport? I can't seem to get to mine.
To answer your questions, you would have to remove the air intake to get to it, BUT the good news is you just need to connect to the frame of your vehicle to "ground". at 3:22 I show you where to hook up a negative alligator clip.
No biggie, Optima has been mostly crap since moving production to China. 5 seconds of searching for that issue will yield enough reading material for decades. And yeah, I paid for that experience personally.... Red Top
Go to project farm's channel for testing on a variety of the jump starters.
2 dead batteries in the middle of nowhere 😑. What were we thinking??!!?
You guys are crazy... Lol
@@johnpatalinghug5216 🤣 too bad you couldn’t have stay a bit longer. We will have to go back sometime. I plotted some more trails out there!
@@JonDZ_Adventuring of course.. Just let me know when
DONT WAIST YOUR MONEY, THEY DON'T DELIVER, I'VE BEEN WAITING SINCE DECEMBER AND NO RESPONSE FROM EMAIL NOR MESSAGES
Thanks for chiming in. They just sent me a unit for testing, but other than that, I am not affiliated with them in any way. I believe they sell these units on Amazon. So who’s ever is interested with a kick starter item, I always recommend you go through a reputable website so you don’t get screwed over.
@@JonDZ_Adventuring dont pay atention to this comment,this moron post the exact same comment on every video related to this product