What Is It?

What this product allows you to do is jump start your car without needing another car’s battery to hook up to. For all intents and purposes, think of it like a miniature car battery that you can run cables out from directly into your battery. Then you simply fire up your engine just like you would during a typical jump start. It’s deceivingly simple. There’s not a single time I’ve used it that I haven’t immediately thought to myself, “how did I ever live without this?” haha. It’s just one of those delightful situations in life where something solves the exact problem you’re having in exactly the way you need it solved. Nothing extra. Nothing uselessly complex. It just solves your problem…completely. Beautiful!

Most every portable jump starter is going to double as a power bank with USB 2.0 outputs that can put out enough juice to charge most any handheld device a few times over. Some of them have other random functionality like flashlights, strobe lights, etc.

Beatit is a well reviewed, trusted brand that has been making portable jump starters for a while and is on what looks like their 3rd major iteration of their product as of July 2020. However there are many good brands out there making very similar products. Beatit is who I chose, but do your research and I’m sure you can find another one offering similar features. There are a few things specifically that set the Beatit product apart and warrant your consideration, though. I’ll detail those below.

5 Fav Features

• Temperature Rating
  • The key differentiating feature of the Beatit is the extreme temperatures it can withstand. It doesn’t make sense to me, but many of the portable jump starters out there aren’t able to be kept in the car because it gets too hot or too cold and the battery could get damaged, or worse. That totally defeats the purpose to me. How do you know when to bring it with you?! The Beatit is rated for temperatures ranging from 40 degrees to 176 degrees Ferenheit. Being in FL I only really have to deal with the heat, and I’ve never had to be concerned leaving it unattended even in the middle of the summer.
• Carrying Case
  • The case it comes with is built really well. I keep it under my seat and have to shove it pretty hard to make it fit under there. No matter how hard I push it in or yank on it to get it out, it’s continued to hold up great. Also I think the case is the perfect size. Plenty of space that I don’t have to play tetris getting stuff back in there, but not so much extra space that it makes it unnecessarily large.
• Different Length Cables
  • This is a nice touch by Beatit and I always appreciate attention to detail like this. It can be really bad for the jump starter battery (and honestly just dangerous) if the metal on the two clamps touch after they’re plugged into the jump starter. So they actually made the two cables different lengths. This keeps the two clamps from accidentally touching when they’re dangling on their own.
• DC Charging Cord
  • The battery of course comes with an AC charge chord that you can use to plug it into a standard household outlet. But I really appreciate that Beatit includes a DC charging cord as well so that it can be charged in the car while you drive. That’s the kind of thing most companies make you purchase as an accessory. But it comes standard with this one.
• Flashlight
  • When I first saw that it included a flashlight I did exactly what you’re doing right now. One giant eye roll haha! Feels like a classic, “let’s do it because we can, not because it’s a good idea” product design decision. But honestly, I’ve had to jump a car a few times in the dark and it was actually really handy. Yeah I know that phones all have flashlights these days but only having to manage one device while fumbling with hooking the clamps up to your battery is way better than having to manage two.

Let’s Get Practical

All of the above describes the product itself, what it does, and how it differentiates itself from others like it.

But let’s talk about what it all comes back to. What does using this product actually look like in day-to-day use? Awesome…it has a bunch of cool features…but in practice, are they actually helpful?

I can answer that question only with my experience. With how I put this product to use in my own life to make it easier, more efficient, more consistent, more fun, whatever the case may be. Your experience will, of course, be different. But this should give you a place to start. You can at least read on with the knowledge that no products make it on this site without being a thoroughly tested, tried-and-true part of some area of my life!

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One of the key considerations before you buy any portable jump starter is if it can handle the size of your engine. I know exactly ZERO about car engines 😆, but I do know that most jump starters seem to state what they can handle in terms of liters. And the particular model I have can start engines up to 7.2L (though Beatit makes models that can start up to 10.0L). Again, I don’t know the first thing about car engines, but I do know that’s a heck of a lot more than probably any of you need. Basically, unless you’re driving something that has an exceptionally large engine, this is going to be plenty. However if you’re driving something with a ton of power, it’s just worth noting that you should double check.

Another practical tip of advice is to make sure to recharge it every once in a while. It actually holds a charge remarkably well, but I find that after about 6 months of no use it has drained the battery to about half its charge. Personally, I set a reminder on my phone so that every 6 months it notifies me to bring it inside and charge it. I just chrage it overngiht and return it to it’s spot under the seat in the morning. You could go longer than 6 months if you wanted to, I just like to keep mine topped up just in case.

My last tip is for when you’re actually jumping the car. After you’ve got the cables clamped on to your battery terminals, the indicator light will begin blinking. Press and hold the button until the light stops blinking and turns to solid green. That lets you know you’re good to go. I could have just missed it, but I don’t remember reading that in the instructions and I sort of had to figure that out on my own.

Summary

• Pros
  • Able to withstand extreme cold and hot temperatures.
  • Both the carrying case and battery itself are built extremely well.
  • Flashlight helps you navigate the battery in the dark without having to fumble around with another device.
  • Hold it’s charge really well when not in use.
• Cons
  • This has never actually been an issue for me on the cars I’ve jumped, but I’d like the cables to be just a bit longer. I could see if someone had a battery that was buried even a bit further in than mine, they’d have a hard time getting to it.