Why You Can Trust CNET Be prepared for the worst: This top-rated portable car jump-starter is on sale for $56
The Tacklife T8 is also an 18,000-mAh power bank for your phone and other devices.
Jump your car, recharge your phone and more with the Tacklife T8.
A dead battery can ruin your whole day -- your car battery, I mean (though a dead phone battery is pretty ruinous as well). Thankfully, portable jump-starters are inexpensive and plentiful; Amazon is lousy with them. Prices vary depending on peak current and other features, but typically start as low as $40 and run as high as $120.
I'm not sure I'd want the very cheapest jump-starter, but I'd certainly welcome a discount on a pricier one. Presto: Today only, and while supplies last, WorldUS via Amazon has the Tacklife T8 portable jump-starter for $56. That's after clipping the coupon on the product page and also applying promo code KUOPU76L at checkout. The regular price is $80.
I'm not a car guy, meaning my knowledge pretty much ends with "gas goes here," but I do know that most dead batteries can be revived by connecting another battery.
I also know that jumper cables are a hassle, because you need a second car (not always available) parked very close to your car (not always possible), and you have to attach them just so or both cars will explode, killing everyone in a three-block radius.
I may be a little off on that last point, but that's what my brain tells me. And that's why I greatly prefer a little jump-starter like this, because you just connect the red cable to the red terminal and the black to the black, then start the car. Much easier.
This particular jumper offers 800 amps peak current; some others offer more, some offer less. How many amps do you need? According to Tacklife, the T8 can handle gas engines up to 7 liters and diesel engines up to 5.5 liters.
The T8 also doubles as an 18,000-mAh power bank, complete with two USB ports (one of them Quick Charge-compatible) for charging phones and other mobile devices. It triples as a flashlight, with four lighting modes, including SOS. There's an LCD status window and even a built-in compass.
Calling a tow truck to jump a dead battery, just once, would probably cost this much or more.
Your thoughts?
This article was first published last year. It has been updated with the latest deal.
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