I’m not a car girl, but I have one car accessory that I never leave the house without, and that I recommend to literally everyone who has access to a car.
Many retailers start “Black Friday” sales as early as Halloween, or even earlier. The quality of deals can vary early on, but as November progresses, many of the deals are as good as the deep discounts you’ll see during Thanksgiving weekend. See the best Black Friday deals we’ve found.
For context, I am a less-than-knowledgeable person when it comes to cars. My grandfather was a mechanic, so I was taught a lot about cars, but I’ve never had to deal with car issues on my own — until last month, when I had to jumpstart my car battery solo.
My beloved 2011 Toyota wouldn’t start and was making a weird sound when I turned my key. Like any responsible young adult, I immediately FaceTimed my dad and played the sound for him. He determined in less a minute that I’d need to jumpstart my car to get it running (spoiler: He was right).
Luckily for me, I have the Powrun P-ONE Car Jump Starter Battery Pack, gifted to me by my apparently psychic dad.
This 12-volt portable jump starter is a complete kit to get your car battery running again without another car or anyone’s help. Complete with mini jumper cables and instructions, it’s practically idiot-proof. (I say this proudly as a car idiot who has used this pack several times to jumpstart my car.)
It’s easy to use. You prepare your car like you would if you were jumping it from another car — pop the hood, locate the battery, attach the jumper cables. Then, using the black connector attached to the jumper cables, you plug the jumper cables into the battery pack, matching up the blue plug to the corresponding port on the battery pack. Then, you flip the switch to turn the battery pack on, and a green light on the jumper cable connector will signal that you have a good connection. Then, all you have to do is retry starting your car, and that extra charge bank should give you the juice you need to get it running.
While my particular model is no longer available, this model from the same manufacturer is quite similar and on sale now for Black Friday. This battery has enough juice to jumpstart your car up to 25 times from a single charge, and it is compatible with 12-volt gasoline and diesel engines.
In addition to helping you get moving, this battery also comes with a flashlight, compass and several other ports that you can use to charge your phone or other devices. It also has a display screen that shows your usage and remaining battery power. It’s lightweight, compact and easy to store in your glove box or trunk.
I don’t like to tout any product as being life-saving, but this one really could be. Luckily for me, my car battery died during daylight hours in a relatively safe place, but the situation could’ve easily been much worse. Aside from the convenience of not needing another car to get a jump start, this portable car battery is as much a safety tool as it is a car one. And I feel much better driving around knowing I have it in my trunk, ready to go if needed.
More Black Friday deals from CNET
