Leaving your headlights on used to mean a knock on a neighbor’s door—or a long and maybe costly wait for a tow truck. But battery technology changes everything, whether for cars or portable gadgets. Portable jump starters now don't cost much more than the price of a single tow and can jolt your car awake even with a bone-dead battery.

My conversion moment happened in a remote stretch of northern Delaware, where I'd left my headlights on after a foggy morning drive. A passing parks employee had one of the new breed of lithium-ion jump starters tucked behind his seat, which saved me multiple times thereafter. NOCO and Gooloo models are still reliable options, but the Wolfbox 4000A stands out for its mix of reliability, price, capacity, and sheer cranking power.

The newer NOCO Boost X is the most compact option, while Battery Tender's model offers comprehensive battery maintenance. For extreme weather conditions, lithium-ion jump starters might not be suitable. In future updates, SUNI will also look at the newest generation of battery-free supercapacitor jump starters.