Jumper cables are also called booster cables and are essential tools for every car owner and also for the bikers (motorcycle riders). As long as your vehicle has a battery it would be wise to have a jumper cable with it.
For off-roading, the safekeeping of a car jumper is very important because once your off-road vehicle gets stuck in the middle of nowhere but with a companion with another vehicle, that is still good news for you.
10 Best Jumper Cables for 2017
AAA 4324AAA JUMPER CABLES
This is 12 feet long, an 8-gauge jumper cable and rated as a medium duty with a 400 amp current carrying capacity so this is very ideal for car battery use.
Clamps are color coded for easy terminal distinction and mouths are wide enough to fit standard batteries’ top and side terminals. Insulation is made of quality PVC so you can use it for any type of weather condition.
Good quality insulation and very flexible. Can stand cold weather without the insulation getting cracked. It also coils compactly. Very affordable.
Clamps may not fit bigger battery terminals especially the large SUV types. Rather too thin for large batteries.
Yuasa Motorcycle Battery Jumper Cables
Length is 8 feet and 8 gauge, you won’t think that this cable is designed as a heavy duty jumper cable for motorcycles.
It is encased with hard, solid rubber insulation and even its rubber grips are all insulated to avoid accidental shock. It comes with a convenient storage bag for easy safekeeping inside your small motorcycle compartment.
Best use for big bikes that are too heavy to push by a single person. Length and gauge exactly fit the bikes requirements and the heavy duty features make sure you have an easy and quick charging time. Nice to keep if you always bike off-road with friends tagging along.
Astro SP0616 Smart Plug 6 Gauge 16-Feet Booster Cables
This makes one of the best jumper cables you can find today because it is almost everything you need for a booster cable.
What does it have? First, it’s a gauge 6 so its wire is thick enough for current to pass quickly. Second, with its 16 feet length, you can charge cars even they are sideways.
Third, it fits all battery terminals with its wide mouthed-clamps and lastly, it has a Led box indicator that tells you if the clamps are correctly settled on the terminals.
This smart cable can literally protect you against electrical shock because of its strong insulation that will never break.
Its safety features can also prevent grounding your car’s electrical system. It is tested and it follows strict compliance in accordance with equipment standards. Tested at 400 amps, this can last for many years of use.
Coleman Cable 08660 Heavy-Duty 4-Gauge Auto Battery Booster Cables with Polar Glo-Watt Clamps (20 Feet)
Made in the USA and heavy-duty made with 4-gauge booster cable. It also features clamps that glow in the dark including polarity labels which make identifying polarities easy even the darkest of night.
Clamps also fit top and side posts of most batteries and with insulation made of T-Prene coating, this makes the wire highly flexible and can withstand up to 94 degrees Fahrenheit without cracking.
Handles are also ergonomically designed for easy attachment to the terminals. With a length of 20 feet, you can charge your batteries even the two cars are not aligned.
This cable is designed to perform even in extreme weather conditions. Very versatile, very safe to use and have user-friendly features that you won’t be scared using it even you get caught up in a dark alley.
The length is a big plus especially if you can’t move your car an inch while the other car can’t be parked horizontally to yours. It can also handle 300 amps current and also best for off-roading use.
DIE HARD PLATINUM BOOSTER CABLES
Looking for a heavy-duty jump starters that can last many years even with regular use? Well, this is exactly what you need. This is a 4-gauge, 20 feet long jump boosters made of 100 percent copper for maximum conductivity and rapid power transfer.
With clamps that are equipped with heavy-duty spring, these bite like a vise. Cables are color coded for easy polarity identification and it comes with a case, safety glasses, and gloves just to ensure your protection during handling.
This item can be your best investment in terms of pursuing the best car accessories. Made of pure copper from the clamps’ teeth up to the whole cable, this is designed for tougher and lifetime use.
Even the springs inside the clamps are heavy duty and wide enough to clamp on top and sides of any car’s battery terminals.
The insulation is made of high-grade PVC that can withstand all kinds of weather conditions. This simply belongs among the best jumper cables of the tough working booster cable types and it can handle up to 450 amps.
DEKA ALL COPPER BOOSTER CABLES
Another Made in USA product and one of the best among the best jumper cables, this cable is long at 24 feet and with 2 heavy duty cables made of 100 percent copper including the clamp for superconductivity.
It can also handle up to 600 amp power. Insulation is made of Thermoplastic Elastomer (TPE) which is grease, oil and abrasion resistant. Clamps really bite like a vise and are color-coded. Comes with a storage bag.
This is basically an industrial grade gauge 2 jumper starter that is designed to last. Best use for trucks, its length makes it easy to charge batteries even they are installed deep into the car’s engine.
With a 600 amp, current capacity and all-copper made, this is built for maximum current flow between two batteries. For trucks and SUVs that normally go off-roading, this is perfect for them.
EPAuto 4 Gauge x 20 Ft 500A Heavy Duty Booster Jumper Cables with Travel Bag and Safety Gloves (4 AWG x 20 Feet)
For those who wanted the heavy duty 4 gauge cable that would be perfect for use from the smallest vehicles to trucks, you will need this one in your vehicle’s compartment.
This can be your booster cable for your motorcycles, cars, vans, SUVs and off-road vehicles. It comes with a storage bag and protective gloves.
Very good quality insulation, clamp teeth are thickly copper coated and hold like a vise and the rigidness of the cable prevents tangles.
It can carry up to 500 amps as well. For its amazingly low price, this jumper cable can be very reliable.
Jumper Cables for Motorcycle and Compact Cars – 12 Foot, 10 Gauge, 300 AMP Booster Cable Kit
Motorcycles and compact (small) cars don’t need to have low gauge jumper cables because they have smaller batteries.
With this booster cable with a 10 gauge thickness and 12 feet in length, this fits exactly with their batteries’ terminal and capacities and this will get a long way in providing efficient assistance during car charging. Designed for use on all weather types.
Perfect for small compact cars, motorcycles, All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) or any small vehicle used for off-roading. It has easy-to-use features like the color coded cable and clamps, tangle free cables and can handle up to 300 amps.
Its insulation is made of pliable but tough rubber that can withstand extreme weather. Clamps’ teeth are aluminum coated thickly with copper and they bite so tightly. The manufacturer also promises a lifetime warranty replacement.
The downside is that this is not your typical jumper cable for larger cars.
Trupoint Jumper Cables – 4 Gauge Heavy Duty For the Deadest Car Battery – 20 ft
Twenty feet long so you can jumpstart a car regardless of how they are parked. It’s a 4-gauge cable so it’s a heavy-duty type and doesn’t get tangled, unlike other cheap jumpers.
Clamps are purely made of copper and they always hold securely on the terminal posts. They are easy to open to which benefits those with weak hands. Comes with storage bag and protective gloves.
This is an excellent booster cable for small cars, V8 up to diesel trucks so these are perfectly reliable.
With a 4 gauge copper clad cables that can carry up to 400 amps, reviving even the deadest battery will not be a problem. Insulation is made of thick, pliable PVC that is water and oil resistant and can withstand sub-zero temperature up to -40 degrees.
Clamps are made of solid copper and bite like real alligator teeth yet so handy to open.
Energizer 1-Gauge 800A Heavy Duty Jumper Battery Cables 25 Ft Booster Jump Start – 25′ Allows you to boost battery from behind a vehicle
Energizer is popular in manufacturing tough, heavy-duty batteries so this time it makes a cable booster to help revive dead car batteries even the largest of them. With 2-gauge thickness, it can carry 800 amp current.
And at 25 feet long, this is an excellent companion for your off-road vehicles or 4-wheel trucks that need a quick and efficient flow of juice whenever the car batteries run out of power. This is truly one of the best jumper cables for the biggest batteries for cars and for off-roading.
With a 25 feet cable, this will allow you to charge a dead battery even few feet away from the good battery. This 1 gauge will help you revive your vehicle in minutes.
Clamps are made of aluminum coated thickly with copper for best conductivity and can hold on the top and side post battery terminals. It’s tangle-free so you can just toss it inside your car compartment after use. Can carry up to 800 amp and considered a professional grade.
Functions
So what are the functions of jumper cables? These are cables with clips for jump starting dead batteries and serve as connectors to good batteries so that electric current can flow from the good battery to the dead battery and recharge the latter.
For only a few minutes of charging, the dead battery can have enough juice to start its car’s engine and then charge itself once the car engine engages.
However, not all jumper cables are the same. There are the cheap, unreliable ones that you can buy anywhere and the best jumper cables that have been tested many times and prove efficient to their tasks.
Pre-Purchase Considerations
If you will be looking for the right specifications of jumper cables for your car, here are the things you should check out:
Length of cable
The ideal length is 10 feet to enable the two cars to reach each other’s batteries without strain.
More so, 12 feet or more is even better which is advantageous when cars are parked side by side or the other vehicle is behind the other.Gauge (thickness). This is the thickness of the wire.
The higher the gauge, the thinner the cable and the thicker the gauge, the more solid the jumper can become and offers faster recharging time.
Gauge 10 is the thinnest and ideal only for motorcycles or compact cars. Gauge 8 can be sufficient, 6 is perfect for cars and gauge 4 would be right for semi-trucks, trucks or larger vehicles especially the off-roading types.
Gauge (thickness)
This is the thickness of the wire. The higher the gauge, the thinner the cable and the thicker the gauge, the more solid the jumper can become and offers faster recharging time.
Gauge 10 is the thinnest and ideal only for motorcycles or compact cars. Gauge 8 can be sufficient, 6 is perfect for cars and gauge 4 would be right for semi-trucks, trucks or larger vehicles especially the off-roading types.Clips or clamps.
These are the grapplers that are connected to every end of the cables so there are four of them in one cable set. They are usually designed with alligator-like teeth for
Clips or clamps?
These are the grapplers that are connected to every end of the cables so there are four of them in one cable set. They are usually designed with alligator-like teeth for a more solid bite on the battery’s terminals.
The ideal clips are made of solid copper or aluminum with copper plates and with a hard plastic top covering to avoid electrical shock during handling.
Copper enables rapid transmission of electricity between two battery terminals.
Clamp handles
These parts are most of the times getting overlooked at. Clamp handles are not supposed to be short and not properly insulated. Choose handles that are long enough to hold, have thick plastic insulation and are more solid to avoid touching the battery terminals when clamping and unclamping the clips.
Insulation
This covers the entire length of the cable. Choose booster cables that have thick insulations that can be made of tough rubber-like PVC which is solid and pliable. It must also be grease, gas, oil and abrasion resistant and can withstand harsh weather types.
Note: When choosing the best jumper cables, check the gauge of the cable and don’t get misled by the thickness of the cable. There are cables that have thick insulation but have thin wires inside or have high gauges.
Conclusion:
It is really hard to guess which among the most popular jumper cables being sold online actually are the best jumper cables so we usually rate their efficiencies, reliabilities and their capacities from the users’ actual experience. These products on our list are all tested and proven useful by many.
Although they also have some flaws which is normal for any man-made item, we have only chosen those that can provide utmost benefits to the consumers and these are what we have picked for you to check out.