For the holidays, we thought we’d keep things light and spotlight a handful of items for those of you who haven’t finished your shopping yet (like us). Many of us have a serious car enthusiast in our lives, which is something we can both identify with and get behind in a big way. But, for this list to be helpful, you don’t need to strictly have a car nut in your life. Maybe you have someone who has a long commute, has a job where they can’t afford to have a car-related delay in getting where they need to be or simply finds themselves spending way more time in their vehicle than they’d like to. This list is for them also. So, here are four items that would make excellent gifts, ones that we refer our friends and family to when we’re asked, “What would make a great gift for my… spouse… kid… friend… etc.”
The Problem Solver – A Quality Jump Starter
We know that many of our monthly newsletter readers came to us through our Recharge Reminder program, so to a degree, this one might be a bit of preaching to the choir, but it is the most obvious and popular gift option in our lineup: a quality jump starter. As we have noted previously, a quality jump starter can turn a serious problem into a nothing burger. Left the lights on? Your vehicle has a pesky parasitic drain? Your battery is on its last legs, but you didn’t know it? None of these issues is really an issue when you own a reliable jump starter, like a Jump-N-Carry or Booster PAC model
We have many different jump starters, of all shapes and sizes, designed to address specific application requirements. But, when it comes to the model I most recommend for gifting, it’s the Jump-N-Carry JNC325. In fact, for one of my good friends with 5 daughters, all now of driving age, it’s the model I recommended to him just two weeks ago. Why? Well, the JNC325 has enough power (2000A, 450 Start Assist Amps) to start virtually any passenger vehicle. It also meets the requirements of and is certified to UL2743, the prevailing safety standard in North America for this class of product. Finally, it has numerous features to make jump starting convenient and easy: long 24” cable length, MaxAcess clamps to get into tight spaces, an override mode that makes it effective even when jumping a totally dead (0.0V) battery and two USB outlets to power devices. It was even rated as the best overall jump starter by Car and Driver.
Preparation is Way Better than Perspiration – Battery Maintainer
This time of year especially, battery maintenance can be a hot topic for anyone who has battery-powered vehicles and equipment that is used primarily during the warmer months. This could include anything from boats and personal watercraft to ATVs and motorcycles to riding mowers and classic cars. For these folks, the big question is, “What do I do about my batteries in the offseason?” It’s a real challenge that we have written about before. For us, the answer starts with a quality battery maintainer, which provides two key benefits in this situation. First, deploying a maintainer ensures that your equipment is ready to go when you want to use it. Catch an unexpectedly mild day in mid-February? You know your battery is ready to take advantage of the great weather. Second, keeping your battery(ies) well charged during the offseason helps to extend their life, saving money in the long term.
When it comes to battery maintainers, our PRO-LOGIX model PL2140 is the home garage gold standard. Fully automatic, it will bring depleted batteries (again, even totally dead ones) back to full charge and then shift to an enhanced maintenance mode that keeps the battery healthy during extended storage periods. It properly charges virtually any vehicle starting battery you’re likely to encounter, including Flooded, AGM, Spiral Wound, EFB, Deep Cycle and Marine lead acid batteries, plus LiFePO4 (LFP) Lithium batteries. It also includes three different output options (clamps, ring terminal adapters or 12V male plug) so you can choose the option that best suits your application. This is the model I recommend to members of my car club when they ask how to manage their “baby” in the third bay of their garage during the winter.
Have the Answers at Your Fingertips
One tricky aspect of vehicle ownership if that it is often difficult to assess the health status of your battery. “Did that last starting cycle sound weird?” “My battery is getting up there in age, I wonder if it is close to giving up on me?” This can be a worrisome concern, especially since many modern battery types (AGM, for instance) don’t die slowly, they fall off a cliff, as in, “Good on Monday, useless on Friday.” This concern can be easily addressed if you own a digital battery tester. We hear from many customers who say that having one is life changing for them in the sense that they are much better prepared and can stave off problems by regularly testing their batteries.
For home garages, we highly recommend our BA Series model BA9. It is lightweight and compact, yet it is a diagnostic champ when it comes to assessing battery health. It can diagnose virtually any lead acid battery type, including Flooded, AGM, Spiral Wound, Gel Cell, Start-Stop AGM and EFB batteries. It is simple to use, essentially walking the operator through the testing process. It can even diagnose your starting and charging systems so that, if your battery checks out fine, but you still suspect you have an issue, you can move on to those aspects of the system. It is a real winner.
Let There Be Light!
Many of the tasks around the house, the garage and on your vehicle can benefit greatly from additional illumination. In the old days, that usually meant a big, bulky flashlight that, while it often provided high output and strong brightness, was rather unwieldy to use in the real world. The great news is that the combination of modern LED lighting technology and lithium battery technology means that today’s work lights and related items are not your father’s Oldsmobile. We can build products that address a variety of application needs, are rechargeable, last seemingly forever and are compact and lightweight. That’s a great combo.
One super useful item in our lighting offering is our Light-N-Carry model LNC7250, a versatile action light with tons of great features. Although it can be used as a headlamp, it can also be so much more. With our M-lock system, this light can be mounted on the included headband, belt clip mount or Go Pro mount, but it can also be mounted on any ferrous metal surface. It features three operational modes: spotlight mode, flood light mode and combo mode. It also features a hands-free mode, requiring just a wave to turn it on or off (my fisherman friends love that feature, go figure). Talk about versatile!
We hope that, if you are in the unenviable position of needing to do some last-minute gift buying, these suggestions are helpful to you. Have you ever gifted vehicle service equipment, ours or others, to a friend or family member? How did it work out? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
