Test it Tuesday: Can Flashlight Multi-Tool charge your dead car battery?

HOUSTON – It never fails. If your car battery is going to die, it’s going to be when you’re in a hurry to get somewhere and no one is around to give you a jump. If you had a Jumpstart 10-in-1 Multi-Tool, the makers say you’d be just fine. The flashlight doubles as a portable car battery starter and can help you in eight other ways as well. We tried each feature to help you decide if it’s worth your money.

What: Jumpstart 10-in-1 Multi-Tool

Price: $80.25

Claims: The device has 10 tools/features:

Jump Starter (gas/diesel)

Power Bank (2 USB ports)

4 mode flashlight

Red Flashing Light

SOS Alarm

Built-in compass

Built-in thermometer

Reflective Strip

Water + Dust Resistant

Mini Flashlight

Test: We took the JumpStart to Redline Autosports and owner Junior Bekdeli to test the car battery starter on a dead battery. Bekdeli was surprised and impressed that the Jumpstart started the battery in seconds.

The biggest issue we found with the product, though, was that it didn’t hold a charge. We charged it overnight on Nov. 7. The instructions say you only have to charge it every three months if you haven’t used it but when we tried to use it about a month later, the Jumpstart was completely dead.

None of the flashlight features on the product worked.

It did successfully charge a tablet from 8% to 89%.

Verdict: We give the Jumpstart a thumbs down because it failed to keep a charge, which would make it useless if you needed to jump your battery.

Of all of the tools and features, here is what works and what doesn’t:

Jump Starter (gas/ diesel) Pass

Power Bank (2 USB ports) Pass

4 mode flashlight Fail

Red Flashing Light Fail

SOS Alarm Pass

Built-in compass Pass

Built-in thermometer Pass

Reflective Strip Pass

Water + Dust Resistant Pass

Mini Flashlight Fail


About the Author

Passionate consumer advocate, mom of 3, addicted to coffee, hairspray and pastries.

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