Wherever We Go, We Bring the Weego 44s Portable Jump Starter
Wirecutter has recommended Weego gear since we first published our guide to portable jump starters in 2017. The guide writer, Mark Smirniotis, researched 40 lithium-ion jump starters and tested 12. Two Weego portable jump starters (both of which are now discontinued) became picks: the Weego 22s (the top pick; about $60) and the Weego 44 (the upgrade pick; about $150). Though we no longer maintain the full guide, many of us at Wirecutter still keep a Weego jump starter in our cars. But now, in many cases, it’s an updated version: the affordable Weego 44s, which hovers around the same price as the 22s model, its less powerful predecessor.
The Weego 44s jump starter is about the same size as a cell phone in length and width (5.62 by 3.44 by 1.04 inches; LWD), weighs less than a pound (around 12 ounces, according to my kitchen scale), and has safety features that help prevent you from hurting your car or yourself. Namely, if you incorrectly attach the jump starter to your battery (which can potentially damage the battery or your car’s electrical system), it activates the unit’s reverse-polarity protection feature — a red light and alarm alerting you not to proceed.
The Weego 44s is rated to work with a wide range of vehicles that have a 12V lead-acide battery, including gas engines up to 7 liters and diesel engines up to 3.5 liters. It can jump-start pretty much any gas- or diesel-powered passenger-vehicle engine — anything from a Mini Cooper (2 liters or less) to a Dodge Ram (as much as 6.7 liters) in a package that’s small enough to fit in most glove boxes. This is good news, as some Wirecutter staff members have had experiences where the 22s model didn’t have enough power for their cars (a 2010 Mercury Milan and a 2015 Honda Fit among them).
One really nice feature of the Weego 44s to make sure the car actually turns over is what the company calls Advanced Voltage Detection. I’m going to let Weego explain it:
According to Weego’s website, “Weego 44s detects low-voltage batteries and provides the necessary boost, ensuring successful starts even when your battery is nearly dead.”
