Cold Starts, Batteries & Jump Starters
HULKMAN Alpha85 vs NOCO Boost GB70
Two 2000-amp packs, and on every published figure except brand history one of them wins. Here is the comparison, and the honest reason the other one still sells.
On published specifications the HULKMAN Alpha85 wins, and not narrowly: a higher engine rating, 60 starts per charge against 40, a two-year warranty against one, and a lower price. The NOCO Boost GB70 earns its place on a longer record in the category and a slightly smaller, simpler package. If you are buying numbers, buy the Alpha85.
These two come up against each other constantly, because they publish the same headline: 2000 peak amps. As what size jump starter do I need sets out, that headline is the least informative number on either box. Underneath it, the two packs are not as alike as the front panels suggest.
How we judged this
We read both live listings and compared only figures the makers publish. No testing was done - see how we pick - so the comparison is about what each company is willing to put in writing, which is a genuinely useful thing to compare when nobody can verify a peak-amps claim anyway. The order of importance: published engine rating, starts per charge, warranty, physical size and weight, then price.
Side by side
The three rows that actually decide it
Starts per charge: 60 against 40. This is the most undervalued figure in the category. The realistic scenario is not one clean start - it is two or three attempts on a battery that is deeply flat, in the cold, with the pack also running its own screen and light. Reserve is what stops the second attempt being the one that fails.
Recharge: 90 minutes against six hours. HULKMAN publishes 0 to 80 percent in an hour with its 65W charger, and says a five-minute charge is enough for one emergency start. NOCO publishes six hours for the GB70. A pack used on Monday and needed again Tuesday is a real situation on a dying battery, and this row is the difference between ready and not.
Warranty: two years against one. On a device bought in October and possibly not used until a January three years later, the warranty term is not a detail. HULKMAN also publishes a storage instruction NOCO does not - recharge at least every three months, avoid extreme temperatures - which is more honest about lithium than most of this category manages.
The honest case for the NOCO
It is not a specification case, and pretending otherwise would be dishonest. It is three other things.
- Track record. NOCO has been making lithium jump packs longer than almost anyone selling one today, and the Boost line has a service and support history to match. On a product you may not test for three years, that is worth real money - and it is why the GB70 is a pick here rather than a footnote.
- Fewer things to fail. The Alpha85's 3.3 in screen is genuinely useful at 6am and is also a display on a device that lives in a freezing car. The GB70 has LED indicators and a 400-lumen light, and a simpler device has fewer failure modes.
- The patented-protection claim. NOCO describes its spark-proof and reverse-polarity protection as patented, which is at least a verifiable kind of claim. HULKMAN counts ten safety layers, which is a self-reported tally.
What the NOCO does not have is a reason to cost substantially more while publishing a smaller engine rating, fewer starts, a slower recharge and a shorter warranty. Both prices are live in the buttons below; check them before you decide, because this gap has moved before.
One thing to know about buying either of these
NOCO's Boost line went unavailable across the board for several weeks earlier this autumn and has only recently come back. That is not a quality signal, but it is a buying signal: if you find the GB70 out of stock, the right response is to look at published ratings rather than to wait, because several packs publish the same 8.0L gas and 6.0L diesel figures.
The GOOLOO GP2000 is the clearest example and it is a pick here for that reason: 8.0L gas, 6.0L diesel, 1.2 lb, all-metal clamps, at a fraction of the GB70's price. What it gives up is the published starts-per-charge figure and the brand history.
Which one to buy
- Buying on published numbers: the Alpha85. More engine, more starts, a faster recharge, a longer warranty, less money.
- Buying on brand and simplicity: the GB70. You are paying for a fifteen-year track record and a device without a screen, and that is a legitimate thing to want.
- Buying the ratings as cheaply as possible: the GOOLOO GP2000, with the caveat that it publishes no starts-per-charge figure.
And whichever you choose, keep it in the cabin rather than the trunk, charge it every three months, and read our full Alpha85 review if the screen is the part you are unsure about.
What to buy, and what to skip
We haven't tested these
No lab, no borrowed units, no free samples. What we did do: pull every published spec into one table and work out what the numbers mean on a cold morning. Everything below traces to a published spec sheet, a manual, or a standard we can point you at - and if a figure isn't published, we say so instead of estimating it. The full method is here.
Heads up: we earn a commission if you buy through the links on this page, at no extra cost to you. It never changes a ranking - here is how we pick and how the site is funded.
1. Better on paper, and cheaper
HULKMAN Alpha85 Portable Jump Starter, 2000A
A 3.3 in screen showing charge state and error codes. At 6am in the dark, a device that tells you why it is refusing to do anything is worth the extra bulk.
Best for: Seeing what is going on
What the maker publishes
- Peak current
- 2000A
- Engine rating
- Up to 8.5L gas, 6.0L diesel
- Jump starts per charge
- Up to 60, per HULKMAN
- Display
- 3.3 in screen for status, battery level and errors
- Operating temperature range
- Not published by the maker
What works
- The screen removes the guesswork that makes jump starters frustrating - it tells you whether the clamps are wrong or the pack is flat
- 60 jumps per charge is the highest published figure here
- 8.5L gas rating covers anything you are likely to be standing next to
What doesn't
- A screen is another thing to fail, and cold LCDs get sluggish
- No published operating temperature range on the listing
Skip this if: you want the smallest thing that works. NOCO makes a smaller pack and you will be more likely to keep it in the car.
2. The brand with the track record
NOCO Boost GB70 12V 2000A UltraSafe Jump Starter
2000 peak amps, 8.0L gas and 6.0L diesel, 40 starts per charge, in the brand with the longest track record in the category. It is also the most expensive way to buy those numbers, which is the honest headline.
Best for: A V8 or a 6.0L diesel
What the maker publishes
- Peak amps
- 2000A
- Gas engines
- Up to 8.0L, per NOCO
- Diesel engines
- Up to 6.0L, per NOCO
- Starts per charge
- Up to 40, per NOCO
- Weight
- 4.41 lb
- Recharge time
- 6 hours, per NOCO
- Flashlight
- 400 lumens, 7 modes
- Housing
- IP65 rated
- Warranty
- 1-year limited
- Operating temperature range
- Not published by the maker
What works
- A 6.0L diesel ceiling covers the 6.7L-class pickups most packs quietly duck, and it is published rather than implied
- 40 starts per charge is the second-highest published figure on this site, and it is the figure that says how much margin is left after one failed attempt
- The oldest name in lithium jump packs, with the service history to match - worth something on a device you may not test for three years
What doesn't
- The most expensive route to 8.0L gas and 6.0L diesel; at least two packs publish the same ceilings for a lot less
- 4.41 lb and a 6-hour recharge put it firmly in the trunk, which is the coldest place in the vehicle
- One-year warranty against the two years some rivals print
Skip this if: the published numbers are what you are buying rather than the badge. Cheaper packs print the same engine ceilings.
3. If you want the ratings for less
GOOLOO GP2000 Portable Car Battery Jump Starter, 2000A
8.0L gas and 6.0L diesel published, at a price that undercuts every other pack with those numbers by a wide margin. If the diesel figure is what you are shopping for, this is the cheapest honest route to it.
Best for: Diesel on a budget
What the maker publishes
- Peak amps
- 2000A
- Gas engines
- Up to 8.0L, per the maker
- Diesel engines
- Up to 6.0L, per the maker
- Weight
- 1.2 lb
- Size
- 7.4 x 3.9 x 1.5 in
- Protections
- 10, with all-metal clamps
- Operating range
- -4 to 140 F, per the maker
- Jumps per charge
- Not published by the maker
What works
- A 6.0L diesel ceiling at this price is the single best spec-per-dollar figure in this list
- 1.2 lb and barely thicker than a phone, so the cabin-storage rule is easy to follow
- All-metal clamps rather than the plastic-bodied clamps that crack after a couple of winters
What doesn't
- No published jumps-per-charge figure, so you cannot tell how much reserve is left after one start
- The -4 to 140 F figure is an operating window, not a cold-cranking test - it says the pack will work at -4 F, not how much current it still delivers there
- A less established name than NOCO, and an 18 month warranty on a device you may not test for years
Skip this if: you want the longest track record rather than the best numbers. NOCO has been doing this longer.
Questions people actually ask
Is the HULKMAN Alpha85 better than the NOCO GB70?
On published specifications, yes. The Alpha85 publishes a higher gas engine rating (8.5L vs 8.0L), more starts per charge (60 vs 40), a faster recharge (90 minutes vs 6 hours) and a two-year warranty against NOCO's one, at a lower price. The GB70's advantages are brand track record and a simpler device.
Do the HULKMAN Alpha85 and NOCO GB70 have the same power?
Both publish 2000 peak amps, but peak amps has no standardized test behind it on any jump pack, so it is not a comparable figure. The engine ratings differ: 8.5L gas for the Alpha85 and 8.0L for the GB70, with both rated to 6.0L diesel.
Why is the NOCO GB70 more expensive?
You are paying for the longest track record in lithium jump packs, a patented spark-proof and reverse-polarity protection claim, and a simpler device with no LCD screen to fail. You are not paying for better published specifications.
Which jump starter recharges faster?
The Alpha85, by a wide margin. HULKMAN publishes 0 to 80 percent in one hour and full in 90 minutes with its 65W charger. NOCO publishes 6 hours for the GB70.
Will either one start a diesel truck?
Both publish a 6.0L diesel rating, which covers the common light-duty diesel pickups. Neither publishes an operating temperature range, so neither tells you what those figures become on a 10F morning - which is the argument for keeping the pack in the cabin.
Is there a cheaper pack with the same ratings?
Yes. The GOOLOO GP2000 publishes the same 8.0L gas and 6.0L diesel ceilings as the GB70 at a much lower price, in a 1.2 lb body with all-metal clamps. What it does not publish is a starts-per-charge figure or a long brand history.