Portable jump starters that will get your motor running

If you've ever tried to start your vehicle on a cold morning only to hear the dreaded clicking noise, you know the importance of getting a quick jump. This once meant relying on the kindness of strangers or calling a tow truck, but fortunately now there's also another option available: the portable jump starter. These three chargers are some of the most dependable you'll encounter.

WHAT Antigravity Batteries XP-10 HD Micro-Start

THE COST $199.99

AVAILABLE FROM antigravitybatteries.com

The best portable jump starter battery also has a bit more kick

This is the latest iteration of Antigravity's top-rated XP-10 car jump starter. It has all the same features as its smaller brethren, including the multimode LED flashlight with a strobe and multiple charging options for electronic devices, but the heavy duty car battery jump starter can deliver an extra 50 amps of peak starting jolt. It also comes with all-copper, heavy-duty commercial grade battery jumper cable clamps.

WHAT DeWalt Digital Portable Power Station DXEJ14

THE COST $179.99

AVAILABLE FROM dewalt.com

The DeWalt DXEJ14 has an expansive 21-amp-hour battery, an onboard compressor and a patented feature that can tell you if your vehicle's alternator is operating on all cylinders.

There are also a light and USB ports, but the DeWalt's biggest draw is the power in its initial jump-start jolt. At 700 cranking amps, it's rated among the most powerful portables on the market.

WHAT Schumacher Ultracapacitor Hybrid Jump Starter

THE COST $251.398

AVAILABLE FROM homedepot.com

This one violates the spirit of this list because it's only a jump starter — no LED flashlight, USB charge port or anything else. It made it because it's really cool, as it applies the next wave in electrical storage technology: ultracapacitors.

Once referred to as condensers, capacitors store energy electrostatically in an electric field. Compared to chemical-based batteries, they store relatively little energy, but the advantages are significant. Modern ultracapacitors can absorb energy quickly and dump it in big jolts, as opposed to something more like a trickle with a battery. And they can operate effectively in a broader temperature range than most batteries. That makes them perfect for jumping a weak car battery.

The Schumacher delivers 900 amps of cranking power, which should fire just about anything up to a semi-truck. It has a small, replaceable lithium ion battery to prime the ultracapacitors, but if the onboard battery is drained it will still prep the ultracapacitors in roughly two minutes on a 12-volt charge from a vehicle.