HULKMAN Alpha85 2000A Smart Jump Starter

The Alpha85 is for owners of pickups, larger SUVs and light diesels who want a modern pack rather than a rugged brick. Hulkman rates it for gas engines up to 8.5 L and diesels up to 6.0 L, a touch above the NOCO GB70 on the gas side, and it weighs 2.57 lb, close to the compact NOCO GB40. That combination of truck-class rating and glovebox weight is the reason it earns the truck-and-SUV slot on our list.

It also suits people who are nervous about jump starting. The 3.3 in screen shows the battery percentage as a number, tells you when the clamps are connected correctly and displays an error code when something is wrong. TechGearLab, reviewing the near-identical Alpha85S, made a point of the large display with its "READY" prompt. A person who has never used clamps gets clearer instructions from this screen than from any set of blinking LEDs.

Recharging is the standout. The USB-C input accepts up to 65 W, and Hulkman claims 0 to 80 percent in about an hour and a full charge in about 90 minutes; How-To Geek's review measured a full recharge in roughly 1.5 hours with a 65 W adapter. Hulkman also states that a 5-minute charge from empty is enough for one jump start. The NOCO GB70 needs 6 to 8 hours over USB, so if you discover the pack is flat on the morning you need it, the Alpha85 is far more likely to recover in time; on our list only the GOOLOO GT4000S is quicker, at about 1.2 hours on a 100 W charger.

Starting performance matches the rating in independent use. How-To Geek started a V8 and a Toyota Tacoma without trouble, and AutoGuide's test of the Alpha85S started a 6.5 L diesel twice, beyond its 6.0 L rating. Hulkman claims up to 60 starts per charge from the 74 Wh battery and up to 18 months of charge retention in storage.

The port selection is broad for a pack this size: USB-C PD and USB-A QC3.0 outputs at 18 W each, a 15 V 10 A DC output good for 150 W of 12 V accessories, and a cigarette-lighter adapter in the box. The housing is IP65. Hulkman lists ten protection layers including reverse-polarity, spark-proof, over-current and short-circuit protection, and the smart cable checks the connection before it passes current.

On certification, Hulkman's support center states that all of its products are UL certified to the standard for portable power packs and also carry PSE certification. That is a stronger written statement than NOCO makes, and it is one of the reasons this pack made the list where cheaper 2,000 A packs did not.

The leads are short. How-To Geek measured about 15.5 in of cable, which means the pack has to sit on top of or right beside the battery. On a truck with a battery tucked against the firewall, or a car with the battery under a seat or in the trunk, that is an annoyance and occasionally a real problem. NOCO's packs have the same complaint, but the GB70's leads reach a little farther.

Cold weather is the other limit. The Alpha85's working range starts at -5°F. Hulkman's comparison page shows the Alpha85S and Alpha100 extending to -40°F thanks to a battery pre-heat function that the Alpha85 does not have. Owners in the northern Plains or Alaska should buy the 85S; for the rest of the country the Alpha85 is fine.

The 65 W charger is a question mark. How-To Geek's review unit came with a 65 W adapter, but Hulkman's current specification page lists only a USB-C cable and a 12 V adapter in the box, so you may need a 65 W USB-C PD charger of your own to get the fast recharge. Most laptop chargers will do.

Finally, Hulkman is a younger brand than NOCO. It has a support site, a user manual and published specifications, which is more than most 2,000 A packs on Amazon offer, but it does not have a decade of owner reports behind it.

The NOCO Boost HD GB70 is the traditional choice for the same engines. It is nearly twice the weight, recharges far more slowly and has no screen, but it adds a manual override, a 12 V fast-charge input and NOCO's long record in independent tests. Choose the GB70 for a sealed tool that lives on a boat; choose the Alpha85 for a truck owner who wants to know the charge state at a glance.

The GOOLOO GT4000S is the budget alternative with a similar feature set (a screen, IP65, fast USB-C charging and a 15 V DC port) and higher ratings of 12.0 L gas and 10.0 L diesel, but Gooloo publishes no weight for it and its UL 2743 line appears only in an earlier edition of the manual. The NOCO Boost Plus GB40 is the smaller option for cars up to 6.0 L. Our reasoning on matching the pack to the engine is in the best portable jump starters list.

Buy the Alpha85 if you drive a pickup, SUV or light diesel up to the ratings, want a screen that removes the guesswork, and value a 90-minute recharge. Skip it if your battery is hard to reach with 15 in of cable, or if you need sub-zero performance, in which case the Alpha85S is the better Hulkman.