Portable power packs, worth the $400 or just extra weight in the bag?

I spent $420 on a lithium jump starter and portable inverter combo last year for line work out in Phoenix. It saved me twice when a Ground Power Unit was down on a 737, and I powered my test gear for a full shift without touching the hanger outlets. But my buddy bought the same brand, and his unit died after six months, smoked out on the first cold morning in Denver. He says I got lucky, I say it paid for itself in one afternoon. Have any of you had better luck with cheaper models, or is this just a gamble on battery cells either way?

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wright.taylor19d ago

...and honestly, that's the real gamble with these things, the cells themselves. I grabbed a cheaper one, like $150 range, for camping trips and the occasional dead battery in my truck. It's been three years now and it still holds a charge fine, but I also don't push it hard like you do on the line. The expensive one my brother has for his RV died on the second use, so I'm kind of with you that brand and price don't mean squat these days. What I've found is checking the actual cell brand inside, like getting one with known batteries, matters way more than the sticker price. At the end of the day, you're paying for peace of mind, and if it saves you once on a dead 737, that's your money back right there.