The Best Booster Cables for Winter Driving

There’s a bit of twisted humour in the timing of when things fail.

The furnace always calls it quits on the coldest day of the year. Air conditioning bites the dust just as the heat of the summer reaches its peak. In the same way, car batteries seem to fail in the coldest months of the year. Perhaps a smaller passenger has left an interior light on, and the battery has been drained. In both cases, starting a cold engine is a tough task. When a dead battery inevitably happens, you need a boost.

Predicting when you’ll need a boost is impossible, so it’s better to be prepared with booster cables on board. But what are some of the best things to look for when picking your booster cable? There are a lot of great options available, and most will do the trick. User ratings online can provide some indication of how good they are, and Amazon still has the best collection of user ratings online.

Consider how your booster cables will be stored. These long cables can be cumbersome if not stored well, or damage to the rubber insulation could occur. Look for cables that come with their own carrying case. This is a really easy way to keep them tucked away. Winter temperatures can make cheap rubber insulation brittle, causing booster cables to be stiff and difficult to use. More expensive cables use special compounds that endure cold weather. All weather resistance is a must, though widely available.

A good value level example is the Capri Tools CP21081 Booster Cable. This booster kit includes a carrying bag and good UL rating for all-weather performance. There are other considerations, too, like the length. At 16 feet, this is an ideal length for parking lot boosting. Cold weather boosting requires a lot of crank power. In automobiles, this is generated using a lot of current, measured as amps.

In order to accommodate this increase in electrical flow, booster cables should have bigger cables. AWG, American Wire Gauge, is a standard that helps identify how big a cable is. The smaller the number, the bigger the cable. The Cartman Booster 16-foot booster cables offer four AWG wires. These wires are ideal for high cranking vehicles and designed to endure extreme winter conditions. Larger wires also stand up to wear and tear.

Large vehicles, like full-size SUVs and trucks, produce a lot more current than smaller vehicles. Additional length is required to reach boost points. At 25 feet, the ABN Jumper Cable features low-temperature performance, and impressive 600 amp capacity through two AWG wires.

With the right booster cables, even a dead battery won’t keep you off the road for long.

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Main image by Dmitry Kalinovsky / Shutterstock.com