Lokithor JA301 – Jump Starter with Air Compressor

Since we started Apple Tech Talk, we have tried to stay true to our goal of only focusing on products, services and technologies that relate to Apple. So, when we were offered an opportunity to review the Lokithor JA301, we had to think about whether it fit in with our goal.

While not in the main stream of the types of products we have reviewed in the past, we’re glad we decided to look at the Lokithor JA301, and think it’s a product, any Apple fan would love to have.

Disclosure: Apple Tech Talk participates in various affiliate marketing programs and may receive compensation if you purchase a product through one of our links, and/or in the form of product donations from the companies whose products we review . Unless otherwise specifically stated, Apple Tech Talk does not receive any other compensation for its reviews. The opinions expressed are based solely on our independent testing, are our own and are not shared with anyone prior to release on our site.

Apple Tech Talk Scorecard

ProsCons
Compact size for easy storageIncluded USB cable is short
Excellent build quality 
Large internal battery provides plenty of power 

Who is Lokithor?

Lokithor is a relatively new company. Here is some of what they have to say about themselves on their web site.

“Established in 2020 out of a dedication to improve sustainable mobility, Lokithor designs, manufactures and sells jump starters and related products. We offer a full range of innovated products and solutions that make mobility not only more convenient but also more efficient and more environmentally friendly.

We aim to provide easy and trouble-free solutions for automotive emergencies, as well as strive to delivery inventive products and improve the driving experience.

It is additionally our mission to improve the daily life of all car owners. In order to achieve this, we listen to our customers’ feedback and needs.  We consider it especially vital to understand our customers’ issues for current, existing products so that we improve our product development.”

After looking further on their web site, we were surprised to find out the Lokithor is a subsidiary of Grepow Ltd. Shenzhen Grepow Battery Co., Ltd. (Grepow Ltd.) was established in 1998, and is a world-leading battery manufacturer of lithium polymer batteries with stacking technology, and also Ni-MH battery and Shaped batteries. Grepow also has some international brands like Gens ace and TATTU, and they all have become well-known brands worldwide.

If any of that sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because we have previously reviewed several Tattu products in the past. You can find those reviews here.

Lokithor JA301 – Unboxing

The Lokithor JA301 was very different from what we expected.

We have seen portable jump starters in the past. Most of them contained conventional lead-acid batteries which makes them oversized units that were heavy and clumsy to handle. They had jumper cables were permanently attached to the unit, and clipped onto the sides, leaving them constantly exposed.

The Lokithor takes a different approach.

Lokithor JA301 - Unboxing

In the box was the Lokithor JA301 Jump Starter and Air Compressor main unit, detachable jumper cables, a USB-A to USB-C cord for charging the unit, an air inflation hose, a bag of assorted tip for inflating various other objects, a User Guide, a specifications pamphlet, a storage bag for all of the cables, hoses and accessories, and a storage bag, big enough to hold the main unit and the accessory bag.

It seems like Lokithor has thought of everything and we appreciate that they included a storage bag, not only for the accessories, but also for the main unit. Once everything is packed, it makes a compact, easy to carry unit.

Lokithor JA301 – Specifications

The Lokithor JA301 measures approximately 9.9” long, 5.5” wide and 2.5” high. The handle on top of the unit adds an additional 1.5” bringing the overall high to about 4”.  The unit weighs 5.5 pounds.

The included inflator hose measures just under 2 feet long. We initially thought that would be too short to be useful but in our testing, we found it to be adequate and the shorter length makes for easier storage.

The battery jumper cables measure 12” from the tip of the connector to the main unit, to the top edge of the battery clamp. The clamp itself adds another 5” from the back edge to the tip.

Here again, our first impression was that this was too short. However, since this is not being connected between two vehicles, these shorter cables actually work well, especially if you are working alone, and need to rest the main unit on the edge of your engine compartment.

On the other hand, the included USB cable measures only about 21”. For the purposes of connecting the main unit to a power supply to charge it, or to connect a device to the main unit to charge the device, we feel this is a little short and would have preferred a longer one.

Lokithor JA3012 - Left Side View

On the left edge of the unit is a 300 lumen LED light with three (3) modes, solid beam, rapid flashing and flashing in an S-O-S pattern.

Lokithor JA301 - Inflator Port

On the right edge is the port to connect the inflator hose. The metal fitting on the hose screws onto the metal port for a solid and dependable connection. We are happy to see that they did not use a cheaper plastic material for any of the connections. This goes to the obvious build quality of the unit.

Lokithor JA301 - Jump Starter Ports

On the left side of the front  of the unit is a dual connector to attach the jumper cables. Here again, the connectors are metal. This is a push-in style connector and as you can see in the photo above, the port and the corresponding plug on the cables is keyed, to prevent you from plugging in the cable backwards. In addition, there appears to be a “-“ sign below the port, which we believe is there to indicate the negative side of the connection. Like most jumper cables, these are color coded as red for positive and black for negative.

Lokithor JA301 - USB Ports

Finally, on the right front of the unit are two (2) USB ports. The USB-C is used to charge the unit and the USB-A is used to charge your devices like an iPhone or iPad. Both ports are rated at 5V/3A or 9V/2A. Both ports also support Quick Charge 3.0.

All of the ports are covered by a rubber plug that will protect the connectors in the event you need to use the Lokithor JA301 in harsh weather conditions.

Lokithor JA301 - Front View

The center of the front is occupied by the main control area. This is where you can see the charge level of the internal battery, change the tire inflation range to PSI or BAR , adjust the level you want to inflate a tire or other object to, power on the unit, start the inflation pump and more.

JA301 Control Panel

Overall we like the clean display and found the controls to be easy to understand, as illustrated in the chart above.

The internal battery is rated at 74Wh, and has a service life of greater than 1000 cycles.

Lokithor JA301 – Test Results

The specifications state that recharging time takes from 4 – 7.5 hours. When we unpacked the Lokithor JA301, the battery indicator was at two bars which we assumed was about 50%. Using a standard iPhone power brick we charged the unit to full power in about 3 hours, so it seems the stated estimate is fairly accurate.

Tire Inflation

The tire inflator has a pressure range of 10 – 150 PSI. After connecting the inflator hose to the unit and to our tire, the unit displayed the approximate existing pressure in the tire. Using the + and – button, we selected our desired ending pressure and pressed the “PUMP” button. Our goal was to raise the pressure in each of our four tires by about 5 – 6 pounds. It took only a couple of minutes for each tire to reach the desired pressure at which time the pump automatically shut off. This was a nice surprise as we are used to fighting with the air pump at our local gas station and switch to a hand-held gauge until we get to the desired pressure. The usual back and forth of too much pressure and then too little pressure is eliminated using the Lokithor JA301.

The specifications indicate that the inflator is accurate to +/- 2 PSI. After filling the tires we checked each one with a digital tire gauge and found that to be an accurate claim. While each tire was slightly above the desired setting, they were all within the 2 pound limit. After driving the vehicle to allow the TPMS to recalibrate, we got very similar readings. The next time we have to fill the tires, we will probably set the target PSI one pound below our desired limit and expect we will be right on target.

Overall, we were impressed with the ease of use and accuracy of the inflator function. We have used many tire pressure gauges and have rarely found them to be truly accurate. Certainly no more accurate than the JA301’s gauge. The ability to see the existing pressure and the automatic shut-off when the desired pressure is reached is enough of a reason to use the JA301.

Device Charging

As we said earlier, the USB cord supplied with the Lokithor JA301 is on the shorter side. Regardless, we needed to supply our own lightning cable to charge our iPhone.

There isn’t much to say about the USB charging function. We connected out Lightning cable to the USB-A port and to our iPhone, pressed the power button on the JA301 and the charging started. We have charged a couple of phone, a couple of times each and have hardly made a dent in the capacity indicator of the JA301.

If you intend to be away from an electrical outlet for an extended period of time, the Lokithor JA301 should provide you more than adequate recharging capabilities.

Vehicle Jump Starter

Unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to test the jump starting function. However, a deep dive into the specifications and functionality shows that the Lokithor JA301 means business.

The unit is rated at 1000A Starting Current with 2000A Peak Current. The unit is capable of starting a 12V engine, up to 8-Liter gasoline and 6-Liter diesel. It can complete about 40 starts on a single charge.

The Lokithor JA301 has two forms of starting a disabled vehicle. Using the Normal Start procedure, you connect the cables to the positive and negative terminals on your battery, power on the JA301 and start the vehicle.

The other method is called the “Forced Start” method. This is used when the Normal Start method has failed because the battery voltage is too low to start the vehicle. The included manual does a good job of explaining how to use the two methods and we’ll leave it to you to review the manual for all the details. You can find a link to the User Guide on the Lokithor JA301 product page, here.

The JA301also has the ability to act as a voltmeter to provide an indication of the battery’s current voltage level. That is also explained in the manual.

The Bottom Line

We have seen people use portable jump starters in the past. While we liked the idea of it, we were turned off by the bulky size of them and also questioned the need since we rarely need to jump our cars.

By the same token, we have had several situations where someone else needed to jump their battery and we had no way to help them. In addition, you never know why a car battery has died and we have heard some scary stories of people trying to jump start a car with regular jumper cables, only to cause damage to their own vehicle’s electrical system.

We think the Lokithor JA301 has an answer for all of those concerns.

The fact that it is both a jump starter and an inflator makes it a very useful piece of equipment. Regardless of the age or condition of your vehicle, tire pressure is something that always needs to be adjusted. Having a portable inflator that not only tells you the current pressure of your tires, but automatically shuts-off when it reaches the desired pressure is reason enough along to have this in your car at all times.

The design of the Lokithor JA301 is sleek and easy to use, and will take up little room in your trunk. The integrated handle makes it easy to carry and the included storage bags for both the main unit and all of the accessories makes it easy to have everything at hand, when you need it most.

The Lokithor JA301 comes with a 2-year warranty, and is available from Amazon.

You can find other models and more information at the Lokithor web site, here.

We would like to thank the folks at Lokithor for providing the JA301 for our testing and review. Do you use a portable jump starter or air inflator? Do you think it’s important to have one in your vehicle? Why not join the conversation and leave a comment below.

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