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I’m not someone who really loves to camp or appreciates nature, per se—but I’m willing to tolerate the great outdoors. (In finite amounts. From my teardrop trailer. Complete with TV and AC.)
When I started camping, I picked up a dainty Jackery 240 watt power unit and was absolutely befuddled that first morning when it wouldn’t power on a heater or coffee pot. (The answer, it turns out, was a lack of sufficient watts and volts.) To power anything of consequence, a camper like me needs a power unit of decent size and a way to recharge off grid.
Now that I know better, I’ve been testing portable units in the range of 1,000-3,000 watts, along with their matching solar panels, from brands like Jackery, EcoFlow, Anker, and Goal Zero to see if there’s much difference in quality and value. The Anker SOLIX C800 PLUS Portable Power Station is the one I’ve been testing most recently, and it offers a good value, with 1,200 watt output/768 KwH, for $649.
A hefty, rugged unit with useful hookups
In the desire to get as much power as we can for our buck, we sometimes forget a truly fundamental quality of a portable power unit: it must remain portable. As the capacity of units scales up, so does their heft.
My measly 240-watt unit is light enough that it can be tucked in anywhere and easily carried in one hand. The C800 (and units like it) are like carrying around a loaded cooler. You can do it, but it’s a two-hander and it requires some oomph. The C800 clocks in at a solid 22 pounds, and at 15 inches by 8 inches by 10 inches, it requires a decent amount of space. (It fits well in the foot well of a car, so you can keep it plugged into the car charger.)
In terms of setup, the C800 comes ready to use right out of the box; all you need to do is plug it in, though there are some benefits to pairing it with the Anker app. Power units don’t need to be flashy or beautiful, and I liked that the C800 was a little more nondescript than brighter units like those from Jackery. While the unit is hefty, it’s still very stealable, so I like that it looks subtle. Anker claims the unit can take a hit or two in case you drop it, and I believe them. The build on the C800 felt solid.
A neat feature of the C800 that I didn’t see on the other units I tested was an extendible light. If you’re camping, the light, which extends from the top of the unit, works like a lantern on a pole with three modes: flashlight, flood light, and candlelight. On a recent camping trip, I parked the unit on the picnic table and extended the light. As we all charged our phones, the light illuminated our dinners, which was surprisingly useful and a very welcome addition. It’s is also supposed to work as a tripod and selfie stick, which none of us were compelled to try out, but a multi-use stand isn’t a bad thing to have around, just in case.
Is the C800 enough power for you?
The C800’s 768 watt hours may sound like a lot, but it’s still relatively modest, especially when it’s hooked up to a power-hungry device. For example, you’d only get 45 minutes or so out of your 1,000-watt electric heater. You’ll want to reserve use of the C800 for short blasts of power, or for the charging of low-need devices, like tablets, phones, and small speakers.
Power stations like these also work well as a UPS, or uninterrupted power supply. If your power goes out, even just a blip, the UPS keeps the power going to whatever is plugged in, for as long as the UPS itself has power. If you experience occasional brown outs, this is an exceptional way to keep your modem and router from rebooting. For my first test, I kept the C800 going as a UPS for my modem, router, and various home hubs, then killed the power and sat by the phone, waiting for notifications of rebooting or outages. Everything remained powered. SOLIX says there’s a 20ms delay, but for my devices, it wasn’t noticeable.
Surgepad effectively raises output to 1,600 watts
Anker heavily promoted a technology in their SOLIX units called Surgepad, which claims that the unit can exceed the max watt output (1,200 watts) up to 1,600 watts, based on demand. On higher wattage devices, there’s often an initial surge of power needed, but to remain on, the device might need less. The difference is notable, since 1,600 watts buys you a heater, electric kettle, or hairdryer.
To test this, I tried three devices under 1,200 watts and then three over 1,200 watts. The C800 powered on my lower watt devices without any issue, as expected. A 1,500 watt heater came on and stayed on. My rice cooker (1,800 watts) surprisingly came on without a problem, but a few minutes later, the unit conked out. A third device, a hair dryer, experienced the same thing—it powered on fine, but couldn’t sustain the wattage needed—but items that stayed under that 1,600 watt threshold were fine. Of course, to power these higher wattage devices, the unit will also burn through its energy reserves faster, but I could see it being useful in a pinch.
To charge it back up, I had two 100 watt solar panels, but I only brought out one to test how well they charged individually. On a semi-clear day, the C800 charged in eight hours from a single panel. (It can handle up to 300 watts from solar, which works out to three panels.) This charge time will vary based heavily on placement of the panels and weather conditions. You can, of course, just plug the unit into a wall outlet or your car charger and get to an 80% charge within hours.
All in all, a solid option for low-power devices
Given the expense of these units, I was happy to see a five-year warranty on the product, which Anker claims will give you 3,000 cycles over 10 years. That’s a decent amount of mileage from the initial cost, in my opinion, even if you never use it for more than a UPS in your home. Even with the Surgepad tech, given the number of watt hours, this is still best used for small devices that you can power for a full day, rather than a mini fridge for a short time.
I suspect in the coming years, we’ll see more and more homes with these power units in them for emergency backup and as a way to move electricity where you need it. For those purposes, the C800 feels worth the price.
Other power stations to consider:
