Dabbsson DBS1000 Pro Portable Power Station $999: This 1024 watt-hour capacity power station has a LiFePO4 battery and a decent mix of ports for charging and powering your gadgets. The US model has four AC outlets, three USB-A ports, three USB-C ports, a car socket, and two DC5521 barrel ports. It can charge to 80% in under an hour when plugged in, but it does make some fan noise. You can also charge it from a solar panel or carport. It connects via Wi-Fi and can be controlled from the app, but the display gives you the information you need and has customizable lights underneath. The 2,000 watts of power is impressive, and it has boost and surge modes that can quickly ramp up to 3,000 and 4,000 watts, respectively. It performed well in my tests and can act as an EPS with a 15 millisecond delay. It’s a solid alternative to the above picks, but it’s not outstanding. The fan can run too often and be annoying. I also had issues with one of the USB ports sometimes refusing to charge my phone. Purchase with DBS2000B Battery Extension ($2,300) Boosts power to 3,072 watt-hours. Comes with a 5-year warranty upon registration.
Blue Tee AC180 $999: We also tested this small power station from Bluetti, and it’s a solid choice if you don’t need as much power as the products above. The AC180 also has a built-in LiFePO4 battery, but with a capacity of 1,152 watt-hours. It has a maximum output of 1,800 watts, but can spike to 2,700 watts for short periods. The US model has four AC outlets, one USB-C (100W) and four USB-A ports (15W each). There is also a wireless charging spot on the top with up to 15 watts. The AC180 can be fully charged from a wall outlet in an hour, and it comes with a solar charging cable and a car charging cable as an alternative. It also works as a UPS with a 20ms switching time. This power station is suitable for small gadgets and appliances such as TVs and small refrigerators. The fan noise reached about 45 decibels at high load, which is not too bad. What I don’t like is the weight (35 pounds is heavy for this capacity), and I wish there were more USB-C ports. Interestingly, Bluetti has partnered with Fragile to offer this power station as a subscription ($40/month) will replace it for free with no upfront cost if there’s anything wrong with it, but it doesn’t cover theft or user-caused damage.
Ugreen PowerRoam 1200W Portable Power Station – $799: This 1,024 watt-hour capacity power station has a built-in LiFePO4 battery and plenty of ports (6 x AC, 2 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 1 x Car, 2 x DC5521). It can output up to 1,200 watts and is quite heavy at 25 pounds, but it has a large handle on top for easy transport. It also has a standard AC input and an XT60 for connecting a solar panel. You can control everything using the buttons and display on the front, and it has a flashing light in case of emergency. The app connects via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth and has some extra options. Unfortunately, the app was unstable and didn’t accept my login information, so I had to create an account and add the power station multiple times. Ugreen sent me the 200 watt version with a solar panel, which was enough to charge the station, but rarely produced more than 130 watts. The PowerRoam 1200W generally performed well, but in one test it ran out of power earlier than expected, so it’s hard to recommend it unconditionally. It comes with a five-year warranty.
Zendure SuperBase Pro 2000 – $1,700: With an impressive 2,096 watt-hours of capacity, numerous outlets (6x AC, 1x car, 3x DC5521, 4x USB-C), and a maximum output of 2,000 watts (3,000 watts surge), this is a great portable power source. It weighs 47 pounds, but it has two wheels, a carrying handle, and a separate telescoping handle. Zendure’s app is sleek, and this power station acts as an uninterruptible power supply, and performed well in my tests, although the fan was on almost all the time. I also have concerns about durability. The SuperBase Pro 2000 has a Li-NMC battery inside, which is probably because it has a higher energy density than LiFePO4 (the similarly sized SuperBase Pro 1500 has a LiFePO4 battery and a capacity of just 1440Wh), but Li-NMC batteries don’t last as long. The warranty is two years, but you can extend it by one year by registering with Zendure.
Jackery Explorer 1000 $999: If you need a power station, the Jackery Explorer 1000 is a good place to start. It strikes a good balance between ease of use, power, and capacity. It may not be enough to run an air conditioner (max output is 1,000 watts), but it should be fine for most other uses. I’ve used it to power everything from a table saw to a small refrigerator and charge all the gadgets I use all the time. It’s well-built, easy to carry (22 pounds), and about the same size as a small cooler. In my capacity testing, it performed slightly better than the advertised 1,002 watt-hours. Charging takes a while, especially if you’re using a solar panel (sold separately). It took about a day and a half. I highly recommend using at least a 200-watt equivalent panel.
