South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Best portable power stations of 2022
Portable power stations are the smaller, lesser-known cousin of generators. These versatile, lunch-box-size gadgets can travel with you on camping trips, to construction sites — and anywhere else you need electricity — to keep your phone, power tools and other electronics charged and running smoothly.
The majority of the United States could face blackouts this summer, according to a report published recently by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, making products like this useful beyond the campsite or construction project. They can also provide backup power during a power outage when you need to keep your phone on or an essential appliance running.
The best portable power station for your particular needs will depend on many factors, but it will probably come down to the cardinal two: power delivery performance and price. Each of these is more than just an on-the-go phone battery charger or glamping must-have. These power bank performers have wide-ranging uses from building and construction to staying connected with the office or family to having access to emergency lighting and power wherever you roam.
BEST PORTABLE POWER STATION OVERALL: JACKERY EXPLORER 1000
The Jackery Explorer
1000 is by far the most wellrounded portable power station of the bunch. At
22 pounds, this powerful generator is fairly compact, especially compared with the 44-pound Ego Nexus model. Despite this Jackery portable power station’s smaller size, it manages to make space for three threeprong outlets, two USB-C ports, two standard USB-A ports and more to use for your power supply and for charging your devices.
Its display is easy to read, too, and it dominated the performance tests, exceeding its expected battery power run time of 3 hours, 2 minutes (with three work lights connected to it) by an average of 8.5 minutes. For an additional $500, you can tack on a portable solar panel pack and use it as a solar generator for solar power when you’re camping.
Fast facts
Price (Amazon): $1,099
Watt-hours: 1,002
Weight: 22 pounds
BEST MIDRANGE POWER STATION:
PAC505
BLACKFIRE
When you don’t need something quite as powerful as the Jackery Explorer
1000, look to a midrange portable power station with a roughly 500 watthour capacity.
We really liked Klein Tools’ KTB5 for its performance and wide variety of outlets and ports (two three-prong outlets, two USB-C ports and two USB-A ports). That model has since been discontinued. However, Klein Tools owns the brand Blackfire, which makes a model with similar specs: the Blackfire
PAC505.
Fast facts
Price: $500
Watt-hours: 505
Weight: 12.1 pounds
BEST BUDGET POWER STATION:
ROCKPALS 300W
Rockpals replaced its
original 300W portable power station with a new model, also called the Rockpals 300W.
The original Rockpals
300W I tested was my favorite affordable portable power station. It performed well, was lightweight and had multiple ports and outlet options.
The updated Rockpals
300W has similar specs, including the same 280
watt-hour estimate.
But this iteration adds in a USB-C port to provide more charging options. I know $286 isn’t exactly budget, but if it’s anything like the previous-gen model, the new Rockpals 300W is well worth considering.
Fast facts
Price (Amazon): $286 Watt-hours: 280 Weight: 7.7 pounds