REVIEW – Most people know what to look for in a portable power station. The technology is starting to level off between manufacturers. Things like using LiFePO4 batteries, super fast recharging, USB-C ports, and apps for your phone are all becoming more normal and expected. To separate itself, Anker has developed the SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station that is tailor-made for campers and outdoors people. Read on to find out what features make this power station unique.
What is it?
The Anker SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station is a 768Wh battery/charger that uses LiFePO4 battery technology. The ‘Plus’ moniker indicates that this power station has the 3-mode camping lights in the normal C800 storage compartment.
What’s included?
- Anker SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station
- AC charging cable
- Car (DC) charging cable
- Solar (XT) charging cable
- User manual
Tech specs
Click to expand
- 768Wh
- 1200W output
- 1600W Surge
- LiFePO4 battery with 3,000 cycles
- 10 ports
- 300W max solar input
- HyperFast recharging to 100% in 58min
- Size: 14.61in X 8.07in X 9.84in
- Weight: 24 lbs
Design and features
I already own a couple of other portable power stations, a huge 2000Wh, and a couple of small 300Wh units. I have the giant, heavy one for power outages or extended camping outings. The little ones I use to power small items when I’m away from the house for a couple of hours. I was interested in the “Mom bear” size of the Anker SOLIX C800 Plus power station. I have a portable refrigerator/freezer combo that we use in my truck. The smaller power stations do a pretty good job of keeping it working during the day, but I would always need to recharge them at night. I connected the Anker and in 8 hours, my frig/freezer used 10% of the power. I can see this powering my frig/freezer for a couple of days!
My other power stations do not have a companion phone app. At first, I wasn’t sure how useful this would be. But after the first trip, I saw how this feature would come in handy. Usually, I have the frig/freezer in the bed of my truck along with the power station. While stopping for gas to get out of the truck to stretch, I would need to drop the tailgate and make sure the plug hadn’t fallen out and what the remaining battery life was. Now I can do that from the comfort of the front seat, anytime!
The standout feature of the Anker SOLIX C800 Plus power station would be the included camping lights. These are more than ‘portable flashlights’. Two lights and the accompanying adjustable pole are in the compartment on the top of the unit. Looking closely, you’ll notice that the lights have pogo-pin connectors that line up with the pins in the unit to recharge when stored – very smart! Each light has three modes; candle, floodlight, and flashlight. Each mode can be increased/decreased by holding the power button. Each light has a magnetic ring and a flip-out hook to make mounting to many different surfaces possible. The magnetic ring attaches to the magnetic ball on the extension pole, making pointing the light infinitely easy in any direction. The pole itself screws into the power unit. I can see using the lights while tailgating or camping in the dark along with an induction cooktop or doing some late-night editing on the computer from the day’s photoshoot. And if you need more light, the power unit has its light strip!
Assembly, Installation, Setup
There was no assembly required. The Anker SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station came double boxed and about 80% charged. I used the included AC wall charger to bring it up to 100% and installed the app on my iPhone.
Performance
The Anker SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station has two USB-C ports (One supplying 100W and the other 30W). There are five 110 outlets and a single car charger. As I mentioned above, using my portable frig/freezer for about 8 hours only used 10% power. For reference, my truck frig/freezer is the Setpower PT35L Dual Zone. For my test with the Anker, I had the frig/freezer using the ECO cooling mode. Since the frig/freezer doesn’t run constantly, and I was using the more efficient DC input (the cigarette lighter plug), I was able to maximize the power usage of the power station.
What I like about the Anker SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station
- LiFePO4 batteries, the lifecycle and safety of this battery technology is the best out there right now
- The camping lights, including 2 and having them with a magnetic base and a hanging hook – great!
- App, easy to monitor and make changes to the unit without having to be at the unit, great for when it’s stored inconveniently
What needs to be improved?
- I would love to have the ability to daisy-chain another battery to increase the capacity
- The UPS functionality is called out in the literature, but with a 20ms switchover time, I think there will be a drop (I read that for computer equipment, the switchover time should be no more than 5ms)
Final thoughts
I think the Anker SOLIX C800 Plus portable power station will be a great addition to my shorter adventures! I should have more than enough power to keep all my stuff charged up and ready for use for a weekend easily. I like that it’s not so heavy and is considerably more portable than my giant 2000Wh unit, but offers more capacity and runtime than my smaller power stations. Anker says this unit would keep a heated blanket on for almost 12 hours!
If you’re looking for a portable power station, especially for camping, I think this is one of the better options out there with all the built-in and included features.
Price: $649.99
Where to buy: Anker Store and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Anker. Anker did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
