Camping is great... well, until your phone and speaker die, the ice in your cooler melts, and your air mattress deflates. Suddenly, you're stuck with a warm beer, no music, and an angry wife. Whether you’re heading out for a quick picnic or living the RV life, off-grid power matters.
But how much power do you actually need?
In this guide, we’re breaking down the best portable power stations for camping. To make it as beginner-friendly as possible, we organized everything by camping style. The aim here is to help you spend your money wisely and avoid unwelcome surprises when you’re out there trying to enjoy the great outdoors.
Let’s jump in.
If you just need enough juice to outlast your sunscreen, you’re going to want to look for a compact power station with a battery in the 300–500Wh range. We also highly recommend something that you can charge quickly, as day trips tend to be last-minute things.
Basically, the priority here is portability, being able to fast-charge the unit, and have something that can store enough juice to last you between 6 and 12 hours. Key features you’ll also want are USB-C and USB-A ports, a couple of 120V AC plugs, a lightweight build, and a solar input if you want to be able to stay out longer than a day.
This little guy is compact, lightweight, and comes equipped with fast-charging ports (even for drones). It also has a nice solar input, solid variety of USB ports (including a fast-charge USB-C port), and 120V outlets. Plus, it charges quickly and it’s ridiculously quiet.
The Anker C300 charges incredibly fast, so you can quickly power it up before hitting the road. It’s also super lightweight, great for charging small devices, and it is very budget-friendly. It's way better than any of the junk you'll find on Amazon from unknown brands.
The EcoFlow River 3 is another fast-charging tiny power station that can fully recharge in about an hour. Oh, it’s also absurdly cheap, especially given EcoFlow is generally considered to be more of a “high-end” power station brand.
These Power Stations are Perfect For:
If you’re staying out overnight, your power requirements are going to climb. A good rule of thumb is to aim for around 1,000Wh of battery capacity. That’s enough to run a portable fridge, LED lights, fans, air mattress pump, and charge devices for the whole weekend.
Having the option to charge the unit with solar panels also starts to become more important here. Look for something that supports foldable solar panels and also has a 12V car socket, especially if you’re powering camping-specific DC appliances. Some brands have started to remove the DC ports from their units, so make sure you double-check if you’re hoping to power DC appliances while you camp.
You’ll also want a nice variety of output ports, including a few USBs and 120V outlets.
Our favorite in this class. It even has a built-in telescopic light pole with multiple modes for flashlight or ambient lighting, as well as different brightness levels. The lights charge and store right in the lid, making it really practical for those wanting some light in their tent or around their campsite.
You also get a really nice mix of AC, DC, USB-A, and USB-C ports. It’s just an all-around amazing little power station and it’s available at a beginner-friendly price point.
As is pretty much always the case with Pecron, you get great value and a very fair price with the Pecron E1000. It’s somewhat bare-bones, but it has a really solid level of build quality, a nice battery capacity, and enough ports to charge pretty much everything you’d bring with you on a weekend getaway.
The Power 1000 is the Power 500’s bigger brother, and it's another strong choice when it comes to a fast-charging unit. The port variety here is great, and we really love the layout, which is perfect for tents and keeping in the trunk of a car. DJI’s app is also really user-friendly and it makes it even easier to monitor and control your power supply while you’re kicking back and enjoying yourself.
Thanks to its really efficient inverter, the Power 1000 also charges devices quickly. On top of that, it's genuinely the quietest power station we’ve ever tested. DJI might be more well-known for their drones, but they crushed it with the Power 500 and Power 1000.
With the DELTA 3 Plus, you get reliable performance and the ability to upgrade it with modular expansion batteries. You can bump the storage capacity all the way up to 2kWh if you want, so it can even double as a useful power station for basic home backup.
The fast-charging AC and solar inputs are also really impressive for a power station with this inverter output and capacity. As usual, EcoFlow nailed it with this unit.
It’s a lot lighter than most in this category, but works great for simple plug-and-play power. It also retains that 12V outlet we like to see on units for camping. Overall, a classic pick with nice portability and a solid handle. We really think that this V2 release offers an improved design over its predecessor, which was already a pretty decent unit.
These Power Stations are Perfect For:
For overlanders, more regular campers, and “glampers” looking to power more devices than your typical tent camper, you’ll need something bigger than a day-trip unit, but still portable enough to throw in the back of your car, van, or SUV.
These should be able to handle a 12V fridge, fans, camera gear, LED lights, and laptop charging, all for multiple days without needing to be recharged.
From our perspective, a few must-haves are a 12V car socket, a high wattage inverter (at least 1,500W), and the ability to fast-charge with an AC, solar, and even DC input. XT60 and barrel connectors are also pretty handy.
Expandability is also nice, as a lot of the power stations in this category can also great for basic home backup. Why not pick up something you can easily upgrade so you can also use at home the next time you lose power for a day or two?
We’ve already mentioned that Pecron is a very budget-friendly brand, and that couldn’t be more apparent than with these two units. Not only are they affordable, they actually deliver, even if they lack some of the frills you get with brands like EcoFlow and Anker.
Both the Pecron E1500 and E2400 are flexible units that are perfect for these types of camping trips. Plus, they have a rugged and reliable build that is great for tossing in the trunk when you just want to hit the road.
The Jackery 1000 Plus is Robbie’s personal go-to for camping and overlanding trips, as it powers everything he needs for a full weekend. It’s also pretty compact and doesn’t take up much room in the back of his Jeep.
The option to expand the battery capacity is also great for those who want something they’ll be able to upgrade in the future.
It has a larger capacity with a 30-amp plug, suitcase handle, wheels, and lights (which many units oddly lack these days). Lights might seem like a small detail, but having one built into your power station makes it much easier to use in the dark.
It's just another all-around solid unit that we recommend on a regular basis.
These Power Stations are Perfect For:
If you’re pulling a trailer or driving an RV, you'll need serious power, so something with a 3,600W inverter or larger is going to fit the bill. You’ll more than likely also want to choose something that comes equipped with a true 30-amp plug.
As for storage capacity, you’ll want something with a 3,600Wh battery, as you’re likely going to want to power more demanding appliances for at least a full day. Basically, you want something capable of powering heaters, a microwave, fans, coffee maker, and pretty much everything else you’d have in a home-on-wheels.
Look for units that offer:
The DELTA Pro 3 offers a true 240V output right from the generator port, so you get massive power in a portable package. It’s also one of the nicest looking power stations out there right now, so for those looking for something that’s not going to look out of place in their RV, it’s a great option.
Both units are great for these types of applications, but the F3800 Plus improves on the original with a better solar input and adds a functional 30-amp plug. Both units have a really nice user-interface, with the app also working well for the original and the Plus version.
Both have a space-saving upright design, and they’re easily expandable. If you're looking for something that will be great in the RV, as well as extremely handy the next time you lose power at home, you really can't go wrong with either of these big boys from Anker.
The Pecron E3600 offers ridiculous value! It’s not perfect, but it’s solid in pretty much every department, and it’s way cheaper than comparable units. You can also add a second unit if you need 240V outputs.
The OUPES Mega 5 is a very budget-friendly option for those who only need 120V outputs. For the price, it’s a solid option for smaller camper vans and RVs. OUPES might not exactly be from a household name, but we’ve been decently impressed with most of the units in the Mega Series.
No matter what type of camping you’re planning to do, or what your budget or power needs are, there are a few key features we always recommend looking for in a camping power station:
Avoid buying overpriced solar panels directly from name brands like Anker or EcoFlow. Instead, check out third-party options from sites like ShopSolar.com, where you can bundle quality panels at much lower prices.
For example, Anker’s 400W folding solar panels run around $800, but equivalent performance can often be found for around $200 if you just buy "off-brand" panels.
Whether you're charging phones and a speaker at a family picnic or running a microwave in your RV, there's a power station out there that was designed for exactly how you like to camp and enjoy the outdoors.
All the units we mentioned above have been personally tested or researched by us, and we’ll continue updating our recommendations as new models come out.
If you’re interested in any of the units we mentioned, check the links below. We shopped around and these stores are where we were able to find the best prices on these particular units.
Anker C300X: www.shopsolarkits.com
EcoFlow River 3: www.shopsolarkits.com
DJI Power 500: www.store.dji.com
Anker C800X: www.shopsolarkits.com
Pecron E100LFP: www.pecron.com
EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus: www.shopsolarkits.com
Jackery 1000 V2: www.jackery.com
Pecron E1500LFP: www.pecron.com
Jackery 1000 Plus: www.jackery.com
Anker F2600: www.shopsolarkits.com
Pecron E3600LFP: www.pecron.com
EcoFlow Delta Pro 3: www.shopsolarkits.com
Anker F3800 Plus: www.shopsolarkits.com
OUPES Mega 5: www.oupes.com
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