The Curator: These power stations from Jackery, Bluetti & more are on sale for Amazon Prime Day – National

If your needs are limited to charging drones, laptops, cameras, and portable speakers, the Explorer 300 is your budget-friendly winner. Tipping the scales at just over seven pounds, this compact battery is made for portability. Think: tent camping, beach days, and road trips. It can recharge from a wall outlet, your vehicle, or compatible solar panels.

This lightweight BLUETTI bundle is a good entry point for campers who want to dip a toe into solar charging without cratering their bank account. The included 60W solar panel makes it easy to top up the battery at campsites and parks, and a whopping nine output ports provide flexibility for phones, lights, portable fans, and smaller kitchen gear. It won’t run power-hungry appliances for long, but it hits a sweet spot for eco-minded outdoor enthusiasts.

EcoFlow’s RIVER 2 Pro is light enough to carry, can recharge from a wall outlet in just 70 minutes, and supports solar charging for off-grid adventures. Its 1600W peak output is satisfyingly robust for the price, meaning it can handle coolers, kettles, and even cooking gear in a pinch. Runtime drops quickly once you start plugging in bigger gear, but you’ll be hard pressed to find more portable power at a leaner size or price. Bonus: It comes with a portable solar panel, too.

This is the portable power station equivalent of a crossover SUV: compact enough for camping trips, but versatile enough for home backup duty during a (short) blackout. Anker’s SOLIX C1000 supports wall, car, and solar charging, hits 80% battery in under an hour, and can power nearly every common appliance short of an air conditioner. RV owners and cottage-goers should definitely put this one on their radar.

With 1800W of output, BLUETTI’s AC180 can handle everything from mini fridges to electric grills. Fast AC plus solar charging make it practical for both camping and emergency preparedness. The app controls are handy, too. It’s not exactly featherweight, but it’ll keep the lights on long after other campers go dark.

Lightweight yet powerful, the Anker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 packs serious backup power into a surprisingly compact design. With a 2,048Wh capacity that’s expandable up to 4kWh, it can keep essentials running for extended periods–powering a dual-door fridge for up to 32 hours on a single unit or up to 64 hours with an expansion battery. When it’s time to recharge, it reaches a full battery in as little as 58 minutes via AC power and can even recharge on the road through your vehicle’s alternator.

RV owners, this is the one you’ve been scrolling for. The Elite 300 includes a dedicated TT-30 RV outlet and enough capacity to keep essentials like portable fridges, water pumps, routers, and TVs humming along comfortably during road trips or outages. Its 3kWh battery supports wall, car, and solar charging. The only downside? At over 23kg, your lower back will definitely know you lifted it.

Once you cross into this tier, portable power stations feel less like camping accessories and more akin to home infrastructure. The HomePower 3600 Plus can run heaters, pumps, and large appliances during extended outages, with expandable capacity that pushes into whole-home backup territory. It supports wall, solar, and generator charging, rolls around on wheels like luggage, and delivers the kind of peace of mind that becomes very attractive come thunderstorm season.