In the last few years, portable power stations and solar generators have exploded in popularity.
With Jackery being perhaps the most recognisable amongst the bunch of companies on offer.
These stations have a lot of practical uses, right through from camping to even powering a home during power outages.
But for us, we were most excited to see whether Jackery is a viable long term solution to providing power within a van conversion.
Below, I want to review Jackery products right through from their smallest Explorer 160, right up to their beasty Explorer 1500.
And ultimately decide whether Jackery is worth buying!
Let’s get stuck in …
Full Disclosure: We received courtesy product and compensation from Jackery in exchange for our honest review only. All opinions expressed here are our own.
Jackery is one of the best known brands for producing high quality, portable power stations.
We first came across them in 2020 when a number of fellow van lifers started talking more and more about these so-called "portable power stations" and "solar generators".
At the time I knew extremely little about electronics, and was already fully committed to the intricacies of converting our own campervan.
Only afterwards when I started paying a bit more attention did I realize that these Jackery units could be truly viable long term options for many vanlifers.
Compared to the expense and technicalities of building a fully off grid electrical system in a van, a Jackery unit has the ability to provide you with all the off-grid recharging capabilities you need.
And with the ability to recharge units both through solar power, as well as even just plugged into the cigarette outlet while driving, we were interested to see how well they stacked up.
So below I’m going to talk more in-depth about:
My aim is to be as in-depth as possible, while also making it easy to understand for those who just want quick and easy answers.
First up, here’s a look at each of the 6 main units Jackery offers …
*The exact range of products, as well as number of ports, does vary depending on the country. There is an in-depth product table, as well as links of where to buy, for every country at the end of this post.
It can get a little more confusing trying to understand the Jackery range when you realize they sell a big range of power stations, as well as a range of solar generators.
Like me, you may at first think … Well, what is the difference between a portable power station and a solar generator?
Are the solar generators more powerful?
Do I need a solar generator or a power station?
Let me quickly clear this up.
A solar generator is simply a portable power station, coupled with one or more of Jackery’s solar panels.
There is no difference at all between the actual units, it is effectively a bundle of Jackery products that makes a solar generator.
They currently offer 6 solar generator bundles:
So, which one should you go for?
Simply put … it depends entirely upon whether or not you need to charge your power station while out and about each day.
For example, if you want a unit that you can take out with you each day to work in order to act as a DIY power tool charging station, and then plan to take it home each night to charge, then no. In this case, just the unit itself will suffice, so long as you buy one big enough to hold the necessary charge you need for each day.
On the flip side, if you are going away camping for a week or two, and will have no other way to recharge your unit while away, then yes a solar generator could be a good bet.
You then simply plug the solar panel into the unit and, so long as there is sunlight, the panel will recharge your Jackery unit whilst camping.
On that note …
I have to be honest here …
I was actually more blown away by Jackery’s solar panels than I was the unit itself!
And I think that’s simply because I really hadn’t thought much about the panel before it arrived. I kind of saw it as a side product to the main unit that was kind of quirky to have, but maybe wasn’t all that practical.
In reality, I think it’s such an awesome bit of kit!
We have big bulky solar panels on our van that are permanently fixed down to the roof of our van, and they are great.
But from what I had heard about these portable / flexible panels, they weren’t really up to much or really worth buying.
Well, the first thing you notice about the Jackery panels is how surprisingly compact they are. They are extremely well made, and fold down in a really satisfying way.
They are also really light, with the 100W version (that we reviewed) weighing less than 5kg.
Setting them up is crazy simple. There are 2 stands on the back that are held back by velcro, so all you do is unfold the unit, and then stand it on those facing ideally towards the sun. There is a cable attached to the back that you then plug into the Jackey unit.
And that’s it!
There is a thing called an MPPT that is necessary for converting solar charge into usable battery storage, and in our van this is a bulky little box that has to be hard wired in.
With the Jackery MPPT, it’s built into the power station itself, so you don’t have to worry about my settings or anything like that.
Plus, the Solarpeak™ technology MPPT is custom designed and tweaked by Jackery themselves, which means it is as efficient as possible at charging the unit.
But honestly, what I was even more surprised about is that you can actually plug your smaller devices (like mobile phones) directly into the back of the unit.
How cool is that!?
Meaning, if you’re going somewhere warm for a few days, and only have your phones to power, then you could actually get away with JUST having one of these solar panels!
Leave it standing outside your tent, and then plug your phones in the back and you're sorted.
They can withstand light rain (not heavy rain), so if the weather turns then you have chance to get them in.
In terms of how fast they charge the unit, it does depend on a number of variables, most namely:
If you purchase the 1500W solar generator, then they actually send you 4 panels. Which naturally will mean having more kit to set up, but does mean you can charge your unit from 0-80% in as little as 4 hours, which is impressive!
For most people, if you just have a Jackery 500 unit and 1 x 100W panel (the setup we had) that will be sufficient to keep the unit nicely topped up throughout the day even if you’re charging multiple devices at a time.
Again, it does depend entirely upon how much power you are drawing, and how much sun there is.
Bottom line: Jackery’s solar panels are compact, lightweight, really simple to use, and implement perfectly with the main unit. They provide a useful way to help keep your unit topped up and are well worth the money, even in comparison to hard wired solar panels you can buy.
If you buy a Jackery Solar Generator kit, then they typically send you 1 or more of the 100W variety as a part of your kit (see the table above for exact details).
If you do choose to purchase these separately, then Jackery currently offer 3 different size of solar panel:
In this section, I will talk specifically about the 6 variants of Jackery unit and who each one might be better suited to.
I also want to review individual features of the Jackery units.
These are key criteria by which you would compare portable power stations to see how well they stack up.
Understanding each one and how well Jackery performs will help you decide whether they are the right brand for you, and if so, what size to go for.
So, first up …
Watts (W) are a unit of power. With power being the rate at which a device either produces or consumes energy.
In layman's terms, the higher the Watt measurement on the Jackery device, the more powerful a device you can run off it.
For example, the biggest Jackery unit is their 1500W range. This enables you to run devices that operate at a power level up to 1800 watts.
This includes things like coffee made and microwaves. Each of which typically range from 800 to 1200 watts.
For a full look at Watt levels of each Jackery unit, you can check the list below.
In comparison, Watt Hours (Wh) are a unit of energy. It gives a measure of the total amount of work either generated or performed.
In layman's terms, the higher the Wh measurement on your Jackery, the more energy you have at your disposal.
For example, running a 500W blender for 3 hours straight will consume 1500Wh of energy. I mean, you’d have to REALLY be addicted to smoothies to use that much energy, but you get my point.
The number of each Jackery unit is how many Watt Hours each unit has (at least roughly).
Here’s the long and short of it. Jackery offers 6 sizes of power station.
So, the larger the unit you go for, the more powerful the appliance you can run, and the bigger the amount of total energy you can use for a fully charged unit.
In the next section, I’ll offer up a few different use cases for each size, in order to help you pick which one is best for you.
Now that we understand the different capacities on offer, it begs the question …
How well does Jackery stack up compared to other portable power stations?
Honestly, pretty well!
All producers of these units are limited by current technological capabilities and, simply put, if you want more power, you have to build a larger and heavier unit.
So I would say the most important thing to look at here is not simply whether Jackery’s units are more powerful than its competitors but whether or not the power-to-size ratio stacks up.
And in this case they do.
All of their units are designed to be handheld and portable without the need to fit wheels to the bottom.
Sure, they could probably go ahead and produce a 3000Wh unit, or even a 10,000Wh unit like some other brands do.
But if they did, they would be much larger and simply not fit for the type of audience that Jackery goes after.
We gave the Explorer 500 watt generator a good test and found that it was pretty much perfect for everything we need.
Including charging our travel laptops, phones and also Cazzy’s Nintendo Switch.
In reality, if we really wanted to do absolutely everything our existing in-built camper electrical system allows, we would need to use the Explorer 1000.
This is because Cazzy’s coffee machine is 1000W, so the 500 wouldn’t offer enough power to run.
What does set Jackery apart from 90% of its competitors is the huge range of stations it offers.
You really can look at your exact needs and buy a unit that simply does what you need it to. For example, if you are going camping for a couple days and all you need to do is charge mobile devices, you will be fine with the Explorer 160.
But if you are going off-grid for longer periods, and have to power high Wattage devices, then a 500, 1000 or even 1500 would be better.
That large variety of sizes, particularly amongst the lower end of the spectrum, does help make Jackery a more suitable brand for the masses.
Inverters are what allows the Jackery units to supply the larger AC voltage supply necessary to power consumer electronics.
Depending on which country you are from, your household power will be anywhere from 100 to 250V.
In the UK it’s 240V, whereas the actual lithium ion batteries inside of the Jackery are a much lower DC voltage. So an inverter is needed in order to step up the voltage and properly power your devices.
Inverters come in different sizes, and the more powerful the inverter, the higher wattage it gives out.
Above, I have already ran through the different watt sizes of the various Explorer units, so really all you need to know here is that the Jackery inverters are as good as they can be.
They are “pure sine waves”. It’s not necessary to go into any of the technicalities behind pure sine wave vs modified sine wave. All you need to know here is that pure sine wave is the better of the two.
If you read the technical specification for each Jackery unit you will see it mentions a “surge power” rating.
This refers to a peak surge that the inverter can run for, but usually can only do so for a very short period.
Bottom line: Work out what the most powerful device is that you will need to run from your Jackery, and then buy a unit that offers that as standard, NOT based on it’s surge rating.
If you take a closer look at each Jackery Explorer, you will see that they all have different outlets.
Again, the simple principle is that the bigger the unit you go for, the more outlets it will have. I have given a more detailed list of outlets on the full roundup table above.
They all have at least one AC outlet for plugging in bigger devices (with the Explorer 160 it’s on the side, not the front).
For the size of each unit, the variety of outlets is actually surprisingly good.
They could theoretically pack each one with 10 different outlets, but with a small capacity it’s completely pointless as the unit wouldn’t have enough energy to power all 10 at once!
But as you get up to the Explorer 1500 you find yourself with 3 AC outlets, a DC outlet, and 3 different USB ports.
Meaning you can charge/power up to 7 devices at a time!
Pretty impressive compared to other top brands like GoalYeti, who’s comparable 1500W unit only has 2 AC outlets.
Honestly though, the bottom line here is that each unit has plenty of outlets for what you should realistically need to use.
They are also all very straightforward to use. For example, to get power to your plugged in AC devices, all you need to do Is toggle ON the little button shown as “AC”.
One thing we did notice is that, as you start running more powerful devices, you will hear the Jackery make noise.
This is presumably the inverter kicking in, though it isn’t unnecessarily large and does go off as soon as you stop requiring that higher level of power.
We noticed it most when running our blender.
The only real world comparison I can make is between the noise of the Jackery and the noise given off by the large 1500W inverter we have connected up as a part of our campervan’s permanent in-built electrical system.
In reality it is no louder at all.
Let’s not beat around the bush.
A monkey could use a Jackery power station.
In reality you don’t really need to know much about technical electronics beyond looking at the charger for your devices to see how many watts it requires.
Beyond that, you input your plug or USB into the corresponding hole on the Jackery and then flick the button on.
That’s it!
Every device has a nice little display screen which permanently shows you how much charge is left in the device, so you can monitor how fast you are using power and when it will next need a charge.
Plugging in a solar panel (more on that below) is very straightforward as there is one (or 2 if you go for the 1500 model) inlet there that fits it.
And when plugged in the display screen will tell you how much power supply is going into the Jackery.
So if you’re out camping with devices charging, as well as solar going in, you can easily see whether or not you are drawing more power than is going in.
There are 3 different ways you can recharge your Jackery units. These are:
The exact time taken to add charge to a unit will depend on which of these you choose to use, how big the unit is, and of course how much current charge the unit has.
As a simple rule of thumb, here’s how long it takes to recharge each Jackery unit from 0-80% if using mains charge:
Yes, those numbers raise some interesting points. Such as that it is actually quicker to charge the 1000Wh than the 500Wh unit. Due to the fact that it is paired with a larger adaptor.
So if speed of recharge is important for you, it may actually work out better in the long term for you to buy a more powerful unit. But be aware that this is only the case with mains charging; under solar or car charging, it will take longer to charge the larger units.
Overall, the Explorer 1500 is probably the most impressive there, actually charging faster than the Explorer 500, despite being 3 times the size!
The recharge time under solar will vary depending on the amount of sunlight there is, as well as how many solar panels you link up.
For example, the Explorer 1500 can be recharged in just 5 hours if you have good light and all 4 panels synced up.
Or with just one panel on the 500 unit, it will take you 9 and a half hours.
Here’s what I really like about Jackery, and I think makes them stand out amongst the competitions.
For their comparative capacity levels, the Jackery units are extremely portable.
They are light enough that you can carry them for long periods without the need of having wheels or anything like that.
I mean, by the simple nature of physics, the larger the unit you go for, the more battery cells are inside, the more it will weigh.
The Jackery Explorer 500 that we used is just 6kg, which I found to be very easy to carry around for long periods without having any strain.
The handle is comfortable to hold and the unit isn’t bulky at all, so I didn’t find it bumping into things.
If you opt for a cheaper portable solar station, then you will find that in order to keep costs down they will have had to sacrifice build quality to some extent.
That's the nature of any consumer electronics.
But I can honestly say that Jackery's stations are extremely well put together.
They have nice thick pieces of rubber on the base to give it grip and protect the housing when standing still.
And the unit feels very solid, made of great quality plastic that you don’t feel is going to suddenly crack after a little bump.
I have already spoken about the solar panels above, but again I was probably most impressed with the design and function of those than anything else.
They seamlessly fold together with magnets, and are really lightweight and easy to carry.
You can also pick up a carry case for your Jackery which, let’s face it, is probably worth getting.
It adds another layer of protection to your unit that is well worth having if you’re already spending hundreds on a fancy new station.
We found ours to be really well made and comfortable to hold. They have different size cases available, each one custom made for the size of the unit, as well as any necessary cables and chargers you will need to carry.
There is a full list of these in the product table below.
Okay, so if you’ve made it this far in our review, you can tell that we are big fans of Jackery.
There are certainly cheaper brands out there, but there are also ones that are much more expensive.
But when you bring everything together, such as build quality, ease of use and aftercare support, Jackery is arguably the best in the business.
So all that’s left to decide is which size is best for you to go for.
And really, it does depend entirely upon your circumstances, including:
Getting rid of any technical jargon, Jackery actually provides some straightforward examples to help you know how long each unit can be expected to last.
These are:
Here’s the bottom line, is Jackery worth the money?
Honestly … yes I really do think so.
As I said before, they are not the cheapest brand around, but they are certainly not the most expensive.
Instead, what is clear is that they offer arguably the best value for money power station solutions around.
Honestly, when we first did our van conversion back in 2020, when our budget was more limited, I think we would have opted for one of these had we been aware.
For vanlifers, the Jackery solar generator essentially handles the job of your:
So if you are building a budget conversion, you could actually save a lot of money (as well as effort) by picking up one of the upper 3 versions of what Jackery offers.
Allowing you to power 90% of what you would need in order to live in a van, including phones, travel drones, lighting, and cooking equipment.
And even a few luxuries like a small heater, blender or coffee machine.
You can then plug it into your cigarette charger whilst driving, and quickly plug in the solar panel while parked up.
In the long run, don’t get me wrong, having a fully in-build system is really useful in the van.
However, it is much more expensive and much more hard work to build in and maintain.
I think Jackery offers most vanlifers an easy and cost-effective campervan accessory for getting their electric system off-the-ground, allowing them to take short and long trips away.
If you are from North America, the best place to buy Jackery power stations, solar panels, and other accessories would be direct through their website.
If you are from the UK, then you can purchase Jackery products via their Amazon store or via the UK Jackery store.
If you buy through their store, be sure to use code JADBTF10 to get 10% of your order! This Jackery discount code applies to all UK orders for:
And as I stated above, they currently do not stock quite as wide a range of products in the UK, as they do in America.
They also sell a limited range of products in Japan, Canada, and Germany.
Here’s a useful table with all products Jackery currently stock, and links to where you can buy them:
If you are on mobile, tilt your phone into horizontal mode to see table with all countries
If you are on mobile, tilt your phone into horizontal mode to see table with all countries
If you are on mobile, tilt your phone into horizontal mode to see table with all countries
If you are on mobile, tilt your phone into horizontal mode to see table with all countries
Yes, Jackery offers a 24 month warranty on all of their products. As well as a 30 day money-back guarantee.
Jackery’s biggest competitors include brands like Bluetti, EcoFlow Delta or Goal Zero Yeti. They offer a range of similar products, though many are geared more towards off-grid housing backup power, as opposed to camping/van life. Read more in our roundup of the best portable power stations.
Yes, you can leave your Jackery plugged in all the time, however that does defeat its purpose somewhat. It is actually designed to be regularly discharged and then recharged for a lifetime of around 500 cycles. As a minimum, Jackery recommends you discharge and recharge your unit every 3 months in order to preserve the batteries.
When Googling things like “the best portable power stations” it becomes pretty obvious that Jackery dominates the results.
Like any company that dominates their niche they have done a great job at building a select product range that is
So really, they are the ideal solution for most people looking for a new portable power station.
If you are looking for a unit to power your home in case of an emergency, they may not be the best for you.
But if you are a van lifer, avid camper, or just looking for some extra power when on-the-go, then Jackery is the ideal choice.
Now over to you …
Are you keen to try Jackery after reading our review?
Or are there any questions I didn’t cover?
Just drop a comment below and I’ll get back to you!
Other product reviews you might be interested in:
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