EF ECOFLOW Solar Generator RIVER 2 Pro & 160W Portable Solar Panel, 768Wh

Why it's worth it

At 17.2 pounds with 768Wh, the RIVER 2 Pro is the one you'll bring on trips where you'd leave a bigger station home. It ships with a 160W solar panel, which makes it a complete off-grid kit rather than a battery you still need to accessorize.

Weight is the feature. Wirecutter's comparative analysis singled out the RIVER 2 Pro at 17.2 pounds as unusually light for its 768Wh capacity, and that number is what makes it different in practice. You can carry it in one hand along with a chair. Motorcycle campers, cyclists and anyone loading a small hatchback will find room for it where a 40-pound station wouldn't fit.

768Wh is genuinely enough for a solo camper or a couple. Two or three nights of CPAP use — Popular Mechanics puts a non-humidified machine at 30 to 60W a night — plus phone and headlamp charging. Owners report multiple nights of astrophotography gear, and several run CPAPs with a DC adapter to skip inverter losses entirely. Skip the AC outlet where you can and the runtime stretches noticeably.

From our review of 8 portable power stations for camping, by Ben Carter, Tech Editor

What we like

• +Weight is the feature
• +768Wh is genuinely enough for a solo camper or a couple
• +The included 160W panel is the part that makes this a kit
• +The 800W AC output is the honest limit, though X-Boost stretches it to 1,600W for some resistive loads

What to know

• –800W rules out a lot
• –The panel needs attention