Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station

Why it's worth it

The Anker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2 packs 1,024Wh and 2,000W of output into a 25-pound box, which is a remarkable power-to-weight ratio. It recharges to full in about 49 minutes on AC, so you can prep it fast when a storm is coming.

Nothing else here gives you this much output per pound. Two thousand watts of continuous AC — 3,000W peak — from a unit under 25 pounds means you can run a coffee maker, a space heater on low, or a full desk setup without thinking about it. Anker says the Gen 2 is 14 percent smaller and 11 percent lighter than comparable models. If you live in an apartment or you're planning around an evacuation, that difference is the whole argument.

The tradeoff is capacity. At 1,024Wh, this holds about half of what our top pick does, which puts a refrigerator in the five-to-eight-hour range rather than overnight. FEMA suggests planning for 72 hours of backup for essential devices, and a unit this size covers a CPAP for roughly 20 hours and phones dozens of times over. It's enough for the critical stuff, not enough to pretend nothing happened.

From our review of 8 portable solar generators for emergencies, by Genevieve Dubois, Home & Living Expert

What we like

• +Nothing else here gives you this much output per pound
• +The tradeoff is capacity
• +Recharging is genuinely fast
• +For medical devices, the sub-10-millisecond UPS switchover is the spec to care about

What to know

• –A thousand watt-hours goes quickly if you're running anything with a heating element or a compressor
• –Some of the best features live behind the app