![]() You can charge some portable power stations via car power sockets or solar attachments, which is a nice bonus, especially if you’re frequently off the grid for more than a couple of days. Charges from an AC wall outlet: At minimum, we required that each model be chargeable via an AC wall outlet-USB-only charging is much too slow for batteries so big.At least one USB-C port, 6 mm DC port, and/or car power socket: We didn’t require each model to have all three, but we did prefer those that offered one or more USB-C ports, 6 mm DC ports, or car power sockets (what my parents, former smokers, incorrectly call “ the cigarette lighter”) to let you charge a wider variety of devices.Having these ports means small devices such as phones, tablets, and portable Bluetooth speakers won’t take up an AC outlet that you could use for more power-hungry items. Some USB-A ports also have faster Quick Charge technology, which we preferred but didn’t require. Anything less, and you’ll notice just how slow your phone, tablet, and other devices charge up. At least two fast-charging USB-A ports: Any USB-A port worth its salt should support 2-amp (10 W) charging or higher.Though we considered some models with a single AC outlet for this guide, we preferred models with at least two, allowing you to power two AC-powered devices at the same time. ![]() None of our picks for the best USB power bank have an AC outlet, and our favorite portable laptop chargers have just one outlet that can power only lower-wattage gear. At least one AC outlet: A single AC outlet is a bare-minimum requirement, since the majority of gadgets-from desk lamps to baby monitors-run on AC power.An informative display: Though most portable power stations have a battery meter so you can see how much charge you have left, we preferred displays that provided an estimated percentage of the charge over vague displays that consisted of just a few line segments.Handles are a necessity to lift something this bulky, and since in some cases you’re going to be moving these around quite a bit and using them outdoors-in a backyard or at a campsite, for example-we wanted them to be resistant to scuffs and scratches. A rugged and portable design: We assessed the quality of each portable power station’s exterior materials, as well as any extra features like wheels or handles.Anything heavier than that can be hard to load and unload from a car, or to carry around a house in a blackout. ![]() But even so, we set a weight limit at 50 pounds, a heft that one (strong) person or two people could reasonably carry. A maximum weight of 50 pounds: Most portable power stations are too big and heavy for the average person to carry them for long distances on foot.Lower outputs are fine for charging phones and most other electronics, but if you want to charge a few devices at a time (especially if one is a high-powered device like a laptop), you need 100 W or more. An output rating of at least 200 W: To separate the portable power stations from their smaller, less powerful counterparts ( USB power banks and portable laptop chargers) we required each of our main and budget contenders to be rated for at least 200 W, and we wanted the lightweight (under 5 pounds) contenders to be rated for at least 100 W.When it comes to batteries, capacity is king. We made this a requirement for our main picks, and strongly preferred it for our budget and lightweight contenders. (For a variety of reasons, less than 100% of a battery’s designed capacity is actually available for use.) Put another way, that’s like running a 60 W device-such as a MacBook Pro, projector, or tabletop fan-for five hours. ![]()
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