EcoFlow RIVER Pro Cons
EcoFlow RIVER Pro Cons – Okay, today we’ve got the EcoFlow RIVER Pro. It’s a pretty amazing battery bank, but I want to give you a bit of a perspective that might be a little bit different on this. Now, I’m not going to bore you with too many specifications, because I’m sure a lot of you already know a lot about these devices. I’m just going to give you the main pros and cons.
EcoFlow RIVER Pro Cons
Ecoflow Smart extra battery
So, first things first, I want to mention it starts right here on the extra Smart battery. Now, for a start, this is a pretty great way to double the capacity of your EcoFlow RIVER Pro. So, at the moment it has 720 watt-hours, you can buy this additional Ecoflow Smart battery which will give you another 720 watt-hours. You can even buy them as a pack as we have here. It’s pretty cost-effective actually.
So, what happens when you get this? You get this cable that connects to the side of your EcoFlow RIVER Pro and strains to the top of your Ecoflow Smart extra battery. Now, the first kind I want to mention is, this battery just has an ON/OFF button, that’s it. What that means for you is, you can’t charge this separately. For example, if you go camping, you want to leave this extra battery in the amenities block to charge while using your EcoFlow RIVER Pro in your tent, you can’t do that. The only way to charge this Smart battery is by catching it up to EcoFlow RIVER Pro and then charging them both together.
Is this a deal-breaker? No, it’s not a deal-breaker at all. Maybe a slight inconvenience, there are also no additional ports on this. So, we see the Bluetti for example, with their newer devices not only you can charge it separately to the main unit. It also has a couple of extra ports in there to help you out. See those USB ports and things like that? So, it’s missing for those little handy things.
The RIVER Pro can power up to 10 devices simultaneously with multiple outlet options, including 3 pure sine wave AC outlets. It offers up to 720Wh power and it weighs just 15.9lbs, which makes it a portable power source for adventure on the go.
Cable Positions
All right, so that’s the first thing. Now, while we’re on the topic. This cable here can be a little bit fiddly, again it’s not the end of the world thing, but you need to actually screw in this old parallel or serial cable like connector into the side of the battery which then goes all the way across here to the top of the battery. So, it’s not really something you can put in a stacked configuration. So, you haven’t really got a tidy package. I think the best way to put these is probably not next to each other like this, you can see it’s a bit awkward with the cable. But you could put this battery on the floor, and then maybe have this up the top, but just something to consider.
| Side | Top |
There’s no x-link
Now, the next thing to mention is, this EcoFlow RIVER Pro is not the same as the ones that are released as part of the Kickstarter with the R600. It’s a different device, and it’s actually missing some features that one had I think what’s happened here is, EcoFlow has realized that some of those features didn’t work properly, and they just removed them.
So, the first thing to mention is, there’s no x-link. With the x-link feature, you could connect up to two EcoFlow RIVER Pro in a parallel configuration. You get a couple of cables you know, imagine two of these cables but a lot smaller and plugged into another Ecoflow Pro, and what that would do is, that would increase your inverter capacity. So, the 600 watts would increase the 1200 watts.
Now, a lot of people have tested this and they passed and said it was okay, but it really wasn’t okay. There’s one particular person who find this and gave his honest opinion about it, and the feature just really didn’t work well at all. You were lucky to get 700 watts reliably using that x-link feature. So, basically, EcoFlow just scrapped it for the most part, but the good news is, they introduced an extra battery which I think is pretty great.
The next item I want to mention is, it says here that you can charge it from 12 volts. You definitely can charge from 12 volts, there’s a port here on the side. So, if you open up this flat, see if I can do it with my other hand here, all right, so see that flaps open, so you can see that port here, the yellow one. So, the EcoFlow River pro comes with a cable that you can plug into the charger in the car.
There are no 10 amps
Now, in the specifications, it says that you can use that port up to 10 amps. So, presumably, that would be the 13 or 12 to 13 volts coming from your car at 10 amps that should give you about 130 watts. In reality, it only gives you between 90 and 100 watts. It’s actually 8 amps, I did a bit of digging a little bit of research, I found an Amazon review that also complained about only charging at 8 amps, which let’s be honest, it’s not a big deal.
We’re talking about maybe 20 or 30 differences in charging time, but it’s just something to know, something that it says in the specifications which aren’t true. So, it’s not 10 amps, it’s actually 8 amps, and after doing some digging, it looks like the connector for the cable included in the box was overheating. So, what EcoFlow has actually done is, they’ve modified the app to make sure that it only runs at 8 amps. If you go into the app, instead of seeing options to charge it 10 amps, 8 amps, 6 amps, and 4 amps. They’ve removed the 10 amp option, you can only charge it 8 amps. 6 amps, or 4 amps. There’s no more option for any more charge at 10 amps. I don’t believe this affects solar, this is just the charging from the car.
Paint defects
The final last cons I want to run through, and you know like I said, none of these things are real game-changers, and I wouldn’t even call this a con. But the case has sort of minor weird paint defects which you can kind of see here, I would say it’s probably a good 95 out of 100. I’d rate goal zero having had a few gold zeroes at 100, where everything is perfect. You couldn’t find a mark or a scratch. This is a solid 95 percent, it’s really solidly built with just a few kinds of paint imperfections. But in Ecoflow’s defense, there was a nice sticker that came on it, saying that they used a more environmentally friendly printing method which does result in some defects.
Conclusion
EcoFlow RIVER Pro Cons – Next up, I’m going to release another article just telling you some of the pros. I know, we’ve run over the cons in this article which could be a little bit daunting. I’m not saying don’t buy this battery, because clearly, I have here, and I think this is probably one of the best batteries you can buy at the moment with this capacity. so stay tuned going to be releasing probably next week or the next couple of days another article with all the pros then we’re going to dive headfirst into some real-world testing.
To be continued: EcoFlow RIVER Pro Pros
| EcoFlow RIVER Plus | EcoFlow RIVER Max Plus |
| Price: 449.00 | Price: 699.00 |
| View Product | View Product |
Other Articles Review
EcoFLow Delta Pro has a huge expandable capacity that you can customize to meet your energy needs. With two Smart Extra Batteries, you can increase your capacity to a whopping 10.8kWh.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
EcoFlow River Pro Review
Powerful, flexible and expandable, the EcoFlow River Pro is the power brick you need for weekend’s camping. It tops up to 80% within an hour from the mains, although you can charge from the car or buy the optional solar panels.
With dual AC outlets, able to power devices up to 1200W, this is a device that can even power a hairdryer or travel kettle. It’s well priced and simple to use, but the orientation of the power sockets may mean that one gets blocked, and the hinge on the flap that covers the charging flap could be more robust.
Key Features
Introduction
With so much of our lives centred around technology, having the ability to power our devices anywhere is getting more important. From long car journeys to camping trips and everything in between, a large battery with proper power sockets on it makes a lot of sense. Capable of powering devices up to 1200W, the Ecoflow River Pro is a super-powerful option for all types of devices.
The flap covering the charging ports is a little delicate and I’d prefer the power sockets to have a different orientation but this is, otherwise, an excellent portable battery.
Design and features
The EcoFlow River Pro sits in the middle of the River range, and has a 720Wh battery. There’s also the smaller EcoFlow River, which has a 600Wh battery and the EcoFlow River Mini with a 210Wh battery. Then, there’s the EcoFlow River Max, which has a total capacity of 576Wh, but the bottom half is a detachable 288Wh battery that’s easier to carry around.
For me, the EcoFlow River Pro is a good combination of power and portability. Sure, I wouldn’t want to carry its 7.6kg weight around too much, but it’s light enough to take in a car and powerful enough to cope with a weekend of camping. Its sturdy handle certainly makes carrying this around a lot easier.
It’s a product that’s designed to be convenient with multiple charging options all hidden underneath a flap at the side of the unit. I found this flap very stiff to open at first, plus it’s only held on by a couple of feeble pins. On my review unit, the right-hand pin snapped off, although the flap would still clip into place.
There are three charging options. Mains via a standard kettle lead delivers up to 10A of power, which is enough to charge the battery to 80% capacity in just one hour and 1.6-hours to fully charge it.
Go for car charging via the 12V input (lead included) and you’re looking at eight hours to charge. Buy the optional solar panels and you can charge in four to eight hours (2x 110W panels, £319 each) or six to 12 hours (with 1x 160W panel, which costs £379)). The variance is there because the total amount of sunlight will make a difference.
EcoFlow says that the battery is designed to last for 800 cycles at 80% capacity. Given the level of power on offer and when you’ll likely use this, this battery should last for many years.
If you think that 720Wh isn’t quite enough then you can add a second EcoFlow battery (another 720Wh) to double capacity, although that does increase the price by £549.
As with the similar, but lower-powered, Anker PowerHouse II 400 (388Wh), the EcoFlow River Pro can power ‘real’ devices with its AC power outlets. Here, you get two normal UK power sockets, double the number on the PowerHouse II.
There’s another key difference, too. With X-Boost, the EcoFlow River Pro can power devices up to 1200W (its 300W on the PowerHouse II), although the normal range is up to 600W. With this kind of power on tap, the EcoFlow River Pro can handle some hairdryers, travel kettles and coffee machines. That’s posh camping on tap.
Of course, that amount of power is also useful for using both power sockets at the same time, although orientation may stop you. Rather than installing the sockets in the normal orientation for a double plug socket, the EcoFlow River Pro has the two sockets facing each other. Depending on the type of device that you’re using, you may find that one socket gets obstructed, which can be annoying.
Alongside the AC outlets, there’s a 100W USB-C output, two standard USB-A sockets, and a Fast Charge USB socket. Plus, there’s a standard car output (13.6V) and two DC5521 13.6V outputs.
And, there’s even a torch on the front, which is kind of useful for seeing what you’re doing when plugging cables in and out, but given the weight of the battery, I didn’t find this torch particularly useful for walking around with.
The main On/Off button turns the EcoFlow River Pro on and off alongside the USB ports, but there are separate buttons to turn DC and AC power on and off. The AC power button is in a slightly annoying position and can be obscured by a device plugged in.
With the EcoFlow River Pro turned on, the screen shows the current power draw and the estimated battery time remaining in hours and minutes, plus there’s a battery percentage meter, too. A quick tap of the On/Off button will turn this screen off: a useful feature if you’re using the battery in a tent.
There’s nothing that you can control from the device, but there is the option to hook it up to Wi-Fi for remote monitoring and control via the smartphone app. I found it a little fussy to connect.
First, I had to connect to the EcoFlow River Pro’s own Wi-Fi network, but the app told me that there was a ‘serial number not recognized’ error. I had to wait for the Wi-Fi light on my iPhone to go solid, changing from the 4G/5G indicator, and then the app worked.
With the EcoFlow River Pro connected to Wi-Fi, the app tells you how much power it’s currently putting out and any input power coming in. It’s possible to turn the AC and DC ports off, but I couldn’t turn the EcoFlow River Pro off itself this way. There’s also an option to turn X-Boost off, although that limits you to 600W devices only.
Perhaps if you have the EcoFlow River Pro connected to solar panels in an outbuilding, the app may be useful for monitoring, but I didn’t find it a very useful feature at all. That’s doubly so when camping, when there’s no Wi-Fi network for the EcoFlow River Pro to connect to.
Performance
I took the EcoFlow River Pro camping for a weekend, where it served as all the power I needed, including using a pump to blow up air beds, charging multiple phones and tablets, and even powering a set of TCP LED Outdoor Festoon Lights. Over two nights, the EcoFlow River Pro only dropped to 54% power, proving to be more than enough for my sparse needs.
So, what about a more powerful test? For that, I used an XGIMI Horizon projector in the garden, powering it via the EcoFlow River Pro. With the Anker PowerHouse II, I could manage just over two-hours of viewing; with the River Pro, I got just over four and a half hours. That’s enough for two regular-length films (on average) or even one of the extended Lord of the Rings films.
ECOFLOW River Review: Don’t Buy before you read this
Recently, I reviewed the Jackery Explorer 500. Very shortly afterwards, Ecoflow contacted me and suggested I might be interested in reviewing their River 600 Max powerbank.
I’ll be honest, I was intrigued. Jackery are prolific in their marketing, but I’ve heard a lot of great things about the Ecoflow units too, especially the newer generation.
So I thought I’d find out for myself and see how they compared…
DISCLAIMER: Ecoflow supplied us with the Ecoflow River Max free of charge, on the strict understanding we would return the kit if we didn’t think it was worth reviewing. We received no other compensation for this review and all opinions are entirely our own.
And, while we’re doing disclaimers…
We work hard to make this the best motorhome blog and road trip website possible, full of helpful content for you. The website is supported by our readers, so if you buy through links on this site we may earn a commission- at no extra cost to you. All opinions remain our own.
If you find this post useful, you can also treat us to a coffee – we promise to enjoy it while creating more useful content like this- we might even indulge in a biscuit (or two!)
Ok, now that all the legal stuff is out the way, let’s get on with this Ecoflow River Max review.
Portable Powerbanks- why are they useful in a motorhome, RV or campervan?
Let’s start with the ‘why’. When you have so many other essential motorhome accessories and probably already have a solar panel fitted to your van (as well as a leisure battery), why do you need a portable power bank?
The answer is, if you’re ONLY ever planning to use campsites with electric hookup, you probably don’t. Save the weight on the payload and spend your money elsewhere.
If you enjoy, or want to try spending time off-grid/ wild parking with your motorhome or campervan, or even staying at campsites which don’t have electric (like grass fields near a beach), then you will more than likely need a way of creating, storing and using electricity while you’re ‘off-grid’.
Don’t forget to grab your free motorhome wild camping checklist here to help you set up your van to stay overnight without electricity or facilities.
Some people install a second leisure battery onto their van, which is fine but leaves you with the same constraints as before. You’ll also need an inverter to be able to use the battery power to charge your devices.
Working outside
The biggest drawback we’ve found with having a fitted battery instead of a portable power bank is that you can’t use it outside. Personally, I LOVE working outdoors whenever possible- part of the magic of travelling in remote places. But to do that, you need something portable you can take outside with you.
NOTE: The Ecoflow power stations aren’t built for hiking with. They’re quite large and fairly hefty. Think of it more like a second, moveable leisure battery. Having said that, you CAN detach the Ecoflow ‘bottom’ battery, which makes it a lot lighter and more portable.
Why do we need a portable power station?
Personally, both myself and my husband work from the road. We use a LOT of power. Between us, we have two laptops, 3 ipads, 4 phones, plus a drone, camera, Wi-Fi and several other devices which need power to recharge.
When we’re driving all the time, it’s easy- we charge things as we drive using an inverter. However, when we’re camped up in one place for a few days (like at the top of Tre Cime in the Dolomites), we need a way of creating electricity for all our devices.
Yes, we carry a portable motorhome generator, but that’s noisy and pretty heavy. You also need to carry fuel for it. We do have a small power bank, but it’s now 6 years old and isn’t holding its charge so well. So a portable power bank like the Ecoflow has a lot of advantages.
Benefits of a solar-powered power station over a normal generator
There are some HUGE advantages to having a solar-powered system over a fuel-powered one (and a couple of disadvantages too.)
PROS of a portable solar generator:
- Quiet- no noisy engine
- No need to carry fuel cans- easier to store (some countries like Portugal make it illegal to carry fuel cans)
- Cheaper to run- solar is free!
- No smell of fumes
- Better for the environment
- Doesn’t need maintenance – great for motorhomes and vans which are used as holiday vehicles.
- Quick and easy to set-up and safe to use
CONS of a portable solar generator:
- Need to store the solar panels somewhere safe
- Sunshine is essential if you want to charge and you’re off-grid.
Who are Ecoflow?
EcoFlow began as a group of former DJI engineers. They ended up raising millions on Kickstarter and to develop new powerbanks and technology which could run without fuel.
Although they’ve only been around since 2016, the technology and products are already touted as one of the market leaders for renewable power sources.
They offer a range of portable power stations/ home batteries, including the Ecoflow Delta and Ecoflow River Series. They also offer solar panels, solar generators and other accessories
Ecoflow River Max Review: What’s in the box?
When you open your River Max box, you’ll find the following:
- EcoFlow RIVER Portable Power Station
- DC5521-DC5525 Cable
- 1.5m MC4 to XT60 Solar Charging Cable
- 1.5m AC Charging Cable
- 1.5m Car Charging Cable
- User Manual
- Warranty Card
I really liked how the unit was presented and how it worked straight out of the box. Also, I was pleased with the packaging; very secure, very little plastic and not lots of wasted space.
Ecoflow River Max Specification
We were sent the Ecoflow River Max portable power station. The specs of this unit are:
- Net Weight: 17 lbs (7.7kg)
- Dimensions: 11 x 6.9 x 8.8 in (28 x 17.5 x 22.5 cm)
- Charge Temperature: 0 to 45°C (± 3°C)
- Discharge Temperature:.20 to 45°C (± 3°C)
- Capacity: 576Wh
- Cycle Life: 500 Cycles to 80% capacity
- Types of outlets: 2 x AC, 2 x USB-A, 1 x USB-C, 1 x USB-A Fast Charge, 1 x Car Power Output
- Charging Methods: AC Wall Outlet, 12V Car Charger, Solar Panel
- Battery Type: Lithium-ion
- Shelf Life: 1 year (after fully charging the device)
- Warranty: 24 months
What Management systems/ protections does the Ecoflow River 600 have?
Over Voltage Protection, Overload Protection, Over Temperature Protection, Short Circuit Protection, Low Temperature Protection, Low Voltage Protection, Overcurrent Protection
See the Ecoflow River Max in action
Watch the video below to see me using the Ecoflow in a campervan (and using it to power my electric blanket!)
Ecoflow River 600- pros and cons
So, what’s it like actually using the River Max?
Pros of the Ecoflow River Max
The answer, in a nutshell, is easy. Straight out of the box, it worked and has continued to work ever since.
I even took it to Norfolk with me and ended up in.4c temperatures. The Ecoflow powered my electric blanket every single night and honestly was my lifesaver. I also used it to power a small electric heater AND it charged up my laptop several times without needing a recharge.
I love the wide array of sockets and that you can use them all at the same time AND they’ve positioned them cleverly, so you can plug in oversize plugs without worry.
NOTE: You need to turn the unit on, and then TURN ON the AC plug sockets before they’ll work. This can be a bit of a pain if you forget, because you then need to remove the plug, but it takes less than a second to do.
I am also a BIG fan of how quickly it recharged. In my experience, it took around 70-80 minutes to get back to 80% charge, but the conditions were REALLLLLLLLY cold, so I’ll let them off. Compare this to the Jackery, which would have taken several hours, and you’ll see why I liked the Ecoflow so much. In the time it took to grab a coffee, it was pretty much recharged again.
I love the LCD display- I found it clear and easy to understand. I liked knowing what watts I was drawing/ charging and how long I had until the battery was flat. Even better, the battery didn’t ‘wane’- you can power 600w all the way until the battery reaches 0%
Cons of the Ecoflow River 600 Max
However, there are a few things to be aware of:
- No case is included; you need to buy that separately
- It’s not waterproof. At all. So keep undercover in damp conditions
- I actually quite like the light effect on the Ecoflow, but some may find it annoying (although you can control this on the app.)
- Only lasts for 500 cycles. And there’s no way to replace the batteries. If you live in your van and charge it every 3 days, that’s only 1500 days (just over 4 years). It might be worth getting the River Pro in this case, which has a much longer life.
I don’t know if this is a downside, or just a point to note, but you need to turn on the unit in order to use the torch, which is a bit of a pain in the dark when you’re freezing cold and trying to figure out which button to press (ask me how I know…!)
How long does the Ecoflow River last?
This is obviously a ‘how long is a piece of string question’. If you don’t power a lot of devices, the Ecoflow River Max is going to last weeks. If you have huge amounts of things to charge, it’s going to run out pretty quickly.
You can charge up to 9 devices simultaneously, and it doesn’t matter whether you charge them one at a time or all at once, the amount of power drained will be the same.
Here are some guidelines for you:
- MacBook Air (my laptop): 10 recharges
- Phone: 42 recharges
- 1200w Hairdryer: 0.8 hours (yes, it can power up to 1800w devices for a short time)
- 110w motorhome Television: 4-6 hours
- 40w CPAP machine: 10 hours
- 65w projector: 6 hours
You can choose to unbolt the bottom of the unit, which will remove the second battery. This makes the unit smaller and lighter (if you want to hike with it), but obviously will decrease the length of time you can use it for.
Ecoflow X Boost- what is it?
Ecoflow units use something called ‘x-boost’, which allows you to use devices over 600w.
Now, I’m in no way an electrician, so let me try to explain this to you in simple terms.
One of the biggest issues with life on the road for a girl is using a hairdryer, and most inverters/ power banks couldn’t even DREAM of powering a decent hair dryer (no, the 12v ones do not work on long, thick hair!)
So you can imagine how excited I was when I learned the Ecoflow might be able to power one for me.
Let me be clear, if you just plug in a 1200w hairdryer into the Ecoflow and use it, the unit will shut down and say ‘Overload’.
HOWEVER, on the app, you can turn on ‘X-Boost’, which means it can power devices above 600w but at a much lower power. Here are some useful things to know:
- X Boost doesn’t increase the output of the unit, it LOWERS the power of the device being used. So it will run the hairdryer on about ‘half’ power, so it may take longer to dry your hair than you might expect.
- Only power one device at a time using X-Boost
- Don’t use it while charging, especially from a wall.
Ecoflow Solar panel
Ecoflow offer a range of solar panels to go alongside most of their products.
With the River Max, you can connect up to two 110w solar panels and they (assuming they have full sunlight), will recharge the unit in under 3 hours.
They also now offer a 160w solar panel, which will recharge it a little faster (assuming full sunlight).
Ecoflow App
Ecoflow have an app, which you can use to control the unit from your phone. I’ll be honest, I didn’t use the app at all for the first few weeks- it’s perfectly possible to use the unit without the app. However, there are some advantages to using it.
Firstly, this is how you’ll need to upgrade firmware for the unit, which is useful. You can also turn sockets on/off and turn on/ off the X-Boost via the app (I wish you could do this on the unit itself).
These are the instructions to set up the app:
- Step 1: Download the EcoFlow App connect to the RIVER Max.
- Step 2: Turn the RIVER Max on.
- Step 3: Turn the Wi-Fi on your phone/ device on
- Step 4: Find your device in the app. Then, you can start controlling your RIVER Max remotely.
NOTE: You need Wi-Fi to set this up, or a hotspot if off-grid.
Ecoflow River vs Jackery | Which is better?
Ahhh, the million dollar question. If you’re in the market for a portable power bank or power station, should you buy an Ecoflow or a Jackery?
Like anything, there are pros and cons to both. My husband LOVES the Jackery. He uses it all the time at his motorcycle storage unit.
Still, there are some things which are undeniably better about the Ecoflow River Max over the Jackery:
- Faster charge time. Much MUCH faster
- Two AC plug sockets
- USB-C socket (which I use all the time)
- The unit works even when the main display is switched off (useful at night)
- 600w (and can power devices above this) instead of 500w
Personally, I prefer the Ecoflow. It suits the way I live off-grid better. However, the Ecoflow is heavier and more expensive than the Jackery, so if you’re not worried about fast charging or a variety of sockets, it might not be for you.
Ecoflow discount codes
Ecoflow UK sometimes offer discounts and deals on their Portable power stations. See the latest deals and discounts here.
Ecoflow River Max Conclusions
There’s no denying that the Ecoflow technology is getting better and better- and the Ecoflow River Max is one of the best powerbanks we’ve used.
The fast charging is probably the biggest selling point and for that reason alone I’d recommend it to anyone who values power and getting it quickly (like us vanlifers).
I also love the X-Boost and the fact that you can control the unit with the app (and get updates.) The wide array of sockets is great too.
As I mentioned above, the River Max is mid-level and great for ‘occasional’ use. If you plan to use it 2 or even 3 times a week to charge devices, it will last you years and years.
If you’re a heavier user, staying off-grid and relying on this regularly instead of using campsites, I’d probably recommend the River Pro with its larger power output and longer life.
But if you’re looking for a robust, portable power bank which is easy to use and to give power in your van/ car/ house when not plugged into mains, this is definitely the range to explore.
My 5 must-have gadgets for off-grid adventures
Being in the wild doesn’t mean I can’t be civilized and have an office to get stuff done. These are my must-have gadgets when traveling off-grid.
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over two decades to helping users get the most from technology.- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get.
- Mac, iOS, hardware, diagnostic, repair, battery tech, drones and cameras, videography and photography, Adobe Creative Cloud
Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over two decades to helping users get the most from technology.- whether that be by learning to program, building a PC from a pile of parts, or helping them get.
- Mac, iOS, hardware, diagnostic, repair, battery tech, drones and cameras, videography and photography, Adobe Creative Cloud
Most people go into the wilds to get away from it all. You know, leave their desk and work behind, and absorb all the goodness that Mother Nature has to offer.
But some people.- photographers and videographers spring to mind.- go off-grid to work. I’m one of those people who takes a bunch of cameras and drones into nature to capture photos and video from the ground and air.
I used to be happy going into the wilds with minimal kit, but as I’ve become wiser.- or older, I’m not sure which.- I’ve seen the value of having some kit to make my outdoor life a little easier.
Summer’s in full swing here in the U.K. I’m planning a few trips for the next few months, and I’ve pulled together a few items to build an off-grid office.
Nemo Equipment Stargaze Camping Chair
I’ve tried a lot of camping chairs.- from the cheap bargain basement stuff to genuine military camp chairs.- and the Nemo Equipment Stargaze blows them all away.
I really wasn’t convinced that this chair was anywhere near as good as advertised.- right up until I sat in it.
This is the most solid, well-made, well-designed camping chair I’ve owned. It’s big and sturdy and can take up to 300lb loads, which is reassuring, because this camp chair’s party trick is that it reclines back, turning the chair into a mini hammock.
The chair is super-comfortable. I’ve spent quite a few hours in this chair, set it up and broken it down a number of times, and even left it out in the elements for over a week.- and it’s still as comfortable and reliable as the day I first pulled it out of the packaging.
In short, this camp chair is the best.
EcoFlow River 2 Max Solar Generator 160W Solar Panel
The EcoFlow RIVER 2 Max is home to 512Wh of power stored in long-life LiFePO4 batteries that should last a decade, and a 160W solar panel to recharge the unit.
For me, this generator is the perfect size for off-grid use where you might have to move the power station about.- big enough to power all my stuff, but small enough to not give me backache lugging it about. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s the Goldilocks of power stations.
The solar panel is also ideal.- not too big, not too small, and waterproof in case the weather turns soggy (a distinct possibility here in the U.K.).
This is an absolutely brilliant combo and comes in at under 1,000, which might seem a lot but is not a big hit for such a decent solar generator setup.
Netgear Nighthawk M6 Pro
This is the perfect mobile hotspot for spreading Wi-Fi, whether you’re in an office, a hotel room, or in the great outdoors.
So, why do I use a mobile hotspot router when I have a smartphone with a hotspot with me 24/7?
It’s because the mobile hotspot routers, such as the Nighthawk M6 Pro, are packed with cool features and are a lot more versatile.
First off, my phone is used for a lot of different things throughout the day, and I don’t necessarily want it tied up supplying internet to devices all the time. It’s inconvenient, and it hits the battery hard.
Also, if signal is poor, I might need to put the hotspot up a tree, or attach an external antenna to it.- stuff I don’t want to do or can’t do with my iPhone.
Baseus Blade 20,000mAh USB-C Portable Charger
The Baseus Blade HD makes use of silicon-carbon lithium polymer battery technology, making it 18% lighter and 20% smaller than its earlier version. The capacity remains the same at 20,000mAh, but I’m OK with this as it offers ample power to recharge devices.
The flat, square design with rounded corners, texturized soft coating, and soft silicone feet means this is perfect for throwing into a bag and taking outdoors, as I hate things with sharp corners, which always come with a risk of puncturing an expensive tent at the worst possible time.
Garmin inReach Messenger
For those times when you venture out of cell coverage, but you still need to be able to stay in touch, a satellite communicator is the perfect solution.
This puck-shaped.sized device can connect to the Iridium satellite network and it allows you to send location data, send and receive messages, and even call for help if things turn bad.
Sure, this doesn’t give you the data bandwidth that you’re used to with a cell network. But it can be invaluable when it comes to offering peace of mind to family and friends of those who like to go on adventures that take them beyond the reach of a cellular network, and can become a lifeline in the event that something goes wrong.