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The Anker Solix C1000 is one of the best mid-sized portable power stations on the market. The large battery paired with fast charging speeds and compact size makes for a versatile, travel-friendly power station. It's a great option for multiple days of camping or when the power goes out, depending on your charging needs. The AC inverter is capable of handling some larger appliances and tools. We also loved the bright display and intuitive smartphone app. While the loud fan noise can be unpleasant for some, that's the only gripe with the C1000.
REASONS TO BUY
Fast charging
Great display
UPS capable
Built in light
REASONS TO AVOID
Loud fan
Pricey
New Gen 2 Version
Since our testing, Anker has updated the C1000. We love the original C1000, which is still available in retail, but the new Anker Solix C1000 Gen 2 is even better. It sells for a lower street price and offers a range of improvements including higher 2,000 Watt output, and improved portability with a smaller design that weighs 4 lbs less. It also offers faster charging speed and more powerful USB-C output. We've updated our retail links to go to the newer Gen 2 product, which we recommend buying instead of the original.
Our Anker Solix C1000 Experience
The Anker C1000 was a tester's favorite for camping trips and off-grid adventures.
It strikes the perfect balance between being a truly portable power station and supplying enough power to run all our necessary devices and appliances while off-grid.
Its flat and square shape made packing a breeze, leaving plenty of room for our other camping essentials. An abundance of AC ports helps with spacing out larger plugs, and its bright LED display lets us see the screen under direct sunlight and at night. The light bar equipped on the C1000 is a warm yellow, which we prefer over the harsh, bright white lights found on many other power stations.
Built-in lights can be an underrated but very useful feature on power stations. Credit: Natalie Kafader
We also found ourselves gravitating towards the Anker C1000 when camping and traveling off-grid because of its quick charging capabilities. We could easily run into town for a coffee and toggle its quick-charge mode, recharging back to 100% in just over an hour.
The 1056 Wh battery isn't the biggest, but it has enough capacity to run our electric cooler, lights, and recharge devices for multiple days. For camping trips longer than a couple of days, Anker offers an expandable battery that doubles the battery capacity to 2,112 Wh, which came in handy on extended trips where recharging with AC wasn't an option.
The Anker C1000 is one of the power stations we most often recommend for camping and for small to medium-sized appliances during outages. Larger options like the Anker Solix F3000 will provide more capability for high-draw appliances but work best in home backup scenarios. At 55 lbs, the F3000 becomes impractical to move regularly while traveling and camping.
Anker also offers even more portable options like the Anker Solix C300, but a power station that small can only recharge devices and run lights. Power stations in this range don't provide enough power or capacity to run high-wattage items like cook tops or portable heaters.
The Anker Solix C1000 is a fantastic choice in the mid-size portable power station category. With a large AC inverter and ultra-fast charging, this model certainly packs a punch for its size. It's a great option for off-grid camping and job site tasks where portability is essential. If you're trying to power large appliances, there are better options.
For fans of Bluetti, the new Bluetti Elite 100 V2 offers similar specifications, including comparable battery capacity and weight, while providing a slightly higher solar input. If your power needs exceed the capabilities of the C1000, the Jackery 2000 V2 is our favorite off-grid camping option, it delivers double the Battery capacity while weighing just 10 pounds more. However, it's more expensive even after sales discounts.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Big enough for high-draw appliances but small enough to take along on trips, the C1000 perfectly balances performance and travel-friendly design. Credit: Natalie Kafader
Power Output
In our tests, the C1000 delivered a respectable 897Wh of energy. This means it delivered 85% of the 1056Wh advertised is available to use. This was while in AC output mode; you can expect even more from DC output. In everyday terms, this means you can power most appliances for at least a few hours if the power goes out.
The C1000 displayed excellent power efficiency using our in-house light bar test. Credit: Natalie Kafader
The second portion of our power output testing focused on running each model at max power output. It ran for 33 minutes before shutting off. While that may not sound like much time, keep in mind it's very rare to run continuously at max output. While the fan noise at its max capacity was one of the loudest models tested, the C1000 handled the max load without overheating or bogging down. Although it had one of the shorter runtimes at max load, the ultra-fast recharge time is a good trade-off.
The C1000 works wonderfully with smaller appliances like an electric kettle. Credit: Kenji Mowrey
Portability
The Anker Solix C1000 was our go-to choice when loading up for a weekend of camping. Anker's ability to stuff such a high-performing power station into a compact package made the C1000 one of our favorites for overall portability. While it still weighs in at 28.65 lbs, that is considerably less than similar models sporting the same battery capacity and power output.
The built-in handles are also sturdy and have enough grip to make it comfortable to carry solo. The C1000 also gets bonus points for a uniform shape and a flat top, which helps with arranging gear on top and around it.
We continue to be impressed by the size-to-power ratio on the C1000. Credit: Kenji Mowrey
Charge Time
The Anker Solix C1000 holds one of the fastest charging speeds. The included AC charging cord is rated at 1300W and provides a full charge in 88 minutes. Using the Anker app, you can toggle ultra-fast charge mode, which reduces charge time to 65 minutes. It is a great feature that is handy for last-minute recharges, but should be reserved for occasional use, as ultra-fast charging can lead to faster battery degradation.
Fast charging is the name of the game with the Solix C1000. Credit: Kenji Mowrey
The C1000 also supports up to 600W of solar input for quick solar charging. One area for improvement is the ability to set a custom charge percentage. While you can adjust the input to speed or slow down charging, there's currently no way to set a max percentage. This feature can come in handy if you need to charge your battery and prefer to leave it at 80% instead of 100% to extend battery life.
Whether using a power station at home or on the road, quick recharges can be one of the most important factors when deciding which power station to buy. Credit: Natalie Kafader
Features
The Anker Solix C1000 has a simple but effective app that can wirelessly toggle ports on and off, monitor battery temperature and remaining charge, and set charging input speeds. Anker also offers an expandable battery for the C1000, upping the total battery capacity to 2112Wh. While the C1000 does not offer wireless charging, it does have a built-in LED light, which comes in handy during outages and at night while camping. For our screen/display test, we had no major gripes with the C1000. It displays all the essential functions you'd expect, including power in and out, remaining discharge time, and recharge estimate time.
Whether camping, traveling, or working on the job site, the C1000 is one of the most well-rounded power stations we've tested. Credit: Kenji Mowrey
Side-by-Side Comparison
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