REASONS TO BUY
Plenty of power for most people
Relatively portable for its power output
Clean and simple interface
Easy to pack
REASONS TO AVOID
No option for battery expansion
Weighs 39 lbs
Needs adapter for 3rd party solar panels
Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 Review
This is the power station most people should buy. It strikes a compelling balance between price and power output
Credit: Chris McNamara
By Chris McNamara ⋅ Founder and Editor-in-Chief ⋅ November 3, 2025
Contributions From: Kenji Mowrey
RELATED: The Best Power Stations of 2025
Our Verdict
While no single power station can do it all, the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 comes closer than any model we have ever tested. It has more than enough power output and capacity for off-grid electric camping. It can power just about any small electric appliance. Best of all, it does all this in a relatively portable package and is not too heavy for one person to pack in the car or quickly move around the campsite. And the price for the battery capacity is nearly unbeatable. Some people may gripe that it doesn't have fancy features, a wider range of outlets, or specialty functionality, but we appreciate its simplicity. It did everything we needed it to over dozens of camping trips.
Our Jackery 2000 v2 Experience
We used the 2000 v2 for over six months on both camping trips and as backup power at the GearLab office for a laptop, monitor, and Starlink.
Although a bit heavy at 39 lbs, the 2000 v2 is small and compact enough to move around easily, such as when you need to move it onto your tailgate for an electric kettle and morning coffee.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Whether tossing it into the back of the truck or behind a car seat, we found the square shape easy to maneuver and pack. The flat top makes it easy to stack things on, something many power station designs do not allow.
It is not light, but none of our testers found it too heavy to move short distances and re-arrange. The controls are incredibly simple and intuitive. A few power stations hit you with 10-20 input and output options, most of which the average user will never use. The Jackery keeps it simple. Just the AC and USB plugs you are familiar with.
We found it easy to use the Jackery for cooking, boiling water, LED string lights for our campsite, and charging devices.
Credit: Chris McNamara
The Jackery is small enough to fit easily on a camping table or tailgate for cooking and recharging devices. However, if you want to place it on the ground to save space, cord length can be an issue, and a short extension cord is a handy addition.
There was easily enough power to charge two eBikes at once with the 2000 v2.
Credit: Chris McNamara
We often maxed out the three AC plugs with two eBikes and a Starlink running and never had any issues. By comparison, when charging two eBikes with a lower-budget gas generator, we have sometimes run into challenges delivering the required wattage.
It is worth noting that high-wattage power devices like cooking stove tops and eBike chargers drained the 2000 v2 battery capacity much more than other devices. We used two 200-watt solar panels to recharge during the day: one Jackery-brand solar panel and another one we bought on Amazon (which required a $25 adapter cable we also got on Amazon). It was very easy to set up solar. For an overnight trip, no solar would be needed. But if electric cooking or eBikes are part of your plans for an extended off-grid camping adventure, then solar charging is crucial to avoid running out of power.
The 2000 v2 is the Jackery power station we reach for the most often. It sits near or at the top of Jackery's camping lineup. While there are larger capacity models like the Jackery HomePower 3000, now you're more into home backup territory. At 60 lbs, the 3000 is too heavy for most people to move around their campsite easily.
The 2000 v2 is the newer version of the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus, which is still being sold and offers about the same battery capacity as the 2000 v2 but weighs 62 lbs. For that 23 lbs weight penalty, you do get the ability to charge with more solar (up to 1400 watts) and optional battery capacity expansion, but we feel most people will appreciate the lighter, much more cost-effective 2000 v2. And, if you need double the battery capacity the 2000 v2 provides, you can just buy a second v2 for less money than the 2000 Plus battery pack.
There are smaller Jackery models like the 1000 v2 that are even easier to move around, but they also require more management to ensure you don't run out of power. For example, a smaller unit will be fine for powering your laptop and recharging small electronics, but it will quickly drain if used with any type of electric cooking device, recharging an eBike, or with any Starlink other than the Starlink Mini.This is our favorite power station, and it comes at one of the best prices per Wh of any model we tested. The Jackery 2000 v2 delivers robust off-grid power for those who appreciate a simple and straightforward interface. There aren't a ton of bells and whistles, but this power station does everything most people need at a very reasonable price.
It is our Editor's Choice, but it would have also received a Best Buy award in the 2000 Wh category if it could have gotten two awards. If we could only own one power station, this would be it.
It is our Editor's Choice, but it would have also received a Best Buy award in the 2000 Wh category if it could have gotten two awards. If we could only own one power station, this would be it.
While the 2000 v2 is our favorite power station, some people just may not need this much power. In that case, the Anker Solix C1000 is 10 pounds lighter, half the capacity, and often half the cost. It comes with more AC and USB plugs than the Jackery and has the added benefit of expandable battery capacity.
If you need more power capacity than the 2000 v2 but still want to be able to lift it (maybe with help), consider upgrading to the Jackery HomePower 3000 ($1,100). No lightweight entry, the 3000 weighs 60 lbs, so not everyone will feel that is practical for camping trips where you need to move it from car to campsite, but it does offer about 50% more battery capacity than the 2000 v2, for only 38% increase in cost, and is otherwise includes the same features and functionality we like about the 2000 v2.
If you are looking for a home battery backup with greater capacity and the ability to daisy-chain multiple batteries, we recommend the EcoFlow Delta Pro. Keep in mind the Delta Pro is nearly 100 lbs. It has small wheels for moving on smooth surfaces, but you will likely need two people to maneuver it on uneven surfaces or to load and unload from your vehicle.Our Analysis and Test Results
Jackery 2000 v2 being charged by a 200 watt solar panel.
Credit: RJ Spurrier
Power Output
We were blown away by the unit's power output relative to its weight. We measured 1,740 Wh of power output, which is enough to more than cover most people's camping needs or a brief power outage. While that is only 84% of the advertised 2,042 Wh capacity, it is about the average efficiency for batteries in our test when plugged into AC outlets. You will get closer to the advertised capacity if you use only the USB and 12 V DC outlets.
The 2000 v2 has enough power output to power a griddle and an induction stove.
Credit: Chris McNamara
What does 1,740 Wh look like in the real world? We took this camping over multiple weekends and powered string lights, a laptop, Starlink, and an induction stovetop, never worrying about running out of power. We also brought eBikes and electric dirt bikes on a few weekends, but we could recharge them only a few times if plugged into a 200-watt solar panel.
The Jackery delivers an impressive 2,200 watts of sustained AC wattage. In all our camping trips, we were never limited by what we could plug into this unit. We could charge a laptop, an eBike, Starlink, and still have enough capacity to use our induction burner. While a few units in our test delivered more power, we never felt for a second that we needed more than what the 2000 v2 offered.
When paired with a high-quality 200-watt Renogy solar panel, we could easily charge two eBikes daily using the Explorer 2000 v2.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Portability
No other power station we tested gives as much power in such a light package. It weighs 38.9 pounds, a little less than a full 5-gallon plastic gas can. While by no means light, most people will have no problem moving it from their car to their campsite. By comparison, the Jackery Explorer 2000 Plus weighs 62.3 pounds, about 50% more than the Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 for roughly the same battery capacity. Units that deliver substantially more power than the 2000 v2 will usually be in the 70-100lbs range and require two people to lift.
When camping, we never hesitated to move the 2000 v2 to where we needed it. By contrast, with heavier power banks, we often felt we needed to move things around to be close to the power bank.
Credit: Chris McNamara
The 2000 v2 is compact, with a volume roughly the size of a small toaster oven, and is arguably easier to pack than a basketball. The large carry handle folds down to make the unit almost perfectly flat on top. By comparison, some other units have raised handles, making it much harder to pack around. It is easy to slip behind a car seat or pack around in your trunk. All larger batteries and gas generators we tested are substantially more awkward to pack in a vehicle.
The 2000 v2 nails that sweet spot of ample power and relatively easy portability. When we took all the power stations camping, we never hesitated to move them to where they were needed. Whether it was moving the Starlink to where it gets a better signal or charging the eBikes away from camp, we never hesitated to grab this power station and walk 100 feet. With power stations that are heavier than the 2000 v2, we hesitated to move them out of our vehicle and usually had to finagle cords and items to get closer to the power banks.
Charging Speed
The 2000 v2 completely charges from 0 to 100% in 2.5 hours and charges at 817 Wh/hr when plugged into AC power. The only models in our tests that charged faster cost substantially more. If you were camping and didn't have solar panels, you could drive into town, plug in at a cafe, eat an hour-long lunch, and likely get charged from 20% to 80%.
You can connect up to 400 watts of solar power. In perfect sun conditions, that would recharge the 2000 v2 in about 5-6 hours. We usually pair it with one 200-watt panel, which charges from 0-100% in about 10-12 hours, under perfect sun conditions.
A single 200-watt panel is normally plenty to keep the 2000 v2 topped off over a weekend or even a week of camping, depending on your usage. Note: we use a high-quality solar panel. Not all “200-watt” panels actually deliver 200 watts in ideal conditions.
It uses the DC8020 connector for solar, which is standard on Jackery solar panels but not on many other solar panels. On some of our test panels, we used a DC7909 to DC8020 Adapter and on other models we used a MC4 to DC8020 Adapter.
When paired with solar panels, the 2000 v2 can continuously power almost anything, even electric dirt bikes.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Of note, the 2000 v2 has a relatively quiet fan that comes on infrequently. While no power station we tested was even close to being as loud as a gas generator, we did notice differences in fan loudness and activation frequency. When you're taking in a stunning sunset with zero wind, the last thing you want is a loud fan to kick on and off constantly.
You can't daisy chain multiple 2000 v2's to expand your battery capacity. This is not a big deal when camping. Most people only need one unit. When we bring multiple battery units, we are happy to use one power station until it is dead, then plug into the next unit. But if you are building out a home battery backup system, where daisy-chaining multiple batteries is common, the 2000 v2 is likely not ideal.
Features
We appreciate the 2000 v2's simple and intuitive display. There is no touchscreen, but we never felt we needed one. There is a light on the front with high, low, and SOS (flashing) settings.
The 2000 v2 has a simple, yet effective, display screen that includes all the basic information we wanted to know.
Credit: Chris McNamara
There are only three USB ports: two USB-C and one USB-A port. If you want more USB charging, we recommend plugging a “car cigarette lighter adapter” into the DC 12v port or getting a USB-C expansion adapter. With more expensive power stations, you often get a wider variety of outlets and input styles. But there is a downside: many of those units have more outlet covers that are easy to break and are just confusing to operate at first. We love the simplicity of the 2000 v2, which has everything most people need, and nothing more. We never felt we needed a manual to figure out the most common features.
One initial gripe is that the screen turns off quickly in the default setting to conserve power. You can change the screen to stay on longer in the app, or just tap the power button to bring it back on.
The 2000 has all the essential outlets and nothing more.
Credit: Chris McNamara
As for more advanced features, the 2000 v2 allows you to charge items while plugged into solar panels or an AC outlet (it has a bypass mode). Jackery claims the 2000 v2 provides 4000 charge and discharge cycles over its lifetime. No other battery in our tests claims more than 4000 cycles.
The Jackery app works fine, but we never felt it that essential. You don't need to download the app to get the most common functionality out of this unit. The only time we found the app marginally helpful was when going to bed and wanting to double-check, without getting out of the tent, we had turned off the unit so Starlink wouldn't drain the battery overnight.Side-by-Side Comparison
Compare Jackery Explorer 2000 v2 versus top competing products:
—Chris McNamara and Kenji Mowrey
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