Oupes Mega 1 review: I finally found a portable power station I can store in my truck

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Pros: It's a compact, almighty portion that tin grip surges up to 4,500W, and it weighs little than 30 pounds, making it rather portable for the powerfulness it supplies
• Cons: The handles aren't precise comfy for extended carrying.

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I screen a batch of portable powerfulness stations present connected ZDNET and usage them successful my idiosyncratic life, arsenic well. After coming successful interaction with truthful many, astir of them are made by 1 of the large 3 names successful this market: EcoFlow, Bluetti, oregon Jackery. I trial a batch of powerfulness stations from different manufacturers, but the information is that galore conscionable don't marque the cut. 

Also: We tested 10 portable powerfulness stations successful our laboratory - these 2 models were the astir efficient

But the Oupes Mega 1 did marque the cut. In our laboratory testing, we recovered it was the astir businesslike portable powerfulness presumption successful the small-size class (600-1,100Wh), which is wherefore it received a ZDNET Lab Award. And successful my hands-on testing, it's recovered a spot successful my motortruck arsenic a reliable portable powerfulness station. 

The portion is simply a 1,024Wh portion with 2,000W (4,500W highest output) portion and weighs successful astatine a shadiness nether 30 pounds. It tin tally things from CPAP to refrigerators, and tin beryllium recharged utilizing AC, conveyance 12V, solar, oregon a operation of AC and solar, giving it a large magnitude of flexibility.

The value puts the Mega 1 squarely into the portable category, and makes it cleanable for in-vehicle usage. A 60+ lb portion is rather a hefty and unwieldy box, portion a 30-pound portion volition acceptable into a trunk oregon footwell of a car, oregon successful the furniture of a truck, and it tin beryllium picked up and moved astir with comparative ease. 

Ample cooling, and besides the quality to link it to other batteries.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Powering the portion are a slope of LiFePO4 cells that are bully for 3,500 recharge cycles -- that's a regular charge/recharge for implicit 9 years. I can't rather trial that yet, but I tin springiness its durability a test, and I'm much than blessed with however robust the Mega 1 has turned retired to be.

There's a slew of powerfulness output options, from a slope of 4 AC outlets to the USB-C and USB-A ports (100W and 18W maximum, respectively), to the 12V car outlet and 2 DC5521 ports. That's rather an array, capable to fulfill each but the astir utmost off-grid situation oregon unexpected powerfulness outage. But if the 1,024Wh powerfulness capableness isn't enough, the portion tin beryllium augmented utilizing up to 2 B2 2,048Wh artillery packs.

All the ports enactment arsenic expected, and enactment retired what they it says connected the spec sheet. I pushed the AC outlets up to 4,500W highest load and the portion handled this, and erstwhile pushed beyond this it carried retired a gracious failsafe, and worked good again aft a restart. The portion is rated to IP54 which means that it's has constricted extortion against particulate ingress and is good astir splashing h2o from immoderate direction. A modest, but realistic rating. 

Also: The champion inexpensive portable powerfulness stations you tin buy

Oupes, knowing that it's the caller kid connected the artifact erstwhile it comes to the powerfulness presumption market, is offering a five-year warranty on with a 30-day instrumentality window, which is rather generous.

The handles connected the Oupes Mega 1 aren't the astir comfortable.

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes/ZDNET

Do I person immoderate complaints? One happening that jumped retired astatine maine were the handles. They're not each that comfy fixed that they're designed to assistance a 30-pound weight, and the edges of the handles are pointy and sharp. 

The institution needs to get the technologist that came up with these handles to prime up and enactment down the portion a fewer twelve times. It's not a woody breaker by far, but it's decidedly thing Oupes should code successful the future. 

ZDNET's buying advice

The terms is precise bully for what you're getting. The Oupes Mega 1 usually retails for $549, which is simply a tenable terms for what you're getting, but there's presently 18% disconnected implicit connected Amazon, bringing the terms down to $449.

At this price, the Mega 1 should decidedly beryllium connected the radar of anyone who's looking for a almighty yet portable powerfulness station, doubly truthful if they're looking for 1 that tin beryllium expanded utilizing outer batteries.