Best portable power station under £300?

Looking to pick up a portable station for camping trips and as backup during power cuts. Budget's around £300, maybe stretch to £350 if it's worth it.

Currently running a small solar setup at home (3kW Victron system), so I'm familiar with lithium vs lead-acid and all that. For this though, I need something that's genuinely portable — ideally under 15kg so I'm not knackered carrying it to the van.

Main use cases:

• Powering laptop and phone charging during trips
• Running a small 12V fridge if possible
• Emergency backup at home (wife wants reassurance we're not completely dark during outages)

I've been eyeing the Fogstar stuff since they're UK-based and support seems solid, but their entry-level models are creeping towards £400. Also looked at some of the Renogy units on Amazon, though I'm wary of cheap imports with dodgy after-sales.

Key question: am I better off getting a smaller capacity (like 300Wh) and pairing it with a solar panel, or stretching for something bigger (500Wh) that'll actually get through a couple days?

Any recommendations from folks who've actually used these things, not just YouTube reviews? Particularly interested in real-world performance in UK weather and which brands don't disappear from the market in six months.

Cheers in advance.

At that price point you're looking at the DJI Power 500 or maybe a Bluetti AC2A if you catch a sale. Honestly though, for van life and backup, I'd stretch the extra £50 for the Bluetti AC180—proper game changer.

The thing is, most units under £300 give you decent capacity but rubbish inverter quality. You'll regret it powering anything with a compressor or induction. The AC180 does 1800W continuous, which matters.

Since you've already got solar at home, pair whatever you choose with a decent portable panel (Fogstar or Renogy) rather than relying on wall charging. That's where the real value is for off-grid scenarios.

What's your actual use case—camping weekends or serious backup for your property?

Has anyone actually used either of those for camping trips? I'm curious about real-world runtime because specs can be misleading.

I've been eyeing the EcoFlow River 2 around £299–£349 depending on sales. The capacity's decent (256Wh) and it charges properly quick from solar, which matters if you're relying on it during outages. I'm planning to pair one with a portable panel for my garden office setup, so I've been doing a fair bit of research.

The thing I'd ask @Nessa73 is: what are you actually powering? Phones and lights versus running a kettle makes a huge difference to which model makes sense. Also, where are you based? Some retailers do better deals than others on UK stock.

Worth checking Fogstar and Renogy's sites directly rather than Amazon—sometimes their older stock shifts cheaper and the warranty's the same.

The DJI Power 500 is solid if you're mostly topping up devices, but for camping trips you'll want to think about what you're actually running. I've got a Fogstar unit in the van and honestly the weight-to-capacity ratio matters more than people realise when you're lugging it about.

@Liz1979's got a point about real-world runtime — specs are optimistic. A 300Wh station won't run a kettle or microwave for long, but it'll keep phones, lights, and a small fridge going for a decent stretch if you're sensible about it.

If you can stretch the budget slightly, look at what Renogy's got on offer. Their smaller units punch above their weight and the warranty's decent. Main thing though — what's your actual power draw? Camping's different from backup power at home. You might find a smaller station paired with decent portable solar works out better long-term than hunting for one magic box that does everything.

At that budget you're basically choosing between "charges your phone three times" and "actually useful for camping" — rarely both in the same box.

If you're serious about backup during power cuts, the DJI's a phone charger with delusions of grandeur. I'd genuinely stretch to £400-450 for a Bluetti EB3A or Fogstar LiFePO4 — you'll actually run a kettle or small fridge, not just feel virtuous about having something charged.

For camping specifically, what are you actually wanting to power? That's the real question. My Victron setup at home cost a fair bit more, but I learned the hard way that underpowering a backup system is like buying a canoe for a flood — technically waterborne, functionally useless.

If it's genuinely just topping up torches and phones during a blackout, fair play, grab whatever's on offer. But if you want it doing proper work for multiple days camping, you'll regret saving £100 now.

The issue you'll hit at £300 is that you're buying a compromise device. Most portable stations in that bracket give you either decent capacity with rubbish output, or reasonable output with barely enough watt-hours to run anything meaningful.

For camping specifically, you need to be realistic about what you're actually powering. Phone charging? Fine, any of them do that. Running a small fridge, kettle, or laptop? You'll drain a 300Wh unit in hours and then you're stuck. The math doesn't work unless you're solar-charging during the day.

What I'd actually suggest: instead of a portable station, look at picking up a second-hand Victron LiFePO₄ battery (used 5kWh units pop up regularly for £250-400) and a simple 1000W inverter. You lose the portability for camping, but you get proper capacity and can scale it. If you really need portable, save another £150-200 and grab a Fogstar or Renogy setup at £450-500 — the jump in usable capacity is enormous.

What's your actual power draw on these

@CornishCamper and @SimonKelly are spot on — you're genuinely at the inflection point where budget either buys you a fancy power bank or something that's actually camp-capable.

The real question is what you're powering. Phone charging? Laptop? A small fridge or camping heater? That completely changes the answer.

At your budget, I'd honestly recommend looking at Fogstar batteries paired with a cheap 100W solar panel rather than a branded portable station. Sounds mad, but you get modularity — you can expand later without binning the whole setup. I've done this for my caravan and it's been brilliant for flexibility.

If you must buy a single unit, the Bluetti EB3A occasionally dips under £350 and punches above its weight for the capacity. Real-world, it'll run a laptop all day or keep basics going through a power cut. Not flashy, but honest about its limitations.

Avoid anything marketing "300W continuous / 600W peak" as a selling point — that's marketing nonsense for your use case. Look at actual watt-hours

Hey @Nessa73, good question and fair budget to work with.

The lads above are right that you're at a tricky price point, but don't let that put you off entirely. Since you've already got solar experience, I'd actually suggest looking at what you'd use most on camping trips — is it charging devices, running lights, powering a small fridge?

That'll help you pick between, say, a Bluetti or EBL unit around £250-280 (decent capacity, reasonable ports) versus stretching to something like an older Jackery model if you catch a sale. The extra £50-70 can genuinely make the difference between "annoying to use" and "actually handy."

For backup at home during cuts, honestly, even a smaller unit is better than nothing — at least you're keeping phones and essentials charged. Just manage expectations: you won't be running kettles or heaters, but lighting, laptop, fridge top-ups? Sorted.

Have you looked at what wattage you'd realistically need for your gear?

At £300 you're basically choosing between a paperweight with a fancy screen or something that'll actually run your kettle for five minutes before staging an existential crisis. The Fogstar LiFePO4 units start around £350 and genuinely hold their own, but if you're strict on budget, you'd be better off sinking it into a decent solar panel and a quality charge controller—that's where your actual return on investment lives for camping trips. Portable stations are brilliant for the "oh God the grid's down" panic, less so for anything requiring sustained power.

@Nessa73 worth asking — what's your main use case here? Camping trips are one thing, but if you're after proper backup during outages, that changes the maths entirely.

For £300-350 you're genuinely stuck in the gap where you either get decent capacity with poor inverter quality, or reasonable specs that'll struggle with anything demanding. The portable units at that price tend to have dodgy sine wave inverters.

Given you've already got solar at home, have you considered whether you'd be better off investing that £300 into a larger battery for your existing system instead? Even a used Victron or Fogstar unit would give you more flexibility than a portable box.

If you're set on portable though — and it's genuinely just for camping — the EcoFlow River (used market) or even a decent leisure battery with a proper pure sine inverter might stretch your budget further than the all-in-one units.

What are you actually trying to run during those power cuts?

@Nessa73 what's the wattage you're actually after? I ask because at £300 you might be better off with a decent LiFePO₄ battery bank and a separate inverter — gives you more flexibility than an all-in-one unit. What kit are you running at home currently? That'd help work out if you need something that'll pair with your existing solar.