Portable power stations are a dime a dozen, with new brands appearing all the time. That’s because they’re great for outdoor adventures, off-grid living, or emergencies. Anker is a popular name in the space, and its latest SOLIX C1000 delivers 1,800 watts of power, recharges in under an hour, and can even be controlled from your phone.

Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station

$649 $999 Save $350

The new Anker SOLIX C1000 is a compact yet powerful 1800W portable power station. It packs 11 different ports, 2400W AC power surge, built-in lighting, and more. Charge all your gear or be prepared for an emergency.
 

Brand

Anker

Dimensions

14.8×8.07×10.5 in

Weight

28.4 lb

AC Output ports

Six / 1800W Pure Sine Wave (2400W Surge)

USB Ports

Two USB-A 12W | Two USB-C 100W/30W

Battery Capacity

1056Wh

AC Input rating

1300W

DC Output ports

120W, 12V/10A

Solar input rating

600W

Battery type

LiFePO4

Connectivity

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

Display

Yes

Expandable

Yes

Operating temperature

-4°F — 104°F

Lights

LED bar

Battery Lifecycle

3,000 cycles to 80%+ capacity

Pros

• Plenty of power
• Remote smartphone controls
• Charges very fast

Cons

• A bit heavy at 28-pounds
• Loud fans while charging

Solid Design, Ports, and Lighting

With the Anker SOLIX C1000, you’re getting a power station design similar to everything else from the company, with subtle refinement throughout. It’s still a little bigger than a car battery or a small cooler, but now it’s packed with more power and features than previous models. Two massive handles make it easy to carry around this 28-pound battery. It charges faster. The built-in light is neat. And it has enough ports to charge all kinds of gadgets.

It has a solid and familiar design, even if the entire housing is plastic. I liked the layout of all the ports, with labels and wattage output ratings, which made it simple and easy to use.

The front is where all the magic happens. The Anker SOLIX C1000 has a large LCD screen that’ll be your starting point. On the screen, you’ll see the overall battery percentage, estimated battery life, input and output power usage, and even little icons for when you’re using one of the many charging ports. The screen is bright, easy to read, and only stays on for 30 seconds at a time to preserve the battery.

Under the display, you’ll find two clearly labeled USB-C ports for charging most things these days. One has a 100W output for laptops and bigger items, while the other is still a respectable 30W. Naturally, the two USB-A ports aren’t as powerful and only deliver 12W.

Then, six full-size 120V AC outlets flank the entire front to power typical household items, tools, and more. Unlike previous Anker models, all six 120V outlets are three-pronged, which is a significant improvement. You’ll also notice a 120W car socket, a three-stage LED lightbar, and buttons for turning on Bluetooth for connectivity controls. Out of all the power stations on the market, Anker’s LED lightbar is still one of my favorite features. It’s the perfect nightlight in a tent, garage, or during a power outage.

There are still a few other ports to know about. The right side has a large port for doubling the C1000 capacity with an add-on 1,056Wh battery. Then, the left side has the AC input for wall charging, the solar input plug, and a reset button for overvoltage situations.

Power All Your Gadgets and Gear

The Anker C1000 performed as expected and handled everything I tried plugging into it, including a large heater drawing over 2,000W of power. What do you want to know? You plug in phones, laptops, or tools, and they run and charge. It just works. It can handle 11 things plugged in simultaneously (I tried eight at once) or a single AC output pushing nearly 1,800W.

I tried two different heaters. I charged my MacBook Pro 16. I also ran lights in my shop and other things. One day I topped off my Super73 ebike battery and ran a Dremel while working on my truck, all while blasting tunes with a speaker.

And yes, I even tested it with a Keurig coffee machine. For those unaware, things like a microwave, coffee makers, and hair dryers take far more power than you’d think, and many power stations don’t have enough juice for things of that nature and will shut off.

That’s where the Anker SOLIX C1000 “SurgePad” technology comes into play. The far-right AC outlet labeled “SurgePad” can surge up to 2,400W load for high-power appliances, like a large space heater. Many power stations can temporarily surge and deliver a little more power than their recommended rating to help run bigger items. It’s jumping over 600W here, which is quite impressive.

I never once kicked the reset breaker by plugging in too many devices, and nothing required more power than the C1000 could deliver. Under a heavy enough load, the internal fans kick on and are loud, but that’s only temporary. It worked as expected, without fail.

Recharge in Under an Hour

This power station is an absolute beast when it comes to recharging. No one wants to wait five to six hours for a portable battery to recharge, so Anker developed its “HyperFlash” technology for faster AC charging. It doesn’t have a huge charging brick, as is seen with most of the competition, and it’s not as slow as the competition.

The Anker SOLIX C1000 recharges from 0 to 100% in under an hour—58 minutes, to be exact. The last 1,500W power station I owned took nearly 6 hours to charge, so I typically plugged it in overnight. With this thing, the battery was full before I was done loading my truck for a camping trip. The only downside of the crazy fast charging is the loud fans keeping it cool. Then again, it couldn’t charge this fast without proper heat dissipation.

Or, look at it this way. If you get a weather alert of an incoming storm, you can quickly recharge the C1000 in 58 minutes, ensuring a huge backup battery is ready. We can all appreciate the peace of mind that it delivers.

Phone Controls Are Great

In Anker’s quest to improve each power station, newer models have remote access via the Anker app, available on Android and iPhone. With the SOLIX C1000, you can pair it to a phone over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and then control everything. Things like easily powering on the AC ports, monitoring power usage, changing the screen brightness, looking at the remaining battery life, and more.

Being able to open up the app and turn on the power station is insanely helpful, especially while camping. In my RV, I used the app to fire up a portable heater and flip on the C1000’s LED light without getting out of bed. It’s a great feature, but keep in mind the unit will time out and go to sleep after 12 hours, and you’ll lose remote access. In the app, you can change this to either shorter times, 24 hours, or never, but that will consume more power as it’s always in standby mode.

You can also adjust charging speeds for the unit itself, change its name to something like “C1000 Garage Backup,” see which ports are being used, and check for firmware updates. These extra granular and remote controls give it one more leg up over cheaper alternatives on the market.

Should You Buy the Anker SOLIX C1000?

As a leader in power stations, this unit blends all the improvements from Anker over the years into one solid product. I’m talking about six full-size 120V AC outlets capable of 1,800W of power, HyperFlash to recharge the SOLIX C1000 itself quicker than almost any other model this big, and more. You can buy an expansion battery to double its capacity, pair it with your phone for remote and wireless controls, or connect some Anker solar panels to charge with the sun.

I’ve tested a lot of Anker power stations, and this offers one of the best all-around packages yet. It’s smaller and lighter than the outgoing Anker 757 I reviewed in 2022. And while the battery capacity is less than the 757, the C1000 has a higher 1,800W output and better peak performance. It’s great for outdoor adventures, perfect for an RV, and always gets the job done.

It’s certainly not cheap, but if you’re looking for a well-rounded portable power station that can handle almost anything you throw at it, the Anker SOLIX C1000 is an excellent place to start.

Anker SOLIX C1000 Portable Power Station

$649 $999 Save $350

The new Anker SOLIX C1000 is a compact yet powerful 1800W portable power station. It packs 11 different ports, 2400W AC power surge, built-in lighting, and more. Charge all your gear or be prepared for an emergency.