Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station – Reviewed and Tested

After a couple of months of testing, Jon discovered that the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station not only powered his off-grid adventures, but kept on giving once the trip was over.

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Anker is a brand name most of us are familiar with, and rightly so – they’ve been making reputable power banks and charging accessories for years. 

But as battery technology has continued to evolve at a lightning rate, has Anker kept up? They’ve unsurprisingly leapt into the booming market of portable power stations (i.e., very big power banks). With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at their latest offering.

Meet the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station. A big name for a small package – but don’t let the size fool you. Under the hood is an impressive capacity and power output, able to be fully recharged in about an hour – a world record, apparently. 

This is the fastest charging portable power station in the world, so how’s it go at all the other stuff?

Why am I the right person to do this review?

I’m Jon, a full time photographer and film maker, often creating content in the wild while spending multiple nights off-grid in my van. I’m the perfect use case for this portable power station, with many power-hungry devices demanding to be fed without a power socket in sight. 

Up until now I’ve scraped by with a motley crew of much smaller power stations and power banks, so I was keen as a bean to stop being so frugal with my power consumption and see whether the Solix really was a game changer for me.

Office vibes ugh!

Quick Specifications

The Anker Solix has most common outputs covered with labels for their rating

Battery cell: LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate)
Capacity: 2,048Wh (or 40,000mAH)
Dimensions: 45.9cm wide x 25cm deep x 25.7cm high
Weight: 18.9kg
Waterproof: No
Charging ports: 4x AC 2,300W outlets, 2x USB-C 140W, 1x USB-C 15W, 1x USB-A 12W, 1x 12V 120W Car outlet (i.e. cigarette lighter plug)
RRP: $2699 (currently on sale for $1799)

Buy Now

Terminology – Watt are we talking about?

OK, let’s pause for a sec – I’ve already thrown a lot of electrical jargon out there, and despite my engineering degree I still find the terminology and concepts around power and electricity confusing. So, here’s a quick run down of the important stuff to know with portable power stations.

I find analogies are super helpful for understanding these sometimes vague and complex ideas. So picture your portable power station as a water tank:

• Watt-hours (Wh) = the size or capacity of the tank – for a battery, how much energy it’s capable of storing. Important when considering how long you will need your power supply for (but this will obviously be affected by the wattage of the devices you’re powering).
• Watts (W) = the size of the outlet pipe from the tank – this is how much power it can deliver instantaneously. Important when considering what devices the power station can actually power.

The phone app helps you keep track of all the comings and goings

Then we have AC vs DC:

• Alternating Current (AC) – this is your standard, 240V household power supply. On the Anker Solix, the 4x AC outlets will typically be used for devices or chargers that you would use at home, and often require more input power (e.g. more watts).
• Direct Current (DC) – All USB outlets and 12V car outlets run on DC. Typically used for running or charging lower power portable devices.

Righto – lesson over, let’s see how the Solix performs in real life!

Performance

The Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 is a premium offering in this quickly growing market of portable power stations. My expectation of how well it could work in the wild was fairly high, and I’m happy to say that I wasn’t disappointed. 

Durability

This wasn’t a super long term test, so the extended durability is still unknown. But in the couple of months since I received the Solix, I tried to use it as much as I could at home (more on this later) so I could get familiar with its characteristics, the app functionality and any quirks in the software or how it functioned. 

While testing the Solix in my home office, I did run into an issue where it switched modes unexpectedly, which interrupted the AC output. Worried I had a faulty unit, I contacted support and was incredibly surprised to receive a response in less than 10 minutes – very admirable support in this day and age! With a bit further digging we quickly realised that the odd behaviour had been caused by an unstable WiFi connection at my end, and the Anker was all good.

Construction is fairly rugged, which is good considering its off-grid aspirations

Apart from this initial glitch, I feel confident after my intensive use of the unit that it should perform well for its life span. 

This opinion is bolstered by the build quality – while the exterior casing is entirely plastic with rubberised feet, the Solix feels robust and well constructed – reassuring, given the target demographic will likely be carting this battery around in vans, utes, and campers.

Storage Capacity – Three Days with the Solix

After my home testing, it was time to get this beast out in the field to unleash all the power! I took the Anker to Mogo, where I set up at an off-grid campsite for 3 days of mountain biking and pushed my power consumption well beyond the usual limits to see what could be done with a power station of this size. 

Here’s a quick overview of everything I powered and charged with the Anker Solix C2000 Gen 2 during this time:

• Car fridge – Waeco 28L (rated at 9W) run for ~42hrs
• 2x LED light strips run for ~4hrs
• Breville Barista Express Espresso machine – made two coffees including milk frothing.
• eMTB (YT Decoy Core MX with a 540Wh battery) – over two days I rode a total of 68km with 1700m of climbing. This was just over 4hrs of total riding time. 
• Garmin Edge 1030 GPS bike computer + Garmin Fenix 6X GPS watch broadcasting HR – used during the rides, with the watch operating as usual for the whole trip. 
• Insta360 X4 Action Camera – recorded 15 minutes of footage while riding
• DJI Mic Mini 2 – recorded 15 minutes of audio while riding
• Camera and video gear:
  • 1.5x full charge of Sony NP-FZ100 battery
  • 0.5x full charge of Sony NP-550 battery (for video monitor)
  • 0.5x full charge of Rode Video Mic Pro+
• iPad mini – used for 4 hours
• Bose QC Ultra headphones – used for 4 hours
• iPhone 15 Pro – used moderately for the whole trip

Not my normal setup, but not complaining!

Let’s dive into this usage a little deeper to understand what the Solix is capable of in a realistic  scenario…

Firstly – two things really impressed me when using the Solix on this trip – keeping my eMTB going and also running the espresso machine. My previous experiences of charging my bike with much smaller portable power stations (where I could maybe get a 70% top up of the eMTB battery) were frustrating to say the least. It was so refreshing to be able to burn around on the Trail setting rather than be super conservative in Eco mode – knowing that I had plenty of backup juice at camp.

At 540Wh the eMTB battery is over a quarter of the Anker Solix’s capacity

As for the espresso machine… well, this was pure luxury and something I’d never normally bring along. The Anker fired the Breville up with no worries – running at a hefty 1,850W this is something my smaller power stations could never do, yet the Solix is capable of outputting 2,400W! I brewed up two delicious lattes, consuming a fair chunk of power in the process. 

I also kept all my smaller battery powered devices topped up during this period – phone, camera gear, GPS etc – this definitely wasn’t my normal practice as they all would have lasted for this short trip. I was just keen to see how much juice I could squeeze out of the Solix by keeping them topped up.

No rationing here!

All this heavy usage pretty much exhausted the Anker down to 0% – without once recharging it from my van, or with solar panels during the day – something I’d definitely do during normal use.

Keep in mind that this test was conducted during winter – meaning the fridge wasn’t working as hard as it would during a summer road trip… but at the same time all battery powered devices typically run less efficiently when cold. This also wasn’t a highly scientific test (the Anker website provides many more claims of what you can expect to be able to run and charge with the Solix C2000 Gen 2) as there are so many variables around power consumption – your mileage will definitely vary to mine!

Versatility

OK, so the Solix C2000 Gen 2 does what it says on the tin for off-grid adventures, and I know most of you We Are Explorers readers who froth on the outdoors would plan to chuck it in the van or the fourby and hit the road. But indulge me for a moment while I share just how versatile the Anker can really be.

This portable powerhouse shouldn’t just be packed up in the gear shed once you return home, waiting patiently until the next outing. You can set this puppy up at home with potential long-term savings to be had as electricity prices continue to rise.

The most obvious use is during a power outage – for example, Anker claims the Solix C2000 Gen 2 can power your home fridge for nearly 34 hours – so with four available AC outlets and four USB ports, you could keep essential items powered during a lengthy blackout. 

But dive a little deeper into the app settings, and you’ll discover Time of Use (TOU) mode. With the Solix plugged into a powerpoint at home, TOU lets you control exactly when it should charge from the grid (with power ‘passing through’ to run any devices plugged into it), and when it should supply power to your devices from the Solix battery. 

What does this mean? Well, if you’re lucky enough to have solar panels on your roof this means you can set the Solix to charge itself up during the day while your panels are producing excess electricity as well as powering whatever is plugged into the Solix. Then at night while the solar panels are inactive, the Solix can start to use its battery to provide power instead. Essentially, a smaller version of a solar home battery.

Even if you don’t have solar panels, but have a Peak / Off-Peak electricity plan, you can likewise adjust the TOU settings to charge up the Solix during cheaper Off-Peak periods, and draw power from the Solix battery during Peak periods.

(It’s worth mentioning that the small WiFi glitch I mentioned earlier was experienced in TOU mode… apparently the Solix needs a stable wifi connection to operate correctly. Worth keeping in mind when considering what you choose to power from the Solix).

In a real life scenario, I can easily power my entire home office for free (laptop, monitor, multiple hard drives plus charging all my camera and video gear) by using this TOU feature. It’s definitely not as seamless as an integrated solar home battery, but hey – it’s a fraction of the cost, and it’s portable!

Design

Overall, I’m solidly impressed with Anker’s design of the Solix C2000 Gen 2. I couldn’t fault any of the design choices – both physical and in terms of user experience on the unit itself and in the app. There were a couple of small features that would be nice to include, but first let’s have a quick look at what I really liked.

What I Liked About the Anker Sollix C2000 Gen 2

Size and Weight

Anker claims the C2000 Gen 2 is 29% smaller and 25% lighter than other power stations of similar capacity. The website also shows pictures of someone strolling along with the power station dangling from one hand beside them… possible if you have forearms like Popeye, but I’d advise solidly gripping both handles to lift this thing – it’s got some heft to it. 

At 19kg it’s two hands for beginners

Insanely Fast Charging Times

In another bold claim, Anker states that the Solix is the ‘Fastest Charging Portable Power Station’… a claim backed by a Guinness World Record title!

I charged the unit from 0% to 100% in exactly 1hr – that’s fairly crazy for a battery with this capacity! The input charging rate is adjustable via the app – the max being 2,300W. You can bump this up to 2,600W by adding some solar panels – nice to be able to charge from two sources simultaneously. 

Charging while on the move from your vehicle can also be boosted by the optional Alternator Charger, pumping in 800W for a charge time of 2.6 hours.

Versatile USB ports

It’s nice to see a variety of USB ports on the Solix. You get two modern fast charging USB-C ports, a slower USB-C port, and also a slower USB-A port. While 4x fast USB-C ports might be ideal, a lot of us are still using cables with USB-A plugs, so it’s nice not to have to hunt around for an adapter.

Luscious Display Screen and Simple Buttons

The LED screen is gorgeous, with a crystal clear display and a nice little animation during start up. Is this animation important? Of course not, but sometimes these little touches can make the hefty price tag a little easier to swallow. 

The buttons and physical interface are also ridiculously simple and intuitive. Once powered on, the remaining two buttons simply toggle the AC and DC ports on or off – but plugging something into any port will enable power immediately without needing to press either button.

The screen’s easy to read even in sunlight outdoors

Solar Input and Expansion Capabilities

Naturally you’d expect to be able to charge a portable power station via solar, and the Solix has an XT60i input plug (which also becomes the charging input from your vehicle’s 12V cigarette lighter with the right cable).

And, if 2,048Wh isn’t enough juice to power your adventures, there’s a separate expansion port to connect Anker’s Expansion Battery, which doubles the total capacity to a whopping 4,096Wh!

This is the extra battery expansion port

Great App Functionality

The Anker app is reasonably simple while being a nice addition to monitor and control the Solix. Initial connection from my iPhone was a breeze, allowing instantaneous display of power input / output, the ability to toggle AC and DC ports on or off, and more intricate settings like TOU mode and the input charging rate.

Quiet Operation

Understandably, the cooling fan kicked in while I was charging the unit to 100% at its fastest recharge rate. If you’re planning to connect high powered devices to the Solix and run them for an extended period then presumably the fan would kick in again, but for normal DC charging and running a fridge overnight, I didn’t notice the fan running.

A quiet fan is important for maximum serenity

What Could Be Improved

I feel like the addition of two minor features could perfect the already stellar performance of the Solix. 

Include a 12v DC Power Jack

While the unit does sport one 12V DC ‘cigarette lighter’ style port, it’s missing the much smaller 12V DC port typically used by some 4WD and camping accessories. Adapters are readily available from both the cigarette lighter port and USB ports, so this is a minor detail – just be prepared to hunt around for the correct adapters if you need them. 

A range of ports means you’re less likely to be stitched up if you forget the adaptor

Remote Connection Would Be Amazing

When used at home in TOU mode, it would be very cool to connect remotely to the Solix unit from the app – but currently you can only connect directly via Bluetooth, which means being nearby. The Solix does connect to your home WiFi, so in theory a remote connection could easily be implemented with a firmware update.

Sustainability

Anker Innovations (the Chinese based parent company which manufactures and distributes Anker products) has a dedicated Sustainability Commitment page on their website, where you can download a very detailed 145 page Sustainability Report for 2025 which indicates that the company is implementing sustainable strategies and promoting innovation towards greener technologies. This includes plastic reduction, improving energy efficiency (e.g. using LFP battery chemistry), and actively offsetting carbon. 

While it can be hard to know whether to trust what these giant companies tell us in regard to their environmental friendliness, there are some hard facts to consider:

• If used smartly, there’s potential for this power station to increase renewable energy use in your life by using it at home in TOU mode.

• LFP batteries are generally considered a ‘greener’ battery tech, compared to cobalt or nickel based lithium batteries. 
• Anker rates the Solix C2000 Gen 2 as good for 4,000 cycles (at which point the capacity drops to about 80%), or a 10 year lifespan. 

Price

If you’d asked me whether I was prepared to drop $2.7k on a portable battery before my time with the Solix, it would’ve been a hard no – no matter how good the reviews were. But, I’m notoriously a bit of a tight arse, and it’s more that $2.7k could mean a new camera body or lens, or some serious bike upgrades!

But as I get older, I value quality products and the experience of using them more and more. I’m certainly prepared to pay more for a product that not only works well, but is a joy to use. 

With this in mind, I reckon I could convince my pre-Solix self that it’s worth the cash, simply because it works, it’s a pleasure to use. and it takes away one of the major stresses of spending time off-grid (first world problem, I know). 

Would I pay $2700 to delete charging anxiety? Not sure. $1800 on the other hand…

But still – it’s definitely a higher end product that won’t fit everyone’s budget. So I’d advise keeping an eye out for sales, as Anker seems to have pretty significant ones – at the time of writing it’s currently available on the Anker website for $1,799.

Coupled with a 5 year warranty, and what I’ve experienced as excellent tech support, I’d say that definitely makes Anker stand out as a winner.

Final Thoughts

Despite a premium (yet frequently discounted) RRP, Anker has nailed the Solix C2000 Gen 2 Portable Power Station. 

Beyond an impressive 2,048Wh capacity and 2,400W peak output, it just works. Improving the quality of my off-grid adventures, with the bonus of reducing my grid power consumption at home are definitely big wins for me!