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EcoFlow River Max 600Wh portable power station review rating
Generalize
EcoFlow RIVER Max is an impressive portable power station with a wide range of ports and incredibly fast charging speed. These additional features can easily justify the price premium over other popular brands.
advantage
- Significantly better output options than competitors, including 100W USB-C PD
- International plug socket, very suitable for travel
- AC charging faster than the competition
- Solar charging up to 200W
- The app does have some useful settings customization
shortcoming
- Bad app-registration required and difficult to connect to WiFi, limited overall usage
I reviewed recently Jackery solar generator 500, Including Jackery 500 and SolarSaga 100W solar panels. This is my first foray into a portable power station, and it left a very deep impression on me.
My main criticism of it is that the choice of USB ports is quite bad, limited to 12W USB-A. Of course, you can easily alleviate this problem, but use a good quality power plug socket.
Although Jackery may be the most well-known company in the game, EcoFlow products now occupy 60%~70% of the portable power supply market in Europe.
EcoFlow vs Jackery
If you want more flexibility through plug-ins and better solar options, then the EcoFlow series of portable power stations may be the best alternative to Jackery.
The model I reviewed is an international model, and the price is the same as the British model. However, the plug socket is compatible with three-pin UK sockets and two-pin EU sockets, which is a more attractive option for anyone planning to use them for travel.
EcoFlow River Max is the closest model to Jackery 500. EcoFlow rounds their ratings, so this is actually 576Wh, not 600W, and Jackery rounds down, so it’s 518Wh instead of 500W.
So there is not much difference in cost, and the cost of EcoFlow is indeed higher, but it is far from other specifications.
First of all, you have dual international plug sockets. It is true that when I only have 576Wh to use, I can’t think of many situations where I want to plug in two power supplies, but I am happy to have it. For me, more useful is the flexibility of international sockets.
Then you have a USB port. The most important is the 100W USB-C, which allows any laptop that needs USB-C power to continue to run. For anyone who uses a laptop to travel and work, this will be very beneficial. The fast charging port is then the 18W cable, and the other two are 12W matching Jackery.
EcoFlow also claims to be the fastest charging portable power station in the world. RIVER Max can be charged from 0-80% in one hour, or fully charged in 96 minutes. In contrast, Jackery takes 5.5 hours to fully charge 80% of the battery, while a full charge takes 7.5 hours. When at home, I prefer slow charging, but when traveling, you may want to charge as much as possible in the shortest time.
EcoFlow also has better solar charging options, with a maximum solar input of 200W, and they sell 110W or 160W solar panels, although their costs are much higher than Jackery alternatives.
So in general, EcoFlow is a clear winner in terms of features, but you can save a lot of money by buying Jackery at a discount (this seems common).
| EcoFlow RIVER Max International | Jackery Explorer 500 | |
| Price | GBP 599 | 529 GBP / 470 GBP (with discount) |
| battery capacity | 576Wh (28.8V) | 518Wh (21.6V) |
| Outlets | AC power socket x1 | AC power socket x1 |
| USB-A port x2 | USB-A port x3 | |
| USB-A fast charge x1 | DC port x2 | |
| USB-C port x1 | Car port x1 | |
| DC port x2 | ||
| Car port x1 | ||
| Battery chemistry | Lithium ion NMC | Lithium ion NMC |
| Charge cycle | 500 cycles to reach more than 80% capacity | 500 cycles to reach more than 80% capacity |
| Solar charging input | 200W 10-25V DC 12A max | 100W 12V DC 12A max |
| AC inverter output | 600W (surge 1200W) | 500W (1000W surge) |
| Charging time | 1.6 hours (communication) | 7.5 hours (communication) |
| 6.5 hours (12/24V car adapter) | 7.5 hours (12V car adapter) | |
| 3-6 hours (solar panel) | 9.5 hours (solar panel) | |
| weight | 7.7 kg (17 lbs) | 6.03 kg (13.3 lb) |
| aspect | 28.9 x 18.4 x 23.5 cm | 30 x 19.2 x 24.2 cm |
Full specifications
- 600W (continuous power supply) and 1200W (surge)
- Various power ports (power 230v, USB and 12V DC)
- Fast charging via wall plug, 12V car adapter or solar panel (optional)
- Battery-576 Wh Lithium Ion
- Overcharge protection
- Output
- x2 AC output: 600W (1200W surge), with pure sine wave output (2 x 230v sockets)
- Automobile power output (x1): 136W, 13.6V DC, 10A Max
- DC5521 output (x2): 13.6V DC, maximum 3A (each port)
- USB
- USB-A output (x2): 12 W per port, 5V DC, 2.4A
- USB-A fast charging (x1): 5V/2.4A, 9V/2A, 12V/1.5A 18W Max
- USB-C output (x1): 100W, 5V DC, 9V DC, 12V DC, 15V DC, 20V DC, 5A Max
- enter
- AC charging input power, X-STREAM: maximum 500W
- Solar charging input MC4 to XT60: 200W 10-25V DC 12A Max
- Car charger input: 12V/24V DC 10A Max
- temperature
- Charging temperature: 0 to 45°C +/-3°C
- Discharge temperature: -20 to 60°C +/-3°C
- size
Function / application control / in use
EcoFlow has WiFi and a supporting application. Although I like smart technology very much, sometimes you have to wonder if you need such a thing instead of pressing a button on the device itself.
The app is set up incorrectly, requires you to log in with an account, and has a huge privacy policy. I don’t understand why this is needed.
Pairing things are not as smooth as usual Smart home equipment. It works the same as most, you connect to the SSID of the device, provide your 2.4Ghz SSID and password, and then it will sync. However, it took several attempts to select the correct SSID. The first attempt to synchronize failed, and it took about one minute to transfer the settings.
You can connect directly to EcoFlow and use it without an internet connection.
Although I don’t like the idea of having to use apps to control such simple things. It does have some useful features. You can control the charging/discharging capacity of the device. Therefore, you can limit it to 80% to start the battery. You can also set it to slow charging, which will reduce how often the fan spins, and if you are charging, this will be useful while sleeping.
Then there is the X-Boost function, which allows you to power high-power appliances up to 1800W. This is a very happy thing, but in fact, I am not sure how likely I will use it. If I am traveling, I will not bother to use an electric kettle when a gas stove is a more sensible choice. There are some household applications that may benefit from it. The refrigerator can pull up the power until the temperature stabilizes, so it is useful in the event of a power outage.
As for the device itself, everything is as you wish. The plug socket works very well, all my EU plugs are used for phones, so I technically do not need the EU socket function, but it works very well.
Most household appliances that you can power EcoFlow state actually require far more than its capabilities. A typical British electric kettle will use 3kw, and a hair dryer will use 2.4kw. However, travel-specific equipment usually works. I managed to find a 1000W travel bottle in my storage and there is no problem with X-Boost function.
The 100W power transmission USB-C was one of the main factors that attracted me, and it worked as expected.I don’t have a laptop that can pull out 100W, but Huawei Matebook 14 Up to 65W.
I am also keen on LCD readings. You can get the current power consumption and remaining power, but it also tells you how long the battery can be used based on the power.
Solar charging
I have not been sent to test solar panels, and I am not sure how successful I will be in the North of England in November. There are three different solar panel options, 60W, 85w, 110, and 160w. Then you can daisy chain them together, and the River series allows two panels to be used for charging up to 200W.
The 110W panel costs 319 pounds, which is very expensive, but if you want to stay away from the grid for as long as possible, then this is your best choice.
Prices and alternatives
The retail price of the 600W EcoFlow River Max portable power station is £599
There is a more portable 288Wh model, priced at 379 pounds or EcoFlow River Pro’s 720Wh, priced at 699 pounds
Then, these can be paired with 85W solar panels for £279, 110W solar panels for £339, or 160W solar panels for £399. The 60W panel is not available on the UK/EU website.
The suggested retail price of the Jackery Explorer 500 I reviewed earlier is £529.99, but Amazon page There is a £60 coupon to reduce it to £470, while a 100W solar panel costs £259.99
There is also the ALLPOWERS 606Wh portable generator, priced at 441.99 pounds, and the 100W solar panel is priced at 159.99 pounds
Return and refund policy
This is not usually mentioned in my reviews, but I noticed Amazon’s negative reviews of Jackery and some other portable power stations. It seems that all power station lists have a non-refundable refund policy. I’m not entirely sure how this is possible, because I think distance selling regulations prevent this situation.
When buying from EcoFlow, they do have a return policy (for UK buyers). You need to request an RMA, they will deduct the transaction fee (3.6% of the credit/debit card used by PayPal or through PayPal users) + shipping.
For products with quality issues, such as all products sold online, they must refund in full, including shipping.
overall
When I reviewed Jackery, it left a deep impression on me. Obviously for a reason, they are the number one manufacturer of portable power stations.
However, it is difficult to ignore competition.
The charging cost of EcoFlow River Max is slightly higher, but due to dual international plug sockets and 100W USB power supply, the overall availability is much higher. 100W PD is the most important to me because it makes using gid a more viable option.
You also have good solar options. Although these can become very expensive, they should keep you away from the grid compared to competing brands that can only support 100W.
EcoFlow also has the advantage of fast charging from an AC power outlet, which can charge 80% in less than an hour.
I have some minor complaints about the app, but you don’t actually need to use the app at all unless you want to make the settings adjustments I’ve discussed.
In general, I think EcoFlow River Max is an excellent portable power station, very suitable for anyone who lives off-grid, whether traveling or living.
