The best portable power stations for camping in Australia

A portable power station is a lithium battery, an inverter and a solar regulator in one box. For camping it does three jobs: runs a 12V fridge from its car socket, charges phones and laptops, and powers the odd 240V appliance. Prices below are from EcoFlow, Bluetti, Jackery, DJI, iTechworld, Anaconda and BCF on 18 October 2026; for models also sold on Amazon Australia, check the current price on Amazon. We compared maker specifications and retailer listings; we have not run these units on our own trips.

What the numbers mean

Four numbers decide whether a power station suits a camping trip.

• Capacity (Wh) is how much energy it stores. Bluetti’s own rule of thumb: divide watt-hours by the watts a device draws to get hours of run time, so 2,048Wh runs a 100W load for just over 20 hours on paper.
• Output (W) is how much it can deliver at once. 600W runs a laptop and lights; 1,800W runs a kettle. Surge figures (EcoFlow) and “lifting” modes (Bluetti) cover motors starting, or heating appliances run at reduced power.
• Battery chemistry and cycles. All eight units here use LiFePO4 (also written LFP). Read the cycle rating with its end point: 4,000 cycles to 80% capacity (EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus, Bluetti Elite 100 V2, DJI) is a stronger claim than 4,000 cycles to 70% (Jackery).
• Solar input (W) caps how fast panels refill it. 1,000W (Bluetti Elite 100 V2, EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus) means you can add panels later; 220W (RIVER 3 Plus) is one panel’s worth.

For campers there is a fifth: a 12V car socket. It runs a compressor fridge directly instead of through the 240V inverter.

The comparison

The EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus, Bluetti Elite 100 V2 and DJI Power 1000 V2 are also sold on Amazon Australia by the makers’ own seller accounts, and the DELTA 3 Plus is listed there; check the current price on Amazon.

How to size one

Start with the fridge, because it runs all day. Dometic publishes 0.86A an hour for its CFX5 45 at a 4°C setting, which is about 21Ah or 250Wh a day at 12V. EcoFlow’s GLACIER Classic 45L uses 190Wh a day as a fridge at 25°C, but 750Wh a day as a freezer. Hot weather and a full freezer push those numbers up.

On those figures a 1kWh unit runs a fridge for about four days with no solar, and a 286Wh RIVER 3 Plus for about one. iTechworld quotes about 5.5 days for its 1,536Wh PS1800 PRO on a fridge drawing 0.8A. Add phones, lights and a laptop, then decide how you will refill it: solar every day, the car’s 12V socket while driving, or both. Our 12V fridge guide has the power draw of each fridge we compared.

The picks

The Bluetti Elite 100 V2 is the one we would buy for a family camping trip. It stores 1,024Wh, delivers 1,800W, takes up to 1,000W of solar between 12 and 60V, and has a 12V/10A car socket plus two DC5521 outlets. Bluetti rates the cells for 4,000+ cycles to 80% and gives five years of warranty. It was $999 on sale at Bluetti’s own store on 14 November 2026. Bluetti also sells it on Amazon Australia; check the current price there. Budget $59 for the solar cable, which Bluetti says is not in the box.

The Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 is the cheapest way into 1kWh: $699 from Jackery Australia, 10.8 kg, with a car port and RCM listed among its certifications. The catch is the cycle rating, quoted to 70% capacity, and Jackery’s page gives solar charge times (3.8 hours from two 200W panels) rather than a solar input wattage.

The EcoFlow DELTA 3 Plus costs more for the same 1,024Wh, but it charges fastest: 1,500W from the wall, two 500W solar inputs, and an optional 800W alternator charger. It expands to 5kWh with an extra battery. It is $1,599 at EcoFlow and Anaconda. EcoFlow’s Australian spec table lists two 3A DC5521 outlets for 12V, so check the socket your fridge plugs into.

For weekends the EcoFlow RIVER 3 Plus weighs 4.7 kg and has a 12.6V/10A car socket, for $499. The Bluetti AC180P at BCF holds 1,440Wh with a car outlet Bluetti describes as regulated, at $1,499 ($1,399 Club price). The iTechworld PS1800 PRO suits 4WD tourers with 1,200W of solar across 12 to 90V and a 50A Anderson to XT60 adaptor in the box, at $1,399; its warranty is 24 months. The DJI Power 1000 V2 has the most output (2,600W continuous) for $999, but needs DJI’s adapter cable for a 12V fridge and a separate module for solar.

Torn between the two biggest brands? The EcoFlow vs Bluetti comparison lines them up at three sizes.

Power station or a second battery?

A power station is portable and needs no wiring, so it suits renters, swaps between cars and goes home for blackouts. A fixed lithium battery charged by a DC-DC charger costs less per watt-hour and charges every time you drive. Compare a $399 100Ah lithium battery (1,280Wh) in our lithium battery guide with a $999 1kWh power station, then add the DC-DC charger and an auto electrician’s fitting. Anything wired into the vehicle, including an Anderson plug run from the starting battery to charge a power station, is a job for an auto electrician. For panels, see the portable solar guide.

Buying for the Christmas holidays and Easter

Demand peaks before the December to January holidays and Easter. On 14 November 2026, in the Black Friday sales, several of our picks were cheaper than when we first checked on 18 October. Buy a few weeks before you leave so you can do a test run at home with the fridge plugged in.

The one trap

Buying a power station without a 12V output for a 12V fridge. EcoFlow’s own spec table for the DELTA 3 Classic, $899 on sale, says “12V DC Output: No” and “Car Charging: No”. You would have to run the fridge on a 240V adaptor through the inverter, and the Kings and Dune fridges we compared do not include one. Check for a car socket rated at 10A before you check the price.