EcoFlow River Portable Power Station Review

This article is a rewritten version of content originally provided and published on our former site.

Portable power stations are useful for leisure activities like camping, car camping, and disaster preparedness. In recent years, demand for them has been growing steadily.

However, every portable power station has its own unique characteristics, such as capacity, input/output levels, weight, and various other features.
If the capacity is too small, it won’t be useful, but if it’s too heavy, it becomes difficult to use.

The “EcoFlow River” introduced here does not have an exceptionally large capacity, but it is a handy and cost-effective portable power station.

With that said, I will be reviewing the “EcoFlow River” in detail.

Basic Information on the “EcoFlow River”

Specifications

Basic Specifications		Basic Specifications
Unit Weight	5kg	Battery Material	Ternary Lithium-ion
Dimensions	288×185×194mm	Discharge Temperature Range	−20 to 60°C
Battery Capacity	288Wh (28.8V, 12.5Ah)	Charge Temperature Range	0 to 45°C

Output
AC Output	600W (Surge 1200W)
Pure Sine Wave	100Vac (50Hz/60Hz)
USB-A Output	5V DC, 2.4A 12W
USB-A Fast Charge	5V DC, 9V DC, 12V DC, 2.4A, 18W
USB-C Output	5V DC, 9V DC, 15V DC, 20V DC, 5A, 100W
Car Outlet Output	136W, 13.6V DC, 10A
DC5521 Output	13.6V DC, 3A

Input
AC Charging Input Voltage	100 to 120V (50Hz/60Hz)
AC Charging Input Power	Max 250W
Solar Charging Input	Max 200W 10 to 25V DC 12A
Car Outlet Charging	Max 200W 12V/24V DC 10A

When choosing a portable power station, by far the most important factor is the battery capacity.

The “EcoFlow River” has a relatively small capacity of 288Wh compared to other portable power stations.
However, it feels like this “EcoFlow River” wasn’t built around having a large capacity, but rather competes on compactness, ease of use, and great cost performance.

Also, when it comes to portable power stations, the types and number of output ports are extremely important.

The “EcoFlow River” supports a wide variety of output methods, including AC outputs (x3), USB-A outputs (x2), USB-A fast charging (x1), USB-C output (x1), car cigarette lighter output (x1), and DC5521 outputs (x2), making it convenient and reliable!

Furthermore, the USB-C port supports 100W output, allowing you to comfortably charge laptops and other devices.

Included Items

• DC5521 to DC5525 cable
• 1.5m MC4 to XT60 solar panel charging cable
• 1.5m AC charging cable
• 1.5m car cigarette lighter charging cable
• Manual

The manual properly supports Japanese!

Exterior

Such a stylish design!

User Experience

Output

The output ports are as follows.

• AC output (x3)
• USB-A output (x2)
• USB-A fast charge (x1)
• USB-C output (x1)
• Car charger output (x1)
• DC5521 output (x2)

The USB-C port supports 100W. The photo above shows a smartphone being charged.
It was able to charge at a solid fast-charging speed.
I also charged other devices like a laptop, and it was fast enough, allowing me to charge at a very satisfying speed.

Additionally, during output, the panel displays information such as how much power is currently being used and how much longer power can be supplied.

When the light is turned on, the power consumption and remaining battery time in hours are displayed in the same way.

For USB-A, there are two ports with a maximum of 12W and one port with a maximum of 28W.
While a bit lacking for charging a computer, I was able to charge smartphones without any particular complaints.

It also features three AC charging ports (for wall outlets), which is plenty. Normally it can supply power up to 600W, but by turning on EcoFlow’s proprietary “X-Boost” function, it can supply up to 1,200W—making it a fantastic device!
Furthermore, it delivers pure sine wave power, which is just as safe as standard household wall outlets.

Input

As shown above, it displays the current charging power and the estimated time remaining until fully charged.

It supports AC charging input, solar charging input, and a cigarette lighter socket.

Just like the output, thanks to EcoFlow’s proprietary technology, charging speeds are among the fastest in the industry: 80% in 1 hour and 100% in 1.6 hours.
Once you use it, you’ll realize just how astonishingly fast it really is.

Additionally, as will be introduced later, you can select a quiet mode for charging via the smartphone app. In quiet mode, it charges at 40 dB, which is as quiet as being inside a library.

Size and Weight

For a portable power station, it is quite small, and its weight is light enough to be held with one hand.
It also features a built-in handle, making it ideal for carrying with one hand.

App

The “EcoFlow River” can also be operated using the app shown in the image above.

You can check the status of the portable power station and adjust settings directly from the app like this.

Since you can configure detailed settings that are either impossible or difficult to understand using just the buttons on the unit itself, the app proves to be quite useful.

However, when using the app, you first need to create an account, which is a bit of a hassle…
Well, even if you don’t use this app at all, it still functions perfectly fine as a portable power station.

Conclusion

The “EcoFlow River” is a user-friendly portable power station with great cost performance and portability.

The manual is detailed, and the button operations are extremely straightforward.
I was particularly amazed by how fast the unit charges thanks to EcoFlow’s proprietary technology.
The price is also quite reasonable for a portable power station, making it truly recommendable for portable power station beginners.

Recommended For

Thank you very much for reading to the end!

• Product prices and information are current as of the time of writing.
• Please note that our site assumes no responsibility even if this information is found to be inaccurate.

This article was originally written in Japanese and has been translated.