A Power Station Prepared to Illuminate Nighttime

It’s a shame that Anker thought this battery needed a gimmick because, on its own, with a healthy cell capacity, fast charging, and connected app, the Anker Solix C800 Plus is a really good backup battery. The pole light felt is a little over the top and unnecessary.

Anker Solix C800 Plus

The Anker SOLIX C800 Plus is the ultimate companion to illuminate campsites and power outdoor adventures. This compact and powerful, portable power station is equipped with two water-resistant LED camping lights, each offering three lighting modes for up to 8 hours.

Weight

24lbs (10.9kg)

Capacity

768Wh

Output

1,600W max via SurgePad

Input

1,100W max

Measurements

14.61 x 8.07 x 9.84in

Solar Charging

Yes

AC outputs

5

USB outputs

4

Other outputs

Car port (DC)

Connection

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Pros

• Wide range of charging ports (10 in total)
• Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity worked well
• Recharged completely in under an hour

Cons

• Big and heavy to use regularly as a UPS
• No scheduling option for re-charging unit

Design, Features, and Gimmicks

The thing with big, backup batteries needed to power large electronics is that they tend to be big and heavy. The Solix C800 Plus isn’t small by any means, but I would describe it as tight and compact. It doesn’t look or feel unwieldy.

It packs in five AC outlets, two USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, and a DC outlet. It has a cell capacity of 768Wh. It has a max output of 1,600W and a max recharge speed of 1,100W. Those are impressive numbers that make a huge impact on what can be run from it and how fast it gets recharged and is usable again.

To top off some of the specs, it also has Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for mobile app functionality. In relation to its physical size, there’s a lot packed into the 24-pound unit. The battery is only around 14.5 inches long and 8 inches deep too. I found the C800 Plus to be easier to lug around than past batteries I’ve tried from both Anker and Goal Zero.

The retractable pole with magnetic light attachments is a bit confounding. There isn’t any real secret to the feature, though. It is what it appears to be on its surface—a light to illuminate a camp area.

It’s stored under the top lid and comes with two water-resistant LED lights and a 39-inch telescoping pole. Each light can work for up to 8 hours and has three lighting modes, the brightest of which is advertised as being able to cover 20 square meters.

Interestingly, Anker does use a standard-size threaded screw so you can detach the magnetic ball and use the firmly planted battery pole to hold a projector like the Capsule 3 or a phone mount for hands-free photos.

The retractable lighting pole is absolutely a gimmick, but one that could be useful for a lot of people. As well executed as the lights are, part of me would have rather used that top lid area to store the power cables. As it is, there’s nowhere to keep the cords when not using them.

An App For a Battery Is a Good Idea

The Anker mobile app, available for iPhone and Android, connects to the battery via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. If it sounds unnecessary to you, there’s no need to use it, but I liked its functionality.

Since you do need to turn on the AC outlets section to give them power, you can use the app to do this without needing to go to the battery. Conversely, you can cut power to the AC outlets remotely.

Equally as nice, having an app provides access to settings that would otherwise need to be accessed on the device itself. You can change the recharging power so you don’t draw too much power. You can also change brightness levels and unit timeout duration, among other things. The app is well-designed and genuinely helpful.

What the app is sorely missing, however, is the ability to set a schedule for it to charge itself. I would love to leave the battery plugged into the wall and then tell it not to charge itself until 9 PM to avoid high electricity rates.

Recharging the Big Battery Was Fast

In a perfect set of circumstances, I got the BougeRV 12V Mini Fridge in for testing around the same time as the C800 Plus battery. Both are great camping companions and worked well together.

I plugged the AC plug into the battery and ran the fridge for four hours with a target temperature of -4F. With a max draw of around 45 to 50 watts, the battery didn’t break a sweat. It continually updated its estimated time—around seven hours with 50% capacity remaining.

Plugging my iPad Air directly into the USB-C port gave it full power. Personally, I don’t need two USB-A ports as I’ve tried to eradicate those older cables, but their presence here didn’t harm anything.

One under-the-radar feature I really like is that the unit can be used as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). The battery can be used as a passthrough, so if there is a power outage, anything plugged into it won’t turn off.

While the battery is a little bigger in size than typical consumer UPSs, it’s still a great use when you have forewarning of a coming storm. If Southern California had more concerning weather, I wouldn’t hesitate to connect my work setup through it for a week at a time.

I have some very tiny earbuds that take four or more hours to recharge their batteries. So it’s a bit crazy to think that this massive one can be recharged, at full speed at home, in under an hour. I did notice that when recharging the C800 Plus at its normal speed, there was a low hum, a little softer than the mini-fridge. When I used the ultra-fast charging option and the unit rose above 950 watts, the sound was a bit louder. Once the temperature rose above 80F with a 1,030 average wattage, the fan noise was unavoidable and quite present in a quiet house. It’s less of a downside and more of a consequence of fast charging.

Price and Availability

The Solix C800 Plus retails for $649 and will be available starting March 12th, 2024.

Should You Buy the Anker Solix C800 Plus?

I like everything the Anker Solix C800 Plus offers, from its compact size, health cell capacity, and wide port selection to quirky pole light. The battery is a good value at its retail price of $650, but of course much better if you can snag it on sale—which it already has been.

It’s best to buy products you have an immediate need for, but this is one of the few you might not know you’ll need backup power until it’s too late. Of course, having a lot of available power and lighting is also a good excuse to go camping more than you might otherwise.

Anker Solix C800 Plus

The Anker SOLIX C800 Plus is the ultimate companion to illuminate campsites and power outdoor adventures. This compact and powerful, portable power station is equipped with two water-resistant LED camping lights, each offering three lighting modes for up to 8 hours.