AVID POWER Portable Power Station, 296Wh 80000mAh Solar Generator (Solar Panel Not Included), with Dual 110V/300W Pure Sine Wave AC Outlets and Flashlight for Outdoor Camping Travel Home Emergency

Update:Changing review from 3 to 4 stars. I've used the item for about 3 weeks. I mainly use the item to power some LED shop lights in a shed I use for wood working (the shed lacks electric). For my use, the quality issues I mentioned in my initial review (below) don't matter as much. The more I use the item, the more I am enjoying using the item.This item charges in a reasonable time. And, it has, in my opinion, great power capacity. The inverter in the item is very efficient; you could argue that the item over delivers in power capacity. It's a well designed, premium feeling item. The light panel the item has is great.The customer service from Avid Power (Elaine) reached out to me twice about this review, and offered to "make things right." I got the first email from Elaine, and I just didn't have the chance to respond after a day or so, and Elaine emailed a second time. Elaine also confirmed the solar panel connector on the item is an Anderson connector, which from what I understand, is a very good connector used for solar panels. So, customer service for this item seems great. I didn't reach out to Avid Power, they reached out to me based on my review and offered to make things right. I really appreciate their going above and beyond like that. Great customer service.I declined any replacement items, because I'm actually pleased with the item for my type of usage. The quality issues I mentioned in my original review are real, so hopefully Avid Power does a better job with quality control. But, using this, like I do, to power a few light panels in a wood working shed, this actually works great and I'm quite pleased with it. I would love to give this item 5 stars, but I just can't with the quality issues I mentioned in my initial review (below).Things I love: the items size, power output, light panel, design/aesthetic. That it has a solar panel option for charging. The material the handle is made from is really nice. The value for money for this item is great. If the item didn't have the quality issues I mentioned in the original review, it would still be a great value if they charged $300 (instead of $200) for the item, in my opinion. Overall, it works great for what I need it to do, despite any issues it has.***I bought this item today, and it was same day delivered through Amazon Prime. I have mixed feelings about the item's first impressions. The quality issues are a cause for concern on what overall would be a really great item. I used this power station to power a lamp that has a total of 212 watts draw in a shed for wood working.Pros:- well designed, attractive item- comes with a carrying case- leatherette strap is actually nice quality pvc leather- price point is a pretty great value for the specified output, battery life and features- large, moveable integrated light is a very nice, useful feature- overall, despite a few things described below, the construction feels solid and the materials actually do feel like premium-ish materials (not Bang and Olufsen, but certainly not Walmart store brand) - it feels like it could be a surprisingly good value for the price point of this item-I've tested the power capacity, and running a 212 watt shop lamp, the power station lasted for 1 hour 15 minutes. Based on an advertised watt hour capacity of 296 hours, this is about an 89.5% efficiency. From what I understand, the power consumed by the internal inverter is fairly efficient, and this is an excellent power capacity.Cons:- the item smells very strongly of cigarettes - not electronics, not plastic, etc, but actually of cigarettes, like the item was assembled and stored in an area with chain smokers. I had an Aunt growing up who was a chain smoker, and every gift she gave me smelled like cigarettes, and this item smells exactly like that. The smell is a little disconcerting, not because I dislike the smell, but the strong cigarette smell gives me pause for concern about the overall quality of the item and how it was manufactured- the solar input port (?) is confusing. It looks like an Anderson connector port, but it's not identified as such anywhere. The instructions do not state what wattage solar panel to use (which is how panels are commonly labeled in the US). However, the AC adapter charges it as 15 volts and 3 amps DC, and you can use that to calculate the watts, which would be 45 watts DC. So, a 45 watt solar panel might work, but that isn't explicitly stated in the instructions, which is a cause for concern.- the AC adapter included actually looks used (the label on it is faded and has quite a large stain on it, so not new) and the AC adapter runs pretty warm right out of the box during my very first charge with this item, ever.- the included case is made of nice materials and appears to be solidly constructed - it's actually a very nice case. However, the case does not easily accommodate the AC adapter and the included 12 volt power cord (the 12 volt power cord fits fine into the mesh pocket on the side, but the 2 part AC power adapter barely fits). Maybe the case wasn't intended to accommodate the power cords, but that would be weird and surprising because I would expect the designers would have considered something as simple as charge cord accommodation in their design. The case overall just feels like it's like 3/8 inch or 1 cm too small on all sides - it's more of a sleeve that just barely fits than a case. The case fits very, very snuggly on the power station and it is not made of stretchy material with any kind of give whatsoever.-the feet on the case are a very nice feeling type of rubber, but they mar the surfaces they sit on, like counter topsI have really, really mixed feelings about this power station. I didn't buy it for the price point, I bought it for the aesthetic (it's a great looking power station) and the features (the lamp and the specs are really useful). The price point is just a nice value (like something you buy at IKEA or Target). But, the quality issues that I've described are a let down.The quality issues are a cause for concern on what overall would be a really great item. You can tell that it is a well designed, well intentioned portable power station. However, the item has some pretty glaring quality flaws that are surprising and disappointing.

I ordered my first charging generator with this company a few years ago, when they still provided a carrying bag for the unit.Customer service was excellent, and quick when I first encountered the 1st problem with my original unit. It was resolved by sending me out another unit with the lady I exchanged emails with.The second unit when received was working fine out of the box. Except, unlike the first unit it never indicated it was on low battery and it would just shut off. On the go I decided to charge it through my cars cigarette lighter, as this is one of the modes you can choose to charge the unit. I am not sure if the power was too strong or what, but my cig lighter started to burn and the units cig lighter no longer worked after. I started to experience the unit loose power, when I had it charged to a wall unit. The battery was having regulating problems staying on. It would go to three bars and jump back up to 5 bars of battery power. I reported what I experienced with the second unit, and they resolved it by sending a third unit.The third unit started having problems about two weeks in after I received it, with the battery not fully charging. I would charge it for 8 hours and then when I would turn it on it would drop to one bar and turn off. To not turning on at all, unless being plugged into a wall unit. I had thought maybe something happened to unit when it shipped, but I really don’t think this is the case. I reported this as well by email, and never received a response from the lady or company.This was over a year ago and I still have a non-working unit. I do think the company needs to sort out the battery regulation problems. For longevity of use with this cute unit and have someone return my email!Three stars for all the problems occurring with this generator unit, and now not having a working unit to use!